News & Commentary

Meet the activists and NRDC staff propelling change, read our expert analysis, and learn about the latest challenges and solutions to advancing a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world.

Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

April 19, 2024 Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant

The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.

Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

April 10, 2024 ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall

These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.

A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

March 11, 2024 ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool

Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

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A World Without Bees? Here’s What Happens If Bees Go Extinct

May 2, 2022 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Assessing our chances of survival without the prodigious pollinator.

Biden Pledges to Cut U.S. Carbon Emissions in Half by 2030

April 22, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

It’s urgent. It’s ambitious. But most of all, it’s totally doable.

Deb Haaland Is the Interior Secretary Our Country Needs

February 22, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The fact that senators tied to the fossil fuel industry are opposing her nomination is a big clue as to why.

The Overlooked Importance of Penguin Poop, Fulmar Feces, and Gull Guano

September 17, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Seabird droppings don’t just help us fertilize crops; their waste affects everything from coral reefs to climate.

Extinction Threatens More than Half of the World’s Turtles and Tortoises

July 21, 2020 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

They’ve outlived the dinosaurs, but these ancient reptiles are currently in danger of disappearing from just about everywhere.

April Showers Bring May Flowers. So Do Bumblebee Bites.

June 11, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

New research shows that bumblebees have the power to make plants bloom.

Experts Urge People All Over the World to Stop Killing Bats Out of Fears of Coronavirus

June 2, 2020 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Attacking bats does nothing to protect people from COVID-19 and sometimes, it can make things worse.

Murder Hornets Are Scary. But Pesticides Are Scarier.

May 21, 2020 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

While everyone is freaking out about invasive hornets, the largest threats to America’s pollinators remain unchanged.

Out of Sight, Out of Time: The Endangered Species Living Hundreds of Feet Beneath Austin

July 11, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Pollution and the overdrawing of groundwater threaten to wipe out several species of subterranean salamanders.

U.N. Report: A Million Extinctions and Ecological Collapse Are on the Way

May 13, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

We got ourselves into this mess. It’s high time we got ourselves out of it.

Army Corps Releases a Slapdash Environmental Review of Alaska’s Pebble Mine

March 1, 2019 Latest NewsAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

But the proposed gold and copper mine’s catastrophic threats to the waterways, salmon, and people of Bristol Bay haven’t changed.

Oil Spills Are Even Worse for Birds than We Thought

July 7, 2017 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

A new study finds that even small smudges of oil can have huge impacts on flight and a bird’s energy budget.

When Invasive Species Strike the Third World, People Can Starve

August 24, 2016 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

Exotic troublemakers have long been regarded as a “first-world problem,” but a recent study says more and more invasive species might soon creep into developing nations.