News & Commentary

Compost Matters—But Food Matters More

December 3, 2020 Expert BlogBaltimore, United StatesYvette Cabrera

With food waste reduction in mind, the Baltimore Food Matters team created a resource that could serve as a reminder to be cognizant of food waste, what we can do to prevent it, and how anyone can compost locally.

An Ally in the Fight for Safe, Affordable Drinking Water for All

November 30, 2020 NRDC in ActionDetroit, Illinois, Flint, Chicago, MichiganNicole Greenfield

Detroit native Jeremy Orr combines his personal experience and community organizing roots with his legal expertise to help communities of color in Michigan and Illinois dismantle environmental racism.

States Keep Steady Course on HFC Regulations

October 30, 2020 Expert BlogMaryland, CaliforniaChristina Theodoridi

New York and Maryland adopted bans on HFC-containing products and equipment.

Environmental Justice in Chicago: It’s Been One Battle After Another

October 29, 2020 PerspectivesChicagoKeith Mulvihill

Cheryl Johnson and Peggy Salazar have been speaking out against pollution and environmental injustice for decades, but the city of Chicago sees their South Side neighborhoods as sacrifice zones. They are demanding change.

Vote “Yes” on Nevada Question 6

October 26, 2020 Expert BlogNevadaDylan Sullivan

Whether we vote by mail, early, or in-person on Election Day, Nevadans have a lot to consider this fall.

Chicago Takes a New Step Toward Renewable Energy

September 4, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Illinois, ChicagoStefan Schaffer, Jay Orfield

Chicago is taking an exciting step toward renewable energy for the city’s buildings by announcing a Request for Proposals.

The Big Muddy River’s Long, Turbulent Relationship with Coal

August 14, 2020 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

As a proposal threatens to dump mining waste into a Mississippi River tributary, an Illinois community reassesses its coal industry ties.

A Mentor for Diversity in the Environmental Movement

August 10, 2020 DispatchChicagoStephanie Valera

Through his work with the RAY Clean Energy Diversity Fellows, Charlie Espedido is helping to change the face of the movement and create pathways for young environmental leaders of color.

Illinois’ Recovery Starts with the Clean Energy Jobs Act

July 29, 2020 Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey

The Clean Energy Jobs Act is an essential part of Illinois’ economic recovery. It protects public health and creates good-paying jobs, while ensuring that the people most in need of good jobs and clean air are at the front of…

Don’t Bomb the Bighorn

July 24, 2020 Expert BlogNevadaHelen O'Shea

Nevadans won’t stand by as the future of their public lands is hijacked by out-of-state interests.

What Does a Just Recovery Look Like for Illinois?

July 16, 2020 Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey

Our economic recovery will ask this unavoidable question: will we double down on the old system—a fossil-fueled, profoundly unequal system that leaves many of us sick and impoverished, and leads us towards climate catastrophe? Or will we learn from our…

The Deadly Chicago Heat Wave Is As Relevant to Racial Justice Today As It Was 25 Years Ago

July 15, 2020 PerspectivesChicagoKeala Uchoa

The documentary “Cooked: Survival by Zip Code” examines the unnatural disasters of environmental and structural racism.

Voces for Climate Action

July 14, 2020 NRDC in ActionChicago, Illinois, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

NRDC staffers are helping to build environmental equity and empower Latino voices for climate action—a cause that hits close to home.

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.

Pritzker, Lightfoot: Stop Passing the Buck on Enviro Justice

July 8, 2020 Expert BlogChicagoMeleah Geertsma

On June 25, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (“IEPA”) granted an air permit that will enable the relocation of a notorious metal shredding operation from Chicago’s wealthy and largely white Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side environmental justice community. In…

Why Illinois Needs a New “Normal”

July 8, 2020 Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey

Illinois can’t go back to the old “normal,” but as we recover from coronavirus, we can chart a new path forward that centers equity and sustainability.

Pollution Strikes Again on the Southeast Side

July 2, 2020 Expert BlogChicagoGina Ramirez

The EPA has begun remediation of another nearby ballfield, this time because of shockingly high levels of lead and arsenic in the soil that require immediate removal.

Alabama’s Waterways, Wildlife, and Recreation Are Up a Creek with Trump’s “Dirty Water Rule”

June 29, 2020 DispatchAlabamaRobynne Boyd

The rollback jeopardizes the streams that flow into the state’s rivers, lakes, and bays, millions of acres of wetlands across the country, and the drinking water supply.

Nevada Accelerates on Clean Cars

June 22, 2020 Expert BlogNevadaPatricia Valderrama, Noah Long

Governor Sisolak’s administration took a vital step today to reduce climate-warming and health-harming pollution from cars and trucks: initiating a Clean Cars rulemaking.

Don't Bring General Iron's Mess Down to the Southeast Side

June 9, 2020 Expert BlogChicagoGina Ramirez

Despite the links between air pollution and higher rates of COVID-19 deaths, Chicago’s most vulnerable are still being put in harm's way by the city’s dirtiest industrial facilities.