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.

Latest News

Stay on top of the latest research, policy updates, publication releases, and environmental news.

Explainer

Get a breakdown of complex climate, public health, nature, and equity topics to inform your activism.

Dispatch

Read about activists tackling climate justice and other environmental causes in their communities and beyond.

Perspectives

Discover intersectional viewpoints from activists and artists on the environmental issues of the moment.

NRDC in Action

Find out how NRDC protects people and the planet by learning about some of our key fights.

Expert Blogs

Hear from our policy advocates, scientists, and litigators about the challenges and solutions for building a healthier and more just world.

Viewing 1 - 16 of 16

Filter Results

In the Melting Arctic, a Reckoning to Save Indigenous Culture, Narwhals, and a Silent Sea

September 22, 2022 DispatchArcticBill Donahue

As a mining company seeks to ship millions of tons more of iron ore through caribou and narwhal habitat, good science requires the input of the Inuit.

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.

Gibbstown LNG Terminal: A Catastrophe Waiting to Happen

April 13, 2022 DispatchGibbstown, New Jersey, PennsylvaniaNicole Greenfield

Imagine hundreds of trucks and train cars filled with highly explosive fuel coming through your community every day. These Pennsylvanians and New Jerseyans are fighting to extinguish the project—for good.

An Environmental Justice Advocate Inspires Others to Become Agents of Change

February 22, 2022 DispatchNewark, New JerseyKyler Sumter

Yvette Jordan is teaching communities impacted by environmental injustice about the power of speaking up.

Alaska Natives Lead a Unified Resistance to the Pebble Mine

April 20, 2021 DispatchAlaskaNicole Greenfield

The effort to stop a massive mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, has been a decades-long fight for the region’s Indigenous People. Five tribal leaders share their experiences.

A Garden Grows in Newark—and a Community Grows Around It

February 7, 2020 DispatchNewarkJeff Turrentine

How an urban farm became an anchor for the city’s South Ward.

That Summer When Climate Change Baked Alaska

August 9, 2019 DispatchAlaskaJeff Turrentine

An Anchorage-based wildlife biologist describes what life is like in our northernmost state—one that’s been dramatically altered by rising temperatures.

Inside the Fight for Clean Water in Newark

May 21, 2019 DispatchNewark, New JerseyCourtney Lindwall

Denials and delays from city officials have failed to keep residents safe from high levels of lead in their drinking water. These community organizers are busy picking up the slack.

Industry Surrounds Newark’s Ironbound Neighborhood—But These Residents Won’t Let It Define Them

April 1, 2019 DispatchNewark, New JerseyCaroline Craig

The tireless efforts of locals are reshaping one of New Jersey’s most polluted areas.

A Journey Through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

March 22, 2019 DispatchArctic, AlaskaClara Chaisson

One of the world’s last pristine wild places is on the front lines of climate change—and threatened by fossil fuel development. These photos speak to why we must fight both.

These Alaska Residents Are Watching Their Hometowns Slide Into Rising Waters

October 29, 2018 DispatchAlaskaAlisa Opar

At least 31 villages now face imminent threats from climate change and may have to relocate, at a cost of as much as $200 million each.

These New Jerseyans Want to Bring “Bomb Trains” to a Halt

July 23, 2018 DispatchNew JerseyNicole Greenfield

Trains carrying combustible crude oil barrel on rickety rails through the Garden State, threatening the safety of millions of people—and their drinking water—every single day.

Before Flint, Before East Chicago, There Was Smeltertown

November 29, 2016 DispatchFlint, Indiana, Texas, NewarkLauren Villagran

After a 1970s CDC study showed that the mostly Mexican-American population of this Texas town had dangerously high blood lead levels, its buildings were demolished and its residents were booted.