News & Commentary

The Long, Long Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

March 15, 2024 ExplainerAlaskaBrian Palmer, Nicole Greenfield

For decades, politicians have vacillated between protecting Alaska’s refuge as one of the last unspoiled places on earth and plundering it for oil.

Studies Expose Reality of Logging-Driven Forest Degradation in Canada

January 25, 2024 Expert BlogOttawaJennifer Skene

New publications on the impact of industrial logging in Canada reveal pervasive forest degradation and significant climate consequences,

Why the Willow Project Is a Bad Idea

November 13, 2023 Latest NewsAlaskaJeff Turrentine

The oil drilling proposal would be disastrous for Alaska and the planet (not to mention President Biden’s climate legacy). 

Canada’s Caribou Protection Delays Bring More Forest Degradation

June 19, 2023 Expert BlogOntario, CanadaDr. Julee Boan

Canada gives Ontario another year to degrade at-risk caribou habitat, taking it further away from international promises to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.

Auditor Calls for Canada’s Transparency on Logging Emissions

April 20, 2023 Expert BlogOttawaJennifer Skene

Canada's Environment Commissioner found that the Government of Canada has failed to transparently report on the climate impact of industrial logging, with potentially sweeping ramifications for its forest policymaking. 

Canada Rejects Transparency on Logging’s Climate Toll

April 18, 2023 Expert BlogOttawa, CanadaJennifer Skene

Canada has again failed to transparently report on the logging industry's climate impacts, giving the sector a free pass for more than 70 megatonnes of carbon emissions annually, and perpetuating a "climate blind" forest policy framework. 

On International Day of Forests, the Global North Must Show Leadership

March 21, 2023 Expert BlogInternational, Canada, United States, AlaskaElly Pepper, Carolyn Ramírez

On International Day of Forests, the Global North must show leadership on forest protection and acknowledge its own role in forest loss.

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest Gets the Protections It Deserves

February 17, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

After a decades-long fight, the newly reinstated Roadless Rule will safeguard these wildlands from road construction and logging.

Crushing Alaska’s Pebble Mine

February 13, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaNicole Greenfield, Jeff Turrentine

The EPA’s decision to veto the project is fantastic news—but the fight to save Bristol Bay isn’t over yet.

Canada Must Resist Pressure to Weaken Conservation Criteria

February 2, 2023 Expert BlogCanada, OntarioDr. Julee Boan

Is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau feeling the pressure to downplay the impacts of industrial development and dismiss the very purpose of conservation?

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.

Canada Should Mark Forests Day by Rejecting Logging Giveaway

March 21, 2022 Expert BlogCanada, OntarioCourtenay Lewis

Canada has near-finalized an ill-named “Conservation Agreement” with the province of Ontario, whose current government has attracted international attention for slashing environmental protections while promising to ramp up widespread industrial logging.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.