News & Commentary

Meet the activists and NRDC staff propelling change, read our expert analysis, and learn about the latest challenges and solutions to advancing a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world.

Aerial view of the National Petroleum Reserve in northwestern Alaska

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

April 19, 2024 Latest NewsAlaskaJenny Shalant

The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.

Two adults and a child walk along a sandy shoreline

“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

April 10, 2024 ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall

These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.

A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

March 11, 2024 ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool

Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

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Survey Looks at Food Donation Client Experience

August 15, 2019 Expert BlogMaryland, BaltimoreMargaret Brown, JoAnne Berkenkamp

Dear Mr. Trump: Don’t Retraumatize Our Communities

August 14, 2019 Expert BlogBaltimore, MarylandStephanie Gidigbi Jenkins

Trump’s comments about Baltimore being dangerous and rat-infested hurts—not just the people of West Baltimore and other neighborhoods like it—but all of us who want a better, healthier, more sustainable and equitable future.

Nurturing Nature on the Southeast Side

August 9, 2019 Expert BlogIllinois, ChicagoGina Ramirez

The Southeast Side, once an industrial capital, is home to a surprising number of beautiful natural preserves: wetlands, forest, and prairie. In order to protect these threatened habitats, there needs to be a shift to a green industrial corridor.

Cities Fight to Keep Courts Open for Claims Against Big Oil

August 1, 2019 Expert BlogCalifornia, Baltimore, Rhode IslandDavid Hawkins, Pete Huffman

Federal appeals courts will soon hear important cases brought by municipal governments grappling with the mounting costs of climate change.

After a Century of Being Dammed Up, Illinois Rivers Get to Go With the Flow

July 24, 2019 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Dam removals are setting rapids and fish populations free and keeping swimmers and boaters safer.

Midwest Floods May Lead Illinois to New Solutions

July 18, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, IllinoisRob Moore

The Midwest floods of 2019 have caused hardship and loss but, Illinois has not seen much in the way of damages. Part of the reason is because Illinois has strong floodplain management regulations, something Governor Pritzker is expected to keep…

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.

Illinois: Fossil Fuel–Free by 2050?

May 1, 2019 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Two new bills could put the Prairie State on the path to 100 percent renewable energy within decades.

The Desire to Stop Canadian Tar Sands Transcends Borders

January 10, 2019 NRDC in ActionAlberta, Canada, Nebraska, Chicago, IllinoisNicole Greenfield

For more than a decade, NRDC has worked with indigenous communities in Alberta, U.S.-based grassroots groups, and intergovernmental bodies to halt the expansion of dirty tar sands oil.

Baltimore Is Poised to Put a Major Dent in Its Food Waste Stream

December 13, 2018 DispatchBaltimore, MarylandNicole Greenfield

The city has developed a bold new food waste management and recovery strategy to protect residents from harmful air pollution, boost its economy, and help feed those most in need.

Crushing Cars Is a Loud, Smelly Business That’s Terrible for Air Quality

October 17, 2018 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

So take it somewhere else, says Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Making Art and Environmental Activism One and the Same

October 5, 2018 NRDC in ActionNew York, Illinois, ChicagoNicole Greenfield

Director of art partnerships Elizabeth Corr is the visionary behind NRDC’s artist-in-residence program, its museum collaborations, and its mission to fuse art and advocacy.

Chicago’s Buildings Need to Help Protect Its River. That Means You Too, Trump Tower.

September 20, 2018 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

The president’s hotel uses more river water than any other building and has been chronically out of compliance with the Clean Water Act.

Illinois Has One Wild and Scenic River—and It’s Contaminated With Coal Ash

August 22, 2018 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Canoers, kayakers, and other citizens have had enough of the purple and orange pollution oozing into the Vermilion from Vistra’s waste pits.

Can We Save the Midwest’s Only Rattlesnake?

July 16, 2018 DispatchMidwest, Michigan, IllinoisSusan Cosier

As the region’s wetlands disappear, so may the swamp rattler.

Illinois EPA Hosts Public Meetings on Volkswagen Plan

May 29, 2018 Expert BlogIllinoisAloysius Makalinao

In addition to reducing emissions, settlement funds from Volkswagen's cheating scandal can be used to transform Illinois' transportation market by facilitating the transition from dirty gasoline to zero-emission electricity.