News & Commentary

3 E’s: The Top 3 Climate Action Items for VA Leaders in 2020

November 9, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, VirginiaWalton Shepherd

Here’s how Virginia’s new climate and clean energy majority can tackle climate change and energy equity right out of the gate.

America’s Dairyland May Have a PFAS Problem

October 11, 2019 DispatchMidwest, Wisconsin, MaineSusan Cosier

The toxic chemicals have been showing up in milk around the country, prompting midwestern farmers to take a closer look at their land.

Faith's Call to Virginia Climate Action

September 13, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, VirginiaDawone Robinson

Karenna Gore and William Barber, III will moderate a forum on how we can help repair our damaged climate and create solutions.

General Electric’s Coal Plant Profiteering Needs to End Now

September 9, 2019 Expert BlogInternational, AfricaHan Chen

The U.S.-based giant General Electric (GE), wants to carry on quietly with business activities that seriously endanger millions of people and the planet.

Dominion’s Rising Cost to Virginia's Economy and Environment

September 7, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, VirginiaWalton Shepherd

Observers in the energy regulatory world were shocked last week at the finding of a staggering $277 million in overcollections by Dominion, the state’s largest regulated monopoly.

Victory for Imperiled Species at World Wildlife Conference

August 29, 2019 Expert BlogInternational, AfricaZak Smith

African elephants, Asian otters, giraffes, vaquita, rhinos, and sharks win big at World Wildlife Conference.

Giraffes Win International Protections to Limit Their Trade

August 22, 2019 Expert BlogInternational, AfricaElly Pepper

The protections will ensure that all giraffe parts trade were legally acquired instead of from poached giraffes trade by requiring countries to make non-detriment findings before allowing giraffe exports.

Could the Climate Crisis Spell the End for Maine Lobster?

August 19, 2019 DispatchMaineNicole Greenfield

The state’s thriving lobster industry owes a lot to smart fishery conservation measures implemented over the past three decades. But given the Gulf of Maine’s rapid warming, how far can these interventions go?

Will CITES Parties Stick Necks Out for Giraffes at CoP18?

August 6, 2019 Expert BlogAfrica, InternationalElly Pepper

Giraffes receive little international protection even though they face many threats, including habitat loss, disease, international trade in giraffe parts, and hunting trophies.

It’s Groundhog Day for Rhinos at CITES CoP18

August 6, 2019 Expert BlogAfrica, InternationalElly Pepper

At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which takes place August 17-28, the Parties will again vote on whether to legalize the international commercial…

Will CITES CoP18 Help or Hurt Already Struggling Elephants?

August 5, 2019 Expert BlogAfricaElly Pepper

Unfortunately, some countries still fight to resume the ivory trade at almost every CITES meeting and this one is no exception. 

Justice Warrior on the Affordable Energy Front

June 12, 2019 NRDC in ActionVirginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New YorkKaren L. Smith-Janssen

Dawone Robinson is righting the inequities that low-income communities of color face in accessing the benefits of energy efficiency—like more comfortable homes and lower energy bills, for starters.

Offshore Oil Revenue Is a Damaging Deal for Virginia

May 23, 2019 Expert BlogVirginiaJacob Eisenberg

If offshore drilling were expanded as the Trump administration intends, coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems would all suffer. And revenue sharing is not worth those damages.

Call on Virginia's Governor Now to Protect Climate Action

April 19, 2019 Expert BlogVirginiaWalton Shepherd

Virginia just advanced a groundbreaking climate action plan—but pro-polluters are trying to block it.

From Egyptian Tombs to Toxic Corn, There’s More to Environmental Art Than What You See

March 5, 2019 PerspectivesMainePatrick Rogers

A sweeping exhibition of 2,000 years of artworks at Bowdoin College in Maine challenges viewers to reconsider the relationship between art and nature.

Drilling Off VA Coast: An Invitation for Climate Havoc

September 20, 2018 Expert BlogVirginiaFranz Matzner

The public is keenly aware that auctioning off public ocean waters to oil giants is not in the national interest. From catastrophic spills like the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster that oiled the entire Gulf region, to “minor” spills and almost…

Virginians Fly Flags of Resistance in the Fight Against Two Pipelines

August 17, 2018 PerspectivesVirginiaPatrick Rogers

Armed with 1,000 blue pennants—one for each waterway put at risk by the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines—communities are taking up their battle stations.

Northam Brings Virginia's Energy Future into Sharper Focus

August 10, 2018 Expert BlogVirginiaWalton Shepherd

While the Trump administration puts the nation in reverse on cleaning up vehicle pollution, Governor Ralph Northam put the Commonwealth on the road to cleaner energy in announcing yesterday a $14 million investment in electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across…

6 Ways the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines Would Be Bad for Virginia

February 28, 2018 Latest NewsVirginiaCourtney Lindwall

A new report outlines exactly how the two proposed gas pipelines would threaten the state's waterways and reservoirs.

Controversial New Pipelines May Slice Through the Southeast

January 16, 2018 DispatchVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaRobynne Boyd

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline—and the Mountain Valley Pipeline, with a similar path—could tear up land and negatively impact people throughout Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina.