News & Commentary

Bees on the Brink: Will Minnesota Act to Save Them?

February 13, 2024 Expert BlogMinnesotaLucas Rhoads

The legislature has a crucial opportunity to pass bills to protect people and pollinators from needless pesticide use.

Pollinators Notch Big Wins in Minnesota

May 26, 2023 Expert BlogSt. PaulLucas Rhoads

In a historic 2023 session, Minnesota reined in pesticide use, increased pollinator habitat, and built momentum toward additional protections. 

Cover Crops for Every Climate

February 17, 2023 Expert BlogWest, Midwest, East, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Idaho, New Mexico, TexasLara Bryant, Dr. Daniel Rath

Cover crops are adaptable, valuable, and effective enough that farmers can benefit from them in every region of the United States—even cold or dry areas.

One Year Since Court Restored ESA Protections for Wolves

February 10, 2023 Expert BlogCalifornia, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, WisconsinDr. Jennifer Sherry

Without these protections, wolf recovery could be stopped dead in its tracks—or even reversed—as we have seen happen when states with authority over wolf management work to cut populations down through aggressive measures.

Right Whale Moms and Calves at Risk from Fast Vessels

November 14, 2022 Expert BlogGeorgia, Florida, New Jersey, EastDr. Francine Kershaw

Celebrating Year One of the Food Matters Regional Initiative

August 30, 2021 Expert BlogChicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Madison, Ohio, Baltimore, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, North Carolina, Memphis, OrlandoMadeline Keating, Darby Hoover

A year after the launch of the Food Matters Regional Initiative, we are pleased to report considerable progress and accomplishments from the 15 regional initiative participants.

How Cities Are Centering Equity in Benchmarking Policies

April 20, 2021 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.

Fighting Inequity with Solar Power

March 30, 2021 DispatchMinneapolis, St. PaulSusan Cosier

Minneapolis’s 4d program to boost energy efficiency and affordable housing in the city is kicking it up a notch.

Stressed by Heat, Farmworkers Deserve Federal Protections

March 26, 2021 Expert BlogCalifornia, Washington, MinnesotaTeniope Adewumi-Gunn

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.

High-Road Clean Energy Jobs: The Key to Building Back Better

February 25, 2021 Expert BlogBoston, Charlotte, St. PaulMaria Stamas, Caroline Keicher

Forward-thinking cities should aim to build back better—and more inclusively—by supporting strategies for a more equitable and sustainable future.

Urban Innovator

June 30, 2020 NRDC in ActionCharlotte, North Carolina, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Paul, Minnesota, Austin, TexasKeith Mulvihill

Through her work in the buildings sector, Wendy Lee helps propel cities into a fairer and more energy-efficient future.

Defender of Energy Efficiency—and Equity

February 3, 2020 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.

These Farmers Are Sowing Seeds of Diversity in the U.S. Food System (and Have Been for Quite Some Time)

April 8, 2019 DispatchGeorgiaRobynne Boyd

A movement to preserve the cultural heritage and organic practices of African American farmers is growing in the Southeast.

Monarch Butterflies Get a Head Start in the Schoolyard

March 12, 2019 NRDC in ActionGeorgiaCourtney Lindwall

NRDC joins with Monarch Watch to distribute free milkweed plants to schools across the country and turn students into butterfly gardeners.

Robby Astrove’s Vision for Atlanta Is Delicious

November 26, 2018 DispatchAtlantaRobynne Boyd

This visionary green thumb is bringing food justice, and heirloom fruit trees, to low-income communities in Atlanta where grocery stores are few and far between.

When We Talk About Wolves, We Talk About People

November 1, 2018 Expert BlogMinnesotaDr. Jennifer Sherry

Separating our human-human conflicts from wolves and placing value on wolves interacting in nature as part of a larger ecosystem is perhaps the most ethical approach we can take in navigating the human-wolf relationship.

Getting an Energy Efficiency Boost in Georgia

October 5, 2018 Expert BlogGeorgiaLamisa Chowdhury

Building owners—with a leg up from enlightened power companies—can make a difference in their residents’ health and quality of life through energy efficiency upgrades, especially when it comes to multifamily affordable housing.

How Did Farmer Brown Bring His Dying Land Back From the Brink?

September 28, 2018 PerspectivesNorth DakotaJeff Turrentine

By focusing on soil health, this North Dakota rancher didn’t just save the family homestead—he made it flourish.

Race to Reduce Launched to Energize Saint Paul

June 12, 2018 Expert BlogMinnesotaKatharine McCormick

Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter has kicked off an energy efficiency challenge directed at the city’s largest buildings. Through the program, dubbed the “Race to Reduce,” buildings will be invited to join a cohort that will collectively strive to streamline…

The Effort to Replant the “Amazon of the South”

September 25, 2017 DispatchGeorgia, Florida, AlabamaRobynne Boyd

These Southerners are bringing the longleaf pine forest back—with some love, seeds, fire, and snakes.