News & Commentary

It’s Groundhog Day for Rhinos at CITES CoP18

August 6, 2019 Expert BlogAfrica, InternationalElly Pepper

At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which takes place August 17-28, the Parties will again vote on whether to legalize the international commercial…

Will CITES CoP18 Help or Hurt Already Struggling Elephants?

August 5, 2019 Expert BlogAfricaElly Pepper

Unfortunately, some countries still fight to resume the ivory trade at almost every CITES meeting and this one is no exception. 

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…

A Journey Through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

March 22, 2019 DispatchArctic, AlaskaClara Chaisson

One of the world’s last pristine wild places is on the front lines of climate change—and threatened by fossil fuel development. These photos speak to why we must fight both.

Army Corps Releases a Slapdash Environmental Review of Alaska’s Pebble Mine

March 1, 2019 Latest NewsAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

But the proposed gold and copper mine’s catastrophic threats to the waterways, salmon, and people of Bristol Bay haven’t changed.

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.

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.

These Alaska Residents Are Watching Their Hometowns Slide Into Rising Waters

October 29, 2018 DispatchAlaskaAlisa Opar

At least 31 villages now face imminent threats from climate change and may have to relocate, at a cost of as much as $200 million each.

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.

A Village in Ecuador’s Amazon Fights for Life as Oil Wells Move In

April 4, 2018 DispatchEcuadorPeter Korn

Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park is home to indigenous people who live in near-total isolation from the rest of the world—and wish to remain that way

Alaska's Previously Defeated Pebble Mine Project Has a New Investor

February 23, 2018 Latest NewsAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

The proposed mine, resurrected by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt last year, now has financial backing from Canada's First Quantum Minerals.

Drilling for Tax Cuts: The Devastating Alaska Provision

December 8, 2017 Latest NewsAlaskaJeff Turrentine

Most Americans, including many congressional Republicans, are strongly opposed to oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. So why is it attached to the tax bill?

These Southern Cities Are Going 100 Percent Clean (Energy)

October 23, 2017 DispatchAtlanta, Georgia, Columbia, South Carolina, Orlando, St. Petersburg, FloridaRobynne Boyd

Here’s how they’re getting started.

The Fight to Keep Oil and Gas Rigs Out of Our Waters. For Good.

October 3, 2017 NRDC in ActionAlaska, Florida, California, Washington, United StatesMelissa Denchak

NRDC played a key role in banning offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. Once again, it’s fighting to protect those oceans—and the rest of America’s waters.

Dear Pebble Mine: No Still Means No

August 22, 2017 Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Backers of the Pebble Mine—a giant gold and copper mine proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay’s legendary salmon runs—continue to ignore the will of the people of Bristol Bay, whose overwhelming opposition to the mine has not wavered in…

Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic? “That’s Not Who We Are.”

July 24, 2017 DispatchEast, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, GeorgiaRobynne Boyd

Southern communities prefer their coastlines sandy, beautiful, and bountiful—not filled with rigs and air guns blasting ships or covered in oil.

The South Needs the Clean Water Rule

April 18, 2017 DispatchSouth Carolina, GeorgiaRobynne Boyd

For drinking water, flood control, climate defense, habitat protection, fishing, swimming, and, of course, craft beer.

Where We Drill, We Spill: Commemorating Exxon Valdez

March 24, 2017 Expert BlogAlaskaFranz Matzner

What’s It Like to Be the Artist-in-Residence at America’s Least Visited National Park?

March 1, 2017 PerspectivesArctic, AlaskaClara Chaisson

“Awful,” says writer and painter Ben Shattuck―but in the good way.

Like Much of the Arctic in 2016, These Ice Murals Melted Away

January 5, 2017 PerspectivesArcticClara Chaisson

An Inuit woman’s portrait on vanishing sea ice is a powerful metaphor for climate change’s cultural toll.