News & Commentary

Poll: People Want Action on Plastics for Health and Wildlife

April 15, 2024 Expert BlogInternational, Canada, United States, Ohio, PennsylvaniaDaniel Rosenberg

New poll results show overwhelming public support for government action to address the plastic crisis, including a strong global plastics treaty.

Recover, Reclaim, Reuse—the Coolest Way to Manage Refrigerants

January 25, 2024 Expert BlogUnited States, WashingtonDr. Richie Kaur

Washington State introduces nation-leading legislation to set up an Extended Producer Responsibility program for climate-polluting refrigerants.

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

December 13, 2023 ExplainerUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield

The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.

Winter Storm Elliott Report Highlights the Risk of Natural Gas Failures

July 20, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, East, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, TexasDana Ammann

PJM’s report on Winter Storm Elliott found that gas generators were responsible for 70 percent of forced outages during December 2022. Climate change will only intensify future severe weather. 

Western Electricity Grid Is Entering Its Day-Ahead Market Era

April 28, 2023 Expert BlogWest, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, WashingtonKelsie Gomanie

NRDC is working with stakeholders to safeguard consumer interests and environmental protections as utilities from California to the Great Plains weigh proposals to share energy resources through an organized market.

Colorado River Carbon Bomb: Utah's Uinta Railway Project

April 6, 2023 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.

Rate Increases and Blackouts: Duke Energy’s Strategy for 2023

April 6, 2023 Expert BlogNorth Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, EastLuis Martinez

Duke failed to keep the lights on last December, but it is now pursuing enormous rate increases of more than 30 percent to help pay for fossil fuels and huge executive salary raises.

US Faith Leader to Visit UK, Urging: Cut Carbon Not Forests

February 2, 2023 Expert BlogInternational, South CarolinaElly Pepper

"Instead of harming vulnerable communities of color in the U.S., the U.K. should be rapidly shifting to secure, cheap, clean renewable energy like wind and solar.”

EPA: It’s Time to Act. We need Clean Trucks Now

March 3, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, California, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, WashingtonPatricio Portillo, Heather Kryczka

Cutting tailpipe emissions and moving to zero emission vehicles can eliminate the diesel fumes causing childhood asthma, emergency room visits, and loss of life.

Washington State Amps Up Controls on HFC Emissions

May 17, 2021 Expert BlogWashingtonChristina Theodoridi

Ambitious new law in Washington sets a maximum limit—or, global warming potential (GWP), threshold on the HFCs used in stationary air conditioning and refrigeration, and mandates that a refrigerant management program be created to combat HFC releases from large existing…

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to Help Transition Homes off Oil

September 27, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, SeattleMaria Stamas

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, with a unanimous City Council, passed a law to help homes with oil-fueled heating sources transition to clean, electric heat.

Mining Oil Shale Would Be Disastrous to Utah’s Rivers, Climate, and Public Health—but the Trump Administration Wants to Do It Anyway

June 21, 2019 DispatchUtahStarre Vartan

NRDC and other environmental and public health groups are suing to stop an extraction project (the first of its kind in the United States) proposed by the Estonian company Enefit.

Latin America’s Air Pollution Impacts Climate and Health

June 5, 2019 Expert BlogChile, Columbia, InternationalAmanda Maxwell

Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk for health in the Americas, according to the World Health Organization. The theme of World Environment Day this year is Air Pollution, and this opportunity to highlight the seriousness of the problem could…

What Can Green Groups, Labor Unions, Veterans, and a Coal Mining Exec All Get Behind? Solar Power in Appalachian Ohio.

May 14, 2019 NRDC in ActionOhioCourtney Lindwall

Dan Sawmiller, NRDC’s Ohio energy policy director, forms unexpected alliances to build out renewables in the Buckeye State.

Ohio Gains Ground on a Hidden Hazard: More Than a Century’s Worth of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells

March 26, 2019 DispatchOhioAustyn Gaffney

Forgotten, derelict, and often leaky, these so-called orphan wells could number in the thousands.

Ohio Communities Are Becoming a Dumping Ground for the Fracking Industry

December 3, 2018 DispatchOhioAustyn Gaffney

Earthquakes, spills, and groundwater contamination—wastewater wells come with many risks and few rewards for Trumbull County residents.

In Washington, a Coal-Fired Power Plant Will Put Its Money on the Sun

June 11, 2018 DispatchWashingtonStarre Vartan

Ten percent of the state’s greenhouse gases come from a single coal-fired power plant—which will soon trade coal for solar.

The Sordid Backstory Behind the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Decisions

March 9, 2018 Latest NewsUtahJeff Turrentine

A lawsuit forced Ryan Zinke’s Interior Department to disclose files relating to the shrinking of national monuments. It’s easy to see why he wanted them to stay hidden.

Following Spills, Ohio Wants to Reroute the Rover Pipeline but Lacks the Muscle

February 26, 2018 DispatchOhioSusan Cosier

High-profile disasters on the controversial pipeline prompted the feds to temporarily halt construction, but the state demands a more permanent solution.

This Is How We Stand Up to Trump

December 20, 2017 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.