News & Commentary

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.

Canada Invests in the Future of Intact Boreal Forests

August 20, 2019 Expert BlogCanadaJennifer Skene

With the announcement of a CAD $175 million commitment to fund 67 conservation initiatives, the Canadian government has invested in a more sustainable, healthier future by protecting some of its treasured landscapes, including in the boreal forest.

World Wildlife Conference: Last Chance for Vaquita

August 14, 2019 Expert BlogWest, California, MexicoZak Smith

The smallest porpoise species, found only in the northern Gulf of California, Mexico, has only around ten individuals left, making it the most critically endangered marine mammal on the planet.

Revisiting Nahuelbuta (2 of 2)

August 9, 2019 Expert BlogChileAmanda Maxwell

In honor of this year’s United Nations (UN) International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, environmental anthropologist James J. A. Blair revisits ongoing efforts to restore native forests and protect river ecosystems in the Nahuelbuta Mountains, an integral part of…

Revisiting Nahuelbuta (1 of 2)

August 9, 2019 Expert BlogChileAmanda Maxwell

In honor of this year’s United Nations (UN) International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, environmental anthropologist James J. A. Blair revisits ongoing efforts to restore native forests and protect river ecosystems in the Nahuelbuta Mountains, an integral part of…

IPCC Climate Report: Time to Rethink How We Use Forests

August 8, 2019 Expert BlogInternational, CanadaAnthony Swift, Jennifer Skene

The IPCC Special Report on Lands and Climate highlights the central role global intact forests must place in preventing catastrophic climate change and highlights the need to transform how we use our forests. As a starting place, we must stop…

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).

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…

Latin America’s Air Pollution Impacts Climate and Health

June 5, 2019 Expert BlogChile, Columbia, InternationalAmanda Maxwell

Air pollution is the biggest environmental risk for health in the Americas, according to the World Health Organization. The theme of World Environment Day this year is Air Pollution, and this opportunity to highlight the seriousness of the problem could…

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.

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.

Pipeline Update: Victories Pile Up, Delays Grow

March 15, 2019 Expert BlogCanadaJosh Axelrod

Keystone XL faces another setback and NRDC and it's partners score another legal victory against this controversial tar sands project.

Unrolling Charmin’s Sustainability Claims

March 12, 2019 Expert BlogCanadaShelley Vinyard, Jennifer Skene

The toilet paper giant, Charmin, makes a lot of claims about its environmental impact and commitments on its website, but how are they really doing?

Corporate Honesty and Climate Change: Time to Own Up and Act

February 26, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, CanadaJosh Axelrod

Corporate commitments are hiding huge volumes of emissions that corporations should be working hard to reduce. America's tissue sector provides a shocking example of just how far the corporate world needs to go to get serious about climate change.

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.

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.

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.

The Anthropocene—Coming Soon to a Theater (and Museum, and Bookshelf) Near You

November 28, 2018 PerspectivesCanadaClara Chaisson

Three artists have created an entire body of work to get to the heart of the ineffable human epoch.

Meet the Innu Forester Working to Save Canada’s Boreal Forest

September 28, 2018 DispatchCanadaNicole Greenfield

Valérie Courtois is guiding an indigenous-led conservation strategy for one of the world’s last great forests.

Tar Sands Tankers and Consultation Failures Doom Pipeline

August 30, 2018 Expert BlogCanadaJosh Axelrod

In a major win for First Nations, the environment, and our global climate, a Canadian court has struck down the Trudeau government's approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.