News & Commentary

Bernhardt’s Bay-Delta Plan Runs into a Problem: Science

June 12, 2019 Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi

To Become a Less Car-Centric City, San Diego Takes Aim at Parking Lot Quotas

June 5, 2019 DispatchSan DiegoBecca Cudmore

In addition to cutting carbon pollution, Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s climate initiatives could give a boost to public transit and affordable housing options.

Protecting California Waters From Oil: AB 936 Advances

June 4, 2019 Expert BlogCaliforniaJosh Axelrod

An important piece of oil spill legislation is moving through the California legislature that will help the state respond more effectively to spills of non floating oil.

How to Do High Road Infrastructure: 10 Lessons from L.A.

May 15, 2019 Expert BlogLos AngelesDouglass Sims

In honor Infrastructure Week, guest blogger Dena Belzer, CEO of Strategic Economics reports out on her conversation with Cris Liban of LA Metro, on lessons learned for planning, designing, building and operating High Road infrastructure.

L.A. Takes a Fresh Look at Recycled Water

May 13, 2019 DispatchLos AngelesLauren Evans

Facing dwindling freshwater supplies, the city is ready to stop dumping millions of gallons into the Pacific—and to follow Orange County’s lead.

California Lunchrooms May Soon Serve Up Organics

May 7, 2019 DispatchCaliforniaCorey Binns

A state bill promises organic food to students—and benefits for local farmers and farmworkers, too.

Overcoming an Industrial Legacy in L.A.’s Pacoima District

March 18, 2019 DispatchLos AngelesCorey Binns

Local environmental justice groups get a boost from the city’s Clean Up Green Up policy, which brings green zoning to three heavily polluted communities.

Facing Future Threats: AB 936 Tackles Non-Floating Oil

February 26, 2019 Expert BlogCaliforniaJosh Axelrod

California could see a huge influx of non-floating oils brought in on ocean tankers in the coming years. State legislators are trying to get the state prepared.

A Big Step Forward in Debate Over LA’s Clean Energy Future

February 12, 2019 Expert BlogLos AngelesMichele Knab Hasson

Mayor Eric Garcetti reaffirmed Los Angeles’ commitment to securing a carbon- and pollution-free energy future for Angelenos in a groundbreaking announcement today that the nation’s largest municipal utility will not be moving forward with a controversial plan to rebuild three…

Will State Agencies Let CA's Bay-Delta Estuary Get Trumped?

January 28, 2019 Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi

On January 31, the Trump Administration is scheduled to release its new proposal for the operations of the federal Central Valley Project and State Water Project under the Endangered Species Act (known as a biological assessment). It’s widely expected that…

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.

The Festering Sanitation Crisis at Our Border

December 3, 2018 DispatchArizona, Mexico, CaliforniaTim Vanderpool

As the Trump administration ratchets up its rhetoric demanding billions for a wall, American communities along the Mexico border are in need of basic services, like reliable sewage treatment.

In Long Beach, Touring a Toxic Neighborhood on Bike

October 24, 2018 DispatchLong Beach, CaliforniaCorey Binns

Residents who live near the country’s busiest ports are getting a new lens on the pollution in their backyards, and new tactics to help fight it.

The Message from Last Week’s Climate Summit Is Clear

September 17, 2018 Expert BlogSan FranciscoRhea Suh

In San Francisco, leaders made unprecedented commitments to fighting global climate change, invigorating the movement, and sending a strong signal to President Trump that, despite his efforts, he won’t stop our progress.

California Legislative Roundup, September 2018

September 12, 2018 Expert BlogCaliforniaVictoria Rome

A Decade on the California Delta

September 12, 2018 DispatchCaliforniaDarcy Eveleigh

Photographer Max Whittaker shows us the many faces of the delta, including its strange and fascinating history and the challenges complicating its future.

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.

CA Legislature Passes Two Historic Clean Heating Bills

August 30, 2018 Expert BlogCaliforniaPierre Delforge, Merrian Borgeson

In a timely move in these times of historic wildfires and smoky days, California has taken a big step toward reducing carbon emissions and air pollution from heating and hot water in homes and buildings.

The Paris Agreement’s Next Act, Now in San Francisco

August 14, 2018 NRDC in ActionSan Francisco, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

NRDC is working to help make the Global Climate Action Summit a success by inspiring more ambitious commitments to the historic 2015 agreement and enhanced pollution-slashing initiatives.

Court: EPA Must Regulate Harmful Runoff Pollution in L.A.

August 13, 2018 Expert BlogLos AngelesBecky Hammer

A federal district court in Los Angeles has ordered the EPA to regulate harmful runoff pollution from commercial, industrial, and institutional sites in two Southern California watersheds.