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.

Skip carousel items
Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

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

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

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

Latest News

Stay on top of the latest research, policy updates, publication releases, and environmental news. 

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 24

Active filters:

Remove all filters

Filter Results

The Senate’s Historic Opportunity to Lower Your Energy Bill

Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, D.C.Lauren Urbanek, Deron Lovaas

Buildings are responsible for about 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States—but the investments in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will help to substantially reduce emissions from our buildings while lowering energy costs for consumers and improving…

Homes Are Infrastructure: GREAHT Leap for Affordable Housing

Expert BlogUnited StatesDeron Lovaas

As the nation attempts to move out of the pandemic towards economic recovery, a crisis we’ve faced for years is coming into focus again: housing affordability. This is most keenly and devastatingly felt in an impending eviction crisis, as state…

A New Customer Bill of Rights: Affordable Utility Services

Expert BlogIllinois, United StatesDeron Lovaas, Larry Levine
The vital need for uninterrupted utility service was evident before the coronavirus pandemic, but the COVID-19 public health emergency has reinforced the essential nature of utility service and the threats of energy and water poverty.

Out of Time: Regulators Must Prevent Utility Shutoffs

Expert BlogUnited StatesDeron Lovaas

As we turn to yet another month in 2020, we can see ahead that an estimated 35 million households across 14 states will no longer have mandatory protections from having their electricity shut off. State utility regulators must act now…

Public Utility Commissions: Swiss Army Knives of Protection

Expert BlogUnited StatesDeron Lovaas

With the United States in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, there’s been a significant focus on a new federal rescue package. While this is crucial, the truth is that we need every level of government to tackle this crisis…

Energy Efficiency Is for Everyone

Expert BlogDeron Lovaas
The benefits of the nation’s largest energy resource aren’t reaching those who could most use them. We can fix that.

Energy Efficiency Boosts Prospects of Low-Income Marylanders

Expert BlogMaryland, BaltimoreDeron Lovaas

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…

Why Maryland Needs a Goal for Low-Income Energy Efficiency

Expert BlogDeron Lovaas
A recently-released report helps us better understand the energy affordability challenges low-income Maryland households face, and the need for Maryland to set a clear goal for easing their energy burden through energy efficiency upgrades.

Poll: Most Would Pay More to Help Others with Energy Bills

Expert BlogDeron Lovaas
A new national survey commissioned by Energy Efficiency for All finds that many Americans make sacrifices, sometimes serious ones, so they can pay utility bills. Thankfully a majority support policy solutions that boost energy efficiency of apartments and houses, even…

Affordable Housing Champion Takes HUD Leadership Role

Expert BlogDeron Lovaas
As readers of this blog are doubtless aware, NRDC is rightly very critical of the many wrongheaded appointments made by the Trump Administration. So it was a relief to learn about at least one appointee who is sorely needed at…

Trump Budget Would Pile Bigger Energy Burden Onto the Poor

Expert BlogDeron Lovaas
The Trump administration’s proposed federal budget includes extreme—and extremely foolhardy—evisceration of two key programs that help lift affordable housing and its low-income residents out of poverty.