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.

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Explainer

Get a breakdown of complex climate, public health, nature, and equity topics to inform your activism.

Dispatch

Read about activists tackling climate justice and other environmental causes in their communities and beyond.

Perspectives

Discover intersectional viewpoints from activists and artists on the environmental issues of the moment.

NRDC in Action

Find out how NRDC protects people and the planet by learning about some of our key fights.

Expert Blogs

Hear from our policy advocates, scientists, and litigators about the challenges and solutions for building a healthier and more just world.

Viewing 1 - 20 of 20

Colorado River Carbon Bomb: Utah's Uinta Railway Project

Expert BlogUnited States, UtahJosh Axelrod
Backers of a proposed crude-by-rail project in northeastern Utah—which would unleash a carbon bomb potentially larger than the controversial Willow Project—want taxpayer support to the tune of $2 billion.

Six Colorado Basin States Lay Down a Marker for California

Expert BlogArizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, WestEd Osann
The "Consensus Based Modeling Alternative" is a positive development in addressing the current water emergency. It’s unfortunate that California did not join in this recommendation.

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.

Saving Salmon—from One Generation of Fisherwomen to the Next

DispatchOregon, Washington, WestNicole Greenfield
Keyen Singer, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, carries on a maternal legacy of conserving salmon and preserving culture. Their efforts could soon pay off.

Oregon Looks to “Reach” Code for Energy, Carbon Savings

Expert BlogOregonRalph Cavanagh
Senate Bill 1518, to be considered during Oregon’s “short” February 2022 legislative session, is a critical pushback against the embedded lowest common denominator aspect of building codes when it comes to energy and climate.

Biden Team Moves to Save the Boundary Waters

Expert BlogMinnesotaDavid Doniger

The Biden administration’s very welcome decision to block sulfide-ore copper mining on the edges of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is personal to me and my family. My in-laws have roots there going back more than a century, and…

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.

Fighting Inequity with Solar Power

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

The Celilo Wy'am Are Still Here

DispatchOregonNicole Greenfield
Matriarch Lana Jack continues a decades-long fight for federal recognition of her band—and the right to continue living on the lands of her ancestors.

Urban Innovator

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.

Race to Reduce Launched to Energize Saint Paul

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…

This Is How We Stand Up to Trump

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.

Oregon Is Having a Tiny Home Boom

DispatchOregonBecca Cudmore
Some members of the small-house movement live off the grid—but Oregon’s cities want them to stay on it.

Our Favorite National Parks

NRDC in ActionColorado, California, Minnesota, Alaska, New Mexico, Florida, Virginia, Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, NRDC’s very own wilderness fanatics share their most treasured park memories.

Greening the Playing Fields

NRDC in ActionPhiladelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland (Oregon), BostonAmanda MacMillan
How the sports industry became one of the planet's most powerful allies.