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Photographer on the beach at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama gets up close to BP oil that washed up on the beach.

Even One More Oil and Gas Lease Sale in the Gulf of Mexico Is Too Many

ExplainerUnited States, LouisianaCourtney Lindwall
An expansion of offshore drilling would lock the region into decades of fossil fuel extraction at the expense of the climate, coastal communities, and marine life.

Why the Willow Project Is a Bad Idea

Latest NewsAlaskaJeff Turrentine
The oil drilling proposal would be disastrous for Alaska and the planet (not to mention President Biden’s climate legacy).
A Black woman leans over her daughter, who is drinking from a baby bottle, to buckle her seat belt. In the back seat of the car with the child is a case of bottled water.

America’s Failing Drinking Water System

ExplainerUnited States, Buffalo, Houston, Puerto Rico, California, FlintNicole Greenfield
First, Flint, Michigan; then, Jackson, Mississippi. Communities around the country wonder if their water quality problems will lead to the next national crisis.

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Greater Energy Equity Ahead, in both Maryland and Virginia

Expert BlogVirginia, Maryland, Richmond (Virginia)Walton Shepherd, Lucy LaFlamme, Dawone Robinson

New state laws in MD and VA will lower spiking electric bills for those least able to afford them, through better-designed home energy efficiency improvements.

New Program Will Help Ensure Reliable Electricity in the West

Expert BlogCanada, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, WestKelsie Gomanie
The Western Resource Adequacy Program (WRAP) is designed to provide benefits for customers, utilities, and the environment.

Equitable Building Decarbonization Across the Country: 2022

Expert BlogCalifornia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, OregonCaroline Keicher, Joe O'Brien-Applegate
Policies and programs aimed at new construction and existing buildings continue to gain traction as communities and elected officials realize the feasibility and benefits of ambitious and equity-centered action.

A $3 Billion Milestone for the Western Grid

Expert BlogUnited States, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, WestKelsie Gomanie

After a year of record-breaking heat waves, drought, and flooding, add to that list some good news for the Western United States: The Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM) is positioned to surpass $3 billion in cumulative benefits by the end…

Washington on the Verge of “Cleanest Homes in the Nation”

Expert BlogWashingtonAlejandra Mejia Cunningham

The Washington State Building Code Council is poised to extend requirements that all new residential buildings must use high efficiency space and water heating equipment that can run on 100% clean power.

States Commit to Clean and Healthy New Buildings

Expert BlogWashington, ColoradoAlejandra Mejia Cunningham
These are two states that have recently felt the devastating consequences of the climate crisis and are now taking action to ensure their homes and buildings stop relying on polluting fossil fuels quickly as possible.

Western Climate Initiative: OR & WA Add Caps to CA's AB32

Expert BlogCalifornia, Oregon, Washington, West
In 2021, fifteen years after California made climate history by becoming the first US state to adopt an economy-wide carbon emissions cap, Oregon and Washington completed a West Coast hat trick by becoming the second and third. Well, almost.

How Cities Are Centering Equity in Benchmarking Policies

Expert BlogDenver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, WashingtonCaroline Keicher
A new resource from the City Energy Project—Incorporating Equity into Energy Benchmarking Requirements: Guidance for Policy and Program Practitioners—helps cities understand the opportunity to leverage benchmarking and transparency policies to address racial and social equity.

Stressed by Heat, Farmworkers Deserve Federal Protections

Expert BlogCalifornia, Washington, Minnesota
Unprotected from many basic workplace rights and in the face of a growing climate crisis that threatens their well-being, farmworkers deserve federal safeguards from extreme heat and its dangerous effects.

Defender of Energy Efficiency—and Equity

NRDC in ActionGeorgia, Detroit, Michigan, Baltimore, Maryland, Norfolk, VirginiaKeith Mulvihill
Dawone Robinson, regional director of NRDC’s Energy Efficiency for All Project, works to create opportunities for low-income communities of color to save energy and money.

Energy Efficiency Boosts Prospects of Low-Income Marylanders

Expert BlogMaryland, Baltimore

There has been considerable attention from national pundits and political operatives pointing at Baltimore as a city that has not reached its full potential. While they fixate on problems, Energy Efficiency for All teammates write about a helpful solution in…

Justice Warrior on the Affordable Energy Front

NRDC in ActionVirginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New YorkKaren L. Smith-Janssen
Dawone Robinson is righting the inequities that low-income communities of color face in accessing the benefits of energy efficiency—like more comfortable homes and lower energy bills, for starters.