News & Commentary

Food Service Companies Must Act Following New Climate Report

August 8, 2019 Expert BlogInternational, United States, New York, New York City, CaliforniaSujatha Bergen

A new report released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change today is the third in six months from the world’s leading experts to show that rising to the challenge of the climate crisis will require not only…

Valley Fever Spreads in California as Winter Rainstorms Intensify and Summers Heat Up

August 5, 2019 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

From dusty fields in the San Joaquin Valley, fungal spores are wafting up, exposing more and more farmworkers to the disease.

L.A. Takes a Fresh Look at Recycled Water

May 13, 2019 DispatchLos AngelesLauren Evans

Facing dwindling freshwater supplies, the city is ready to stop dumping millions of gallons into the Pacific—and to follow Orange County’s lead.

California Lunchrooms May Soon Serve Up Organics

May 7, 2019 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

A state bill promises organic food to students—and benefits for local farmers and farmworkers, too.

Overcoming an Industrial Legacy in L.A.’s Pacoima District

March 18, 2019 DispatchLos AngelesCorey Binns

Local environmental justice groups get a boost from the city’s Clean Up Green Up policy, which brings green zoning to three heavily polluted communities.

The Festering Sanitation Crisis at Our Border

December 3, 2018 DispatchArizona, Mexico, CaliforniaTim Vanderpool

As the Trump administration ratchets up its rhetoric demanding billions for a wall, American communities along the Mexico border are in need of basic services, like reliable sewage treatment.

In Long Beach, Touring a Toxic Neighborhood on Bike

October 24, 2018 DispatchLong Beach, CaliforniaCorey Binns

Residents who live near the country’s busiest ports are getting a new lens on the pollution in their backyards, and new tactics to help fight it.

Court: EPA Must Regulate Harmful Runoff Pollution in L.A.

August 13, 2018 Expert BlogLos AngelesBecky Hammer

A federal district court in Los Angeles has ordered the EPA to regulate harmful runoff pollution from commercial, industrial, and institutional sites in two Southern California watersheds.

The Warning Lights Are Flashing for California’s Once-Glorious Salton Sea

August 6, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaStarre Vartan

Since this giant salty lake in the desert lost its water supply, its bird habitat has been shrinking and more toxic dust is wafting up from its dry lake bed. Can the Salton Sea be saved?

In These Brightly Colored Landscapes, the Sharp Edges of Industry Collide with Nature’s Curves

July 31, 2018 PerspectivesCalifornia, United StatesPatrick Rogers

Judith Belzer’s oil paintings of bridges, dams, canals, and ports both romanticize and question humanity’s efforts to tame our natural systems.

California Hasn’t Come Clean About Its Water Use During the Drought

July 11, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

Farms drink up a majority of the state’s water supply, but the details are murky. Most of the largest irrigation districts aren’t reporting how much water they delivered to farmers.

Report: CA Ag Water Data Leaks through Mismanagement Cracks

June 18, 2018 Expert BlogCaliforniaArohi Sharma

California’s agricultural water suppliers—also called irrigation districts—are not complying with laws that require them to report on their water use. The lack of accurate water use data from our farms threatens the state’s ability to properly manage those water supplies.

Saving Science in the Age of Trump

April 17, 2018 NRDC in ActionWashington, D.C., CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

The current administration’s suppression of data and information is unprecedented. But so are NRDC’s efforts to combat it.

Why Women Rule NRDC’s Science Center

March 27, 2018 NRDC in ActionSan Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York City, Ahmedabad, India, United StatesJenny Shalant

And why female leaders tend to be more attuned to issues of environmental equity.

Could Our Farms Become the World’s Great Untapped Carbon Sink?

January 26, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaJohn J. Berger

Carbon farming, an agricultural movement taking root in Northern California, aims to improve the soil and help stabilize the climate.

This Is How We Stand Up to Trump

December 20, 2017 NRDC in ActionUnited States, Washington, D.C., Utah, Michigan, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Meet a handful of the NRDC staffers who resisted Trump’s attacks and defended our environment in 2017—and who won’t stop fighting anytime soon.

Buy Cleaning Products? A New Law Has Your Back

November 27, 2017 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

Manufacturers will soon have to disclose what’s in the bottle—including toxic chemicals long omitted from packaging labels.

Farms on the Fringe: New Takes on America’s Farming Tradition

August 1, 2017 DispatchCalifornia, Colorado, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, New MexicoTracie McMillan

These six farmers have found innovative ways to grow plants in today’s climate, whether in corn country or coal country, with fish tanks or smartphones.

The Pesticide in Your Crisper Drawer

May 2, 2017 ExplainerUnited States, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Shown to be toxic to kids, chlorpyrifos is nevertheless still being sprayed on crops across the country—and making its way into our bodies. So why has the EPA refused to ban it?

The Tree Whisperer

January 27, 2017 DispatchCaliforniaElizabeth Svoboda

A Berkeley scientist is studying how climate change is affecting California’s giant sequoias, long considered dependable forest stalwarts.