News & Commentary

The Lower Klamath River Will Soon Flow Freely Again

March 21, 2023 DispatchCalifornia, WestNicole Greenfield

Sparking hope for the West’s rivers and beyond, a decades-long battle leads to the world’s biggest dam removal project.

Missing for a Century, the California Condor Flies Over Yurok Ancestral Lands Again

November 9, 2022 DispatchCalifornia, WestBecca Cudmore

The Yurok Tribe is helping to restore a sacred and endangered scavenger that is vital to Indigenous cultures and Pacific Coast ecosystems alike.

The Chlorpyrifos Ban Is a Win for Science—and Children

September 17, 2021 NRDC in ActionCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

NRDC advocates and our partners spent decades fighting against a highly toxic pesticide that harms kids, farmworkers, and their families. In August, the EPA finally banned it.

California Teens Expose the Chemicals in Household Cleaners That Are Putting Their Community at Risk

September 13, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaCarmen Cusido

Their research aims to inform Latinas—who make up a significant proportion of the domestic workforce—about how to choose safer cleaning products.

California Beckons the Gray Wolf—but Can’t Guarantee a Safe Journey There

July 8, 2019 DispatchWest, California, Oregon, WashingtonCorey Binns

The future of wolves in the West depends on collaborative cross-border commitments to protecting this icon of the wild.

Facing Down the Ivory Sellers, Pangolin Poachers, and Giraffe Traders

December 10, 2018 NRDC in ActionNew York, California, Hawaii, United States, ChinaNicole Greenfield

Elly Pepper, deputy director of NRDC’s Wildlife Trade Initiative, says there’s much that U.S. advocates can do to end the illegal marketplaces endangering animals across the globe.

This Lawyer Is Fighting to Save Two of the World’s Most Endangered Species

September 10, 2018 NRDC in ActionOregon, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Oregon-based NRDC attorney Giulia Good Stefani is living her dream by working to protect orcas off her coast and vaquitas in the Gulf of California.

The Warning Lights Are Flashing for California’s Once-Glorious Salton Sea

August 6, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaStarre Vartan

Since this giant salty lake in the desert lost its water supply, its bird habitat has been shrinking and more toxic dust is wafting up from its dry lake bed. Can the Salton Sea be saved?

California Is Getting Tough on Wildlife Crime

August 1, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

In a new forensics lab, state agents test samples of blood, saliva, tusks, and feathers in a quest to stem the illegal trade in exotic animal parts.

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.

Buy Cleaning Products? A New Law Has Your Back

November 27, 2017 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

Manufacturers will soon have to disclose what’s in the bottle—including toxic chemicals long omitted from packaging labels.

The Fight to Keep Oil and Gas Rigs Out of Our Waters. For Good.

October 3, 2017 NRDC in ActionAlaska, Florida, California, Washington, United StatesMelissa Denchak

NRDC played a key role in banning offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. Once again, it’s fighting to protect those oceans—and the rest of America’s waters.

The California Case of an Antique Ivory Collector v. African Elephants

July 31, 2017 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

So far, the state isn’t bowing to the demands of one man who is trying to dismantle its ivory ban.

Farming for the Birds in California’s Central Valley

May 15, 2017 DispatchCaliforniaBecca Cudmore

The land of endless vegetable rows and fruit groves is also one of our most important flyways. The birds could use some tending, too.

To Save These Rare Giraffes, Uganda Built an Ark (of Sorts)

October 26, 2016 DispatchAfricaTim Sohn

As poachers and oil drills threaten a recently war-torn national park, a team of rangers and scientists send an endangered herd on an epic journey.

Will California Say Bye-Bye to the Plastic Bag for Good This Time?

September 23, 2016 DispatchCaliforniaBecca Cudmore

Two ballot initiatives involving the bag ban are on the ballot this November—but one of them is not what it seems.

A Whale of a Win

May 4, 2016 NRDC in ActionCalifornia, HawaiiNicole Greenfield

How we got the U.S. Navy to finally agree to stop conducting harmful sonar testing in sensitive whale migration and breeding areas.

To Nab Poachers, the Government Is Turning Dead Animals into Robots

April 6, 2016 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

Some of the taxidermied wildlife even poop M&Ms.

California Is Finally Enjoying Some Rainfall—and So Are Its Invasive Species

March 31, 2016 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

The much-needed El Niño downpours might be helping exotic snakes, insects, and plants spread into new areas.

Getting the Lead Out of Gasoline Around the Globe

March 24, 2016 NRDC in ActionUnited States, AfricaPatrick Rogers

How NRDC spearheaded the solution to an “impossible” environmental problem and protected the health of millions of children.