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.

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America’s Dairyland May Have a PFAS Problem

October 11, 2019 DispatchMidwest, Wisconsin, MaineSusan Cosier

The toxic chemicals have been showing up in milk around the country, prompting midwestern farmers to take a closer look at their land.

Factory Butte Should Stay Off-Limits to Off-Roading

August 1, 2019 Expert BlogUtahJosh Axelrod

NRDC and the Southern Utah Wilderness Association are suing the BLM for ignoring the environmental harms of off-road vehicle use around the iconic Utah landmark.

Bears Ears: A Monument in Name Only

July 26, 2019 Expert BlogUtahBobby McEnaney

This newest management plan released by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) spells out how the remaining 200,000 acres of the monument will be governed. The changes are so sweeping, what currently is known…

Mining Oil Shale Would Be Disastrous to Utah’s Rivers, Climate, and Public Health—but the Trump Administration Wants to Do It Anyway

June 21, 2019 DispatchUtahStarre Vartan

NRDC and other environmental and public health groups are suing to stop an extraction project (the first of its kind in the United States) proposed by the Estonian company Enefit.

Alton Coal Lawsuit: Saving America’s Best Idea from the World’s Worst Idea

April 16, 2019 Expert BlogUtahAnn Alexander

A Utah federal District Court has opened the door for the Biden administration to finally halt the Alton Coal Mine expansion—following a decade-long legal fight to protect public lands near Bryce Canyon National Park.

How the Dairy Industry Is Fouling the Drinking Water of These Wisconsinites

March 6, 2019 DispatchWisconsinAustyn Gaffney

With the manure of one mega-dairy already contaminating the water supply and another operation on the drawing board, Central Sands residents have had enough.

Will China Save the Planet?

November 27, 2018 NRDC in ActionBeijing, ChinaNicole Greenfield

Barbara Finamore, NRDC’s senior strategic director for Asia, witnessed the birth of China’s clean energy movement. Her new book considers its future.

In Utah, Industry Pounces on What Were, Not Long Ago, Our Public Lands

October 10, 2018 DispatchUtahStarre Vartan

Cobalt mining and other interests lay claim to Grand Staircase–Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, rankling local communities tied to these lands.

The Impact a Wisconsin LCD Plant May Have on the Great Lakes Is Not Crystal Clear

April 23, 2018 DispatchWisconsinSusan Cosier

We know Foxconn wants to take water from Lake Michigan, but what might it leave behind?

The Sordid Backstory Behind the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Decisions

March 9, 2018 Latest NewsUtahJeff Turrentine

A lawsuit forced Ryan Zinke’s Interior Department to disclose files relating to the shrinking of national monuments. It’s easy to see why he wanted them to stay hidden.

This Is How We Stand Up to Trump

December 20, 2017 NRDC in ActionUnited States, Washington, D.C., Utah, Michigan, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Meet a handful of the NRDC staffers who resisted Trump’s attacks and defended our environment in 2017—and who won’t stop fighting anytime soon.

Keeping a Close Watch on China’s Climate Transition

November 7, 2017 NRDC in ActionBeijing, Shanghai, ChinaJeff Turrentine

JingJing Qian, senior strategic advisor for NRDC’s China program, is bearing witness to some truly remarkable changes taking place in her home country. She’s also helping to make those changes happen.

Zinke’s Western “Listening Tour” Light on the Listening, Heavy on the Fossil Fuels

May 19, 2017 Latest NewsUtahJeff Turrentine

As the interior secretary ponders the fates of 27 national monuments, he seems to be hearing some voices more acutely than others.

This Ancient Place Just Secured Membership in America’s Culture Club

December 29, 2016 NRDC in ActionUtahNicole Greenfield

Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah will protect some of America’s most striking landscape—and its earliest history.

Manure Is Spilling and Seeping into Wisconsin’s Waterways and Wells

November 17, 2016 DispatchWisconsinSusan Cosier

As the state’s dairy farms get bigger, cow poop is polluting Lake Michigan and people’s drinking water.

The Petcoke Problem: Where to Store the Risky Tar Sands Refining By-Product

November 1, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Canada, Chicago, Detroit, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Virginia

Petroleum coke, typically stored outdoors in big open piles, can blow right into nearby homes and cause serious health problems. Unsurprisingly, communities are fighting Big Oil to keep this noxious material out of their backyards.