News & Commentary

Evidence Mounts in P&G’s Role in Degrading Intact Forests

April 7, 2021 Expert BlogOntario, Quebec, CanadaAshley Jordan, Shelley Vinyard

A new NRDC analysis of Canadian logging companies supplying boreal pulp to the U.S. marketplace is showing just how toilet paper-thin Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) latest claims of sustainability are.

The Celilo Wy'am Are Still Here

March 10, 2021 DispatchOregonNicole Greenfield

Matriarch Lana Jack continues a decades-long fight for federal recognition of her band—and the right to continue living on the lands of her ancestors.

"We Are the Same as the Salmon": A Story of Suffering and Perseverance

December 17, 2020 DispatchWyoming, Idaho, Oregon, WashingtonNicole Greenfield

Thirty years ago, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes led the effort to save Snake River sockeye salmon from extinction. Today, they’re still fighting for the fish’s survival—along with their own.

Ontario Takes an Axe to Environmental Protections

October 7, 2020 Expert BlogCanada, OntarioJennifer Skene

Ontario is rapidly ushering in an era of laissez-faire logging, ceding its forests, wildlife, and public health to the whims and interests of industry.

These Tiny, Treetop-Living, Ewok-Looking Creatures May Be Getting Socially Distanced to Extinction

June 8, 2020 DispatchOregonJason Bittel

Red tree voles spend their whole lives in Oregon’s treetops, but deforestation has cut them off from the rest of their kind.

These Fanciful Sea Creatures Were Carried in on the Tide

June 2, 2020 PerspectivesOregonPatrick Rogers

An Oregon community is making spectacular statues out of ocean plastic to raise awareness about a crisis at sea.

NRDC Sues FERC over Unlawful Jordan Cove LNG Project

May 28, 2020 Expert BlogOregonAnn Alexander, Gillian Giannetti

The liquefied natural gas terminal in Oregon is massively misguided, destructive, and politically driven—so we’re fighting to stop it.

Farmers and Salmon Advocates Agree: It’s Time to Talk about the Snake River Dams

January 2, 2020 DispatchWashington, OregonJodi Helmer

What used to be an idea touted mainly by salmon fishers and environmentalists is bringing around some farmers who’ve long depended on barge shipping to get their crops to market.

Up in Smoke: Oregon Wildfires Cost Billions in Health Harms

October 2, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, OregonJuanita Constible, Dr. Vijay Limaye

New research sheds light on the health costs of climate change.

The Bomb Train Derailment That Sparked a Resistance in the Columbia River Gorge

September 30, 2019 DispatchOregon, CanadaLora Shinn

The fossil fuel industry maintains a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest thanks to its international export activity. But ever since a dangerous rail accident in 2016, local residents have served as a fierce check on its growth.

California Beckons the Gray Wolf—but Can’t Guarantee a Safe Journey There

July 8, 2019 DispatchWest, California, Oregon, WashingtonCorey Binns

The future of wolves in the West depends on collaborative cross-border commitments to protecting this icon of the wild.

Portland Makes Strides to Cut Emissions and Move Beyond Four Wheels

March 4, 2019 DispatchPortland (Oregon)Becca Cudmore

The Rose City, a winner of the American Cities Climate Challenge, will reduce emissions as it revamps its transportation system—part of a new strategic plan called Central City in Motion.

In the Pacific Northwest, Testing Out New Wildfire Defenses on the Front Lines

October 30, 2018 DispatchWest, Washington, OregonLora Shinn

Where quick-spreading fires are the “new normal,” some state officials and communities are willing to try whatever it takes to prevent—or better prepare for—the next big blaze.

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.

A New Approach to Oregon’s Growing Rat Problem

September 5, 2018 DispatchOregonBecca Cudmore

The city of Eugene is testing an unconventional solution to a serious issue, with a ban on feeding a slew of wild animals.

In the Columbia–Snake River Basin, Salmon Are Losing Their Way

July 18, 2018 DispatchWest, Washington, OregonJodi Helmer

As the fish disappear, native peoples are looking for solutions lest they lose a way of life too.

Oregon Has a Poaching Problem—and a Force to Reckon With It

June 8, 2018 DispatchOregonBecca Cudmore

The Beaver State is one of just two in the nation where illegal animal kills are addressed by the police.

The Moss That Saved Portland

February 28, 2017 DispatchPortland (Oregon), OregonBecca Cudmore

Roadside plants helped officials trace the source of a public health crisis and led to new standards for clean air in Oregon.

Oregon Is Having a Tiny Home Boom

February 3, 2017 DispatchOregonBecca Cudmore

Some members of the small-house movement live off the grid—but Oregon’s cities want them to stay on it.

President Obama’s National Monument To-Dos Before He Leaves Office

July 27, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Maine, Arizona, CaliforniaClara Chaisson

From undersea coral canyons to deep northern woods, these seven places deserve to be part of the president’s legacy.