News & Commentary

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.

For Thousands of Years, Indigenous Tribes Have Been Planting for the Future

November 30, 2021 DispatchIowa, Canada, Pennsylvania, OklahomaSusan Cosier

With yields of biodiversity and a more climate-resilient food supply, a movement is sprouting in BIPOC communities across North America to save heirloom seeds and preserve culture.

How to Stop a Highway

November 19, 2021 DispatchHouston, Texas, United StatesTim Vanderpool

Houston activists fuel a growing movement to increasingly center environmental justice in infrastructure and protect urban neighborhoods from endlessly expanding road projects.

Through a Solar Transformation, a Former Landfill Is Poised to Become a Community Lifeline

September 28, 2021 DispatchHoustonMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Sunnyside, Houston—a neighborhood that recently registered the city’s highest unemployment rate—residents are preparing for an influx of jobs to come from the Sunnyside Energy Community Solar project.

The South’s Clean Energy Disruption

August 17, 2021 DispatchFlorida, Texas, MemphisRobynne Boyd

The region’s heritage of fossil fuels falters as clean energy rises in its place.

"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.

A Champion for Equitable and Sustainable Infrastructure

December 3, 2020 NRDC in ActionLos Angeles, PhiladelphiaShelia Hu

Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins is pushing for public policy solutions that address social equity and climate justice while strengthening access to reliable transportation, affordable housing, and open spaces.

Urban Innovator

June 30, 2020 NRDC in ActionCharlotte, North Carolina, St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Paul, Minnesota, Austin, TexasKeith Mulvihill

Through her work in the buildings sector, Wendy Lee helps propel cities into a fairer and more energy-efficient future.

San Antonio Finds the Key to Flood Control in Its Gardens

December 23, 2019 DispatchSan Antonio, TexasAnne N. Connor

As climate change brings heavier rains, local officials and developers are managing the deluge of stormwater runoff with some low-tech—and pretty—solutions.

As the Amazon Burns, Jaguars Burn With It

October 1, 2019 DispatchBrazilJason Bittel

How Brazil’s blazes are devastating for these big cats—and for so, so, so much more.

Showing Migrating Monarch Butterflies Some Southern Hospitality

August 26, 2019 DispatchMexico, Texas, HoustonRobynne Boyd

Non-native tropical milkweed fuels monarchs on their journey through southern states, but when cooler weather hits, the plant can bring parasites and starvation. Here’s what butterfly-loving southerners can do.

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.

How Austin Plans to Grow—Without Adding More Cars to Its Roads

July 17, 2019 DispatchAustin, TexasMike Clark-Madison

By tackling transit, ride sharing, and more, the Texas capital hopes to embrace its big-city identity.

Justice Warrior on the Affordable Energy Front

June 12, 2019 NRDC in ActionVirginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New YorkKaren L. Smith-Janssen

Dawone Robinson is righting the inequities that low-income communities of color face in accessing the benefits of energy efficiency—like more comfortable homes and lower energy bills, for starters.

These Texans Are Sick of Chemical Fires and Toxic Spills in Their Backyard

June 11, 2019 DispatchTexasTim Vanderpool

A community along the Houston Ship Channel ramps up its fight against heavy industry and lax oversight after another petrochemical factory blaze closes local schools and causes a spike in respiratory illness.

The Student Activist Fighting Pittsburgh’s Dirty Industry

May 23, 2019 DispatchPittsburghCourtney Lindwall

Anaïs Peterson is busy organizing, educating, and ushering in a new era of environmentalism in the Steel City.

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.

Laurie Goodrich Tracks Raptors by the Thousands From a Lookout in the Appalachians

November 13, 2018 DispatchPennsylvaniaKeith Mulvihill

This wildlife biologist has seen some surprising trends while counting birds of prey on Pennsylvania’s Hawk Mountain over the past 30 years.

Climate Change Is Worsening Houston’s Housing Crisis

August 8, 2018 DispatchHouston, TexasTim Vanderpool

Since Hurricane Harvey, homelessness has gone up, some public housing residents are living in severely damaged homes, and others have been cast out to remote suburbs—to the detriment of local well-being and the economy.

For the Delaware River Basin, a Partial Fracking Ban Is a Partial Victory

January 11, 2018 DispatchDelaware, New York, Pennsylvania

Proposed regulations would still allow wastewater to be disposed of in the watershed, with risks to both drinking water and the environment.