News & Commentary

The Biden Administration Cancels Its Offshore Drilling Plan for Alaska’s Cook Inlet—Let’s Keep It Off the Books

May 13, 2022 DispatchAlaskaSusan Cosier

The lease sale would have endangered Indigenous communities, threatened rare whales, added to the Far North’s climate crisis, and gambled with a 20 percent chance for a large oil spill.

Health Experts to New York: Beware of Neonic Pesticides

April 14, 2022 Expert BlogNew YorkDaniel Raichel

Let’s hope that Albany legislators and Governor Hochul listen to the doctors’ orders.

Representative Huffman Champions Bristol Bay, Again

March 7, 2022 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

House letter urges EPA to use its authority under the Clean Water Act to permanently protect Bristol Bay, AK from the Pebble Mine.

NYC Must Enact a Universal Food Waste Composting Law, Part II

February 18, 2022 Expert BlogNew York CityEric A. Goldstein

The time has arrived for the nation’s largest city to implement a universal, curbside organics collection program for all residents.

Can NY Protect Bees, Birds, People from Toxic Pesticides?

February 9, 2022 Expert BlogNew YorkDaniel Raichel

The Birds and Bees Protection Act would eliminate 80-90 percent of the neonics entering New York’s environment every year by prohibiting only those uses that provide little-to-no benefit to users or are easily replaced with safer alternatives.

The Trees Are Our Climate Keys

February 8, 2022 Expert BlogUnited States, AlaskaGarett Rose

To meet its domestic and international climate commitments, the Biden administration must take bold steps to protect older forests and trees on federal forestlands nationwide.

Stopping Pebble Mine: A Test of Our Democracy

February 2, 2022 Expert BlogAlaska, United States, CanadaJoel Reynolds

Isolation grows for Canadian owner of widely condemned Bristol Bay mine, faced with broad-based opposition at all levels and intensifying calls for permanent protection of the region.

NYC Must Enact a Universal Food Waste Composting Law

February 1, 2022 Expert BlogNew York CityEric A. Goldstein

One of the top environmental challenges for Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council is to establish a sensible program for collecting and sustainably disposing of household organics—food scraps, yard waste, and food soiled paper.

EPA Reaffirms Need to Protect Bristol Bay but Slows Process

January 28, 2022 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Sends formal letter reasserting concern for proposed mega-mine's unacceptable adverse effects while announcing new timeline that may extend final determination.

Food Waste Generators Now Required to Recycle in New York

January 13, 2022 Expert BlogNew YorkMargaret Brown, Yvette Cabrera

New York's law adds to the growing drumbeat of adoption of these laws, and we look forward to seeing similarly robust programs in other states in the years to come.

Pebble Mine 2021 Year in Review: Back to the Future at EPA

December 22, 2021 Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds

Destructive Bristol Bay mega-mine is all but dead following EPA’s re-start in 2021 of Clean Water Act 404(c) process for region’s lasting protection, long sought by Bristol Bay tribes and communities.

Albany Environmental Roundup: 2021 Victories and 2022 Agenda

December 14, 2021 Expert BlogNew YorkMarisa Guerrero, Rich Schrader

New York State secured several key environmental and public health victories in 2021—and that momentum is continuing into 2022, as we push for bills to expand the use of electric vehicles, improve energy efficiency, promote food security, and reduce toxic…

Community Members Urge NYC to Preserve African Burial Ground

October 12, 2021 Expert BlogNew York, New York CitySahana Rao

The Flatbush African Burial Ground Coalition is fighting to protect a historic burial ground in Brooklyn, where remains of individuals of African descent were discovered. This sacred space must be safeguarded from disturbance and development—here's how you can help.

Pebble Mine's Economics: Garbage In, Garbage Out

September 23, 2021 Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds

Canadian owner of embattled Bristol Bay mining scheme promises preliminary economic analysis within 45 days to demonstrate financial feasibility of mine predicted to lose billions.

EPA Takes Major Step toward Permanently Protecting Bristol Bay

September 9, 2021 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Thank you, EPA, for listening to tribes, communities, and supporters—and moving closer to forever stopping catastrophic projects like Pebble Mine.

New Ads Urge EPA to Finish the Job and Veto Pebble Mine

July 13, 2021 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Broad-based coalition rolls out new media campaign on TV, print, and digital platforms in Washington DC, calling on EPA to “Finish the Job” and permanently protect Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine.

Biden Administration Starts to Restore Protections for Alaska’s Tongass National Forest

June 11, 2021 Expert BlogAlaskaNRDC

The move would reverse one of Trump’s numerous environmental rollbacks, which had opened half of this pristine wilderness to industry.

Our Climate Future Is Rooted in North America’s Forests

April 26, 2021 Expert BlogCanada, AlaskaJennifer Skene

The Biden administration needs to embrace a bold new vision for forest protection that looks at how we can protect the climate-critical forest resources in our own backyard.

NYC Moves Modestly to Restore Composting; More Is Needed

April 24, 2021 Expert BlogNew York CityEric A. Goldstein

The DeBlasio Administration, seeking to dispel criticism that it broke one of its cornerstone sustainability promises, has announced plans to restore voluntary food waste composting opportunities in the nation’s largest city.

Alaska Natives Lead a Unified Resistance to the Pebble Mine

April 20, 2021 DispatchAlaskaNicole Greenfield

The effort to stop a massive mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, has been a decades-long fight for the region’s Indigenous People. Five tribal leaders share their experiences.