News & Commentary

What Will Protect Ohio’s Critical Infrastructure?

September 30, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, OhioDaniel Sawmiller

Proponents of Senate Bill 33 believe it protects critical energy infrastructure but the bill would not address the real threats to energy resilience.

Blueprint of a Buyout: Harris County, Texas

September 17, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, TexasAnna Weber

Harris County’s program may be a harbinger of the future, when Americans are displaced by flooding and frustrated by the uncertainties of relocation assistance.

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.

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.

Showing Migrating Monarch Butterflies Some Southern Hospitality

August 26, 2019 DispatchMexico, Texas, HoustonRobynne Boyd

Non-native tropical milkweed fuels monarchs on their journey through southern states, but when cooler weather hits, the plant can bring parasites and starvation. Here’s what butterfly-loving southerners can do.

The Ohio River Defines the Borders of Five States—But Its Pollution Doesn’t Stop at State Lines

August 21, 2019 DispatchPennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, IllinoisSusan Cosier

In a move that could open the door to industrial waste and interstate squabbles, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission is making its water quality standards voluntary.

How Austin Plans to Grow—Without Adding More Cars to Its Roads

July 17, 2019 DispatchAustin, TexasMike Clark-Madison

By tackling transit, ride sharing, and more, the Texas capital hopes to embrace its big-city identity.

Columbus Makes Its Historically Disadvantaged Neighborhoods a Key to Its Climate Future

July 9, 2019 DispatchColumbus, OhioSarah Stankorb

Self-driving shuttles and energy audits are helping to keep this Ohio boomtown booming (without the carbon bust).

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.

These Texans Are Sick of Chemical Fires and Toxic Spills in Their Backyard

June 11, 2019 DispatchTexasTim Vanderpool

A community along the Houston Ship Channel ramps up its fight against heavy industry and lax oversight after another petrochemical factory blaze closes local schools and causes a spike in respiratory illness.

American Cities Climate Challenge PACE Roundtable in NYC

June 5, 2019 Expert BlogGeorgia, Atlanta, Ohio, Columbus, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Texas, San AntonioPhilip Smith

Riding a strong tailwind from recent climate and sustainability legislative successes, earlier this month, the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge brought its PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) Financing Cohort to New York for an intensive, dialogue-driven Roundtable with the four…

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.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and NRDC Confront Federal Failures

May 17, 2019 Expert BlogNorth Dakota, South DakotaDr. Jennifer Sass

What Can Green Groups, Labor Unions, Veterans, and a Coal Mining Exec All Get Behind? Solar Power in Appalachian Ohio.

May 14, 2019 NRDC in ActionOhioCourtney Lindwall

Dan Sawmiller, NRDC’s Ohio energy policy director, forms unexpected alliances to build out renewables in the Buckeye State.

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.

You Can’t Stop the Wind. But These Folks Are Trying Anyway.

April 19, 2019 Latest NewsTexasJeff Turrentine

In Texas, tax breaks for fossil fuels outpace tax breaks for renewables by a rate of two to one. Guess which sector is whining about unfairness?

Ohio Gains Ground on a Hidden Hazard: More Than a Century’s Worth of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells

March 26, 2019 DispatchOhioAustyn Gaffney

Forgotten, derelict, and often leaky, these so-called orphan wells could number in the thousands.

Wind and Solar Are the Final Nails in Coal’s Coffin

January 11, 2019 Latest NewsTexasJeff Turrentine

If you want to know where coal is headed, look no farther than Texas—where this dirty fuel is in its death throes.

Ohio Communities Are Becoming a Dumping Ground for the Fracking Industry

December 3, 2018 DispatchOhioAustyn Gaffney

Earthquakes, spills, and groundwater contamination—wastewater wells come with many risks and few rewards for Trumbull County residents.

How Did Farmer Brown Bring His Dying Land Back From the Brink?

September 28, 2018 PerspectivesNorth DakotaJeff Turrentine

By focusing on soil health, this North Dakota rancher didn’t just save the family homestead—he made it flourish.