News & Commentary

Blueprint of a Buyout: Harris County, Texas

September 17, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, TexasAnna Weber

Harris County’s program may be a harbinger of the future, when Americans are displaced by flooding and frustrated by the uncertainties of relocation assistance.

Dorian, Florence, Etc: The World at One Degree of Warming

September 10, 2019 Expert BlogNorth Carolina, South CarolinaRob Moore

Recent flooding and hurricanes have made it clear that climate change is a clear and present danger.

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.

Latin America Can Be a Climate Leader with Better Land Use

August 21, 2019 Expert BlogBrazil, Chile, Mexico, ColombiaCarolina Herrera

One climate priority where Latin America can and must make critical progress and show leadership is land use.

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.

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.

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.

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…

You Can’t Stop the Wind. But These Folks Are Trying Anyway.

April 19, 2019 Latest NewsTexasJeff Turrentine

In Texas, tax breaks for fossil fuels outpace tax breaks for renewables by a rate of two to one. Guess which sector is whining about unfairness?

The Carolinas Face a Climate Trifecta: Floods, Fire, and Heat

January 28, 2019 DispatchNorth Carolina, South CarolinaRobynne Boyd

The National Climate Assessment’s outlook for the two coastal states is daunting, but local leaders are starting to dig in for a fight.

Wind and Solar Are the Final Nails in Coal’s Coffin

January 11, 2019 Latest NewsTexasJeff Turrentine

If you want to know where coal is headed, look no farther than Texas—where this dirty fuel is in its death throes.

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.

Discovery of an Ancient Reef Off South Carolina Is One More Reason Not to Drill the Atlantic

November 19, 2018 DispatchSouth CarolinaRobynne Boyd

The coral system is 85 miles long and has been there for hundreds of thousands of years.

The Oil and Gas Industry Wants Us to Protect It From Climate Change

August 31, 2018 Latest NewsTexasJeff Turrentine

Seriously. It’s asking American taxpayers to fund a 60-mile seawall along the refinery-heavy Texas Gulf Coast.

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.

Help NRDC Save the Vaquita

July 6, 2018 Expert BlogUnited States, MexicoErika Moyer

The South Is Warming Up to Solar

May 11, 2018 DispatchGeorgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, MississippiRobynne Boyd

In the past five years, solar capacity in the South has increased nearly thirtyfold.

Conservation and Community in Laguna San Ignacio

May 3, 2018 Expert BlogMexicoJames Blair

Laguna San Ignacio is one of the last unspoiled nurseries for Pacific gray whales in Baja California Sur, Mexico, where NRDC has partnered with the dedicated local community to protect the area.

Threats to Monarch Butterflies

May 3, 2018 ExplainerMexico, United States, Canada, California

Famous for their elegant colors and transcontinental feats of migration, these beloved pollinators are also in free fall, as habitat loss and heavy use of herbicides jeopardize their future.