News & Commentary

NRDC's Statement on the Derek Chauvin Verdict

April 20, 2021 Expert BlogMinneapolis, MinnesotaNRDC

Today, a Minnesota jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd, the man who cried out for his mother as Chauvin dug his knee into his neck until he couldn’t breathe.

How Cities Are Centering Equity in Benchmarking Policies

April 20, 2021 Expert BlogDenver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, WashingtonCaroline Keicher

A new resource from the City Energy Project—Incorporating Equity into Energy Benchmarking Requirements: Guidance for Policy and Program Practitioners—helps cities understand the opportunity to leverage benchmarking and transparency policies to address racial and social equity.

Fighting Inequity with Solar Power

March 30, 2021 DispatchMinneapolis, St. PaulSusan Cosier

Minneapolis’s 4d program to boost energy efficiency and affordable housing in the city is kicking it up a notch.

Stressed by Heat, Farmworkers Deserve Federal Protections

March 26, 2021 Expert BlogCalifornia, Washington, MinnesotaTeniope Adewumi-Gunn

Unprotected from many basic workplace rights and in the face of a growing climate crisis that threatens their well-being, farmworkers deserve federal safeguards from extreme heat and its dangerous effects.

Memphis & Pittsburgh Make Proclamations to Reduce Food Waste

March 23, 2021 Expert BlogMemphis, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaNina Sevilla

Cities participating in the Food Matters Regional Initiative are making public commitments to reduce food waste, and building leadership, credibility, and community buy-in throughout the process.

High-Road Clean Energy Jobs: The Key to Building Back Better

February 25, 2021 Expert BlogBoston, Charlotte, St. PaulMaria Stamas, Caroline Keicher

Forward-thinking cities should aim to build back better—and more inclusively—by supporting strategies for a more equitable and sustainable future.

Trump's Eleventh Hour Attacks on America's Natural Treasures

December 14, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Utah, Alaska, Minnesota, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, New MexicoSharon Buccino

In his final days, President Trump is selling our public lands and waters to the highest bidder to dig, drill and mine.

Public Health Scientist and Advocate

September 17, 2020 NRDC in ActionIndia, Ahmedabad, Pune, United StatesKeith Mulvihill

Vijay Limaye is pushing for public health safeguards and policy solutions in service of the communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Food Systems Analyst

July 14, 2020 NRDC in ActionBaltimore, Nashville, Denver, Maryland, Tennessee, ColoradoJeff Turrentine

Andrea Spacht Collins is working to minimize food waste by changing the way we think about what we eat—and what we don’t eat, where it comes from, and where it ends up.

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.

Indiana Dunes Finally Gets Its Due, but Conservationists Are Clamoring for More

November 7, 2019 DispatchIndianaSusan Cosier

After a century of advocacy, the Hoosier State has a national park, and its immense popularity is making a case for more protected lakeshore.

Principles for Parks and Equitable Development

August 28, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, MemphisSasha Forbes, AICP

Assets in our communities that offer us increased connectivity, shelter, and planned outdoor spaces can act as triggers that escalate land values which usually price out existing residents, often low-income and people of color, and more often renters. But communities…

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.

This Mayor Puts the “Conserve” Back in Conservative

August 2, 2019 DispatchIndianaJeff Turrentine

Indianan Jim Brainard has been making the post-partisan case for building sustainable, resilient cities for more than 20 years.

After Children Began Getting Sick by the Dozens, Parents Took a Hard Look at Their Town’s Toxic Legacy

May 30, 2019 DispatchIndiana, Massachusetts, North CarolinaSusan Cosier

The carcinogen TCE has been lurking in the ground beneath Franklin, Indiana, for decades. Now families are demanding answers.

A Coal-to-Diesel Refinery Is the Last Straw for These Hoosiers

February 13, 2019 DispatchIndianaSusan Cosier

The air in southwestern Indiana is bad enough without the emissions from yet another proposed polluter.

Minnesotans, It’s Your Turn to Stop the Flow of Tar Sands Oil

January 8, 2019 DispatchMinnesotaSusan Cosier

The Line 3 pipeline project has kept a low profile, but the stakes couldn’t be higher for the indigenous communities it threatens—and our climate.

Hundreds of Workers Who Cleaned Up the Country’s Worst Coal Ash Spill Are Now Sick and Dying

December 17, 2018 DispatchTennesseeAustyn Gaffney

Ten years after the disaster at a Tennessee power plant, the cleanup crew is seeking justice. At the same time, the Trump administration is weakening protections for this toxic pollution.

A Tribe in Northern Minnesota Shows the Country How to Do Community Solar

December 12, 2018 DispatchMinnesotaSusan Cosier

Photovoltaic panels on the Leech Lake reservation are generating clean power—and revenue to help those who need it most.

When We Talk About Wolves, We Talk About People

November 1, 2018 Expert BlogMinnesotaDr. Jennifer Sherry

Separating our human-human conflicts from wolves and placing value on wolves interacting in nature as part of a larger ecosystem is perhaps the most ethical approach we can take in navigating the human-wolf relationship.