News & Commentary

A Small Town in Mississippi Battles the International Biomass Industry

November 2, 2026 DispatchMississippi, United KingdomClara Chaisson

When the Drax wood pellet plant came to Gloster, reports of lung disease soon followed.

Is Bamboo Always Sustainable?

October 26, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesShelia Hu

This versatile plant is popping up in more and more consumer products, but when it comes to eco-friendly shopping, the details matter.

Toilet Paper Shouldn’t Come with Human Rights Abuses

September 15, 2026 DispatchCanadaJenny Shalant

The legacy of mercury poisoning in the Grassy Narrows community within the Canadian boreal is just one egregious example of the tissue industry harming Indigenous People.

The Fight Against This NYC Area Pipeline Is Not Over

September 10, 2026 DispatchNew York, New JerseyCourtney Lindwall

Constructing the offshore NESE pipeline would pollute waterways and come with higher energy bills for New Yorkers.

America’s Troubled Waters

September 4, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesJ. J. Starr

From prairie potholes to transboundary rivers, the country’s waterways are suffering from a slew of policies that make it easier to pollute.

Our Public Lands Are on the Chopping Block Again

August 21, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, Utah, AlaskaTim Vanderpool

Another assault on America’s natural heritage puts cultures, wildlife, tourism, and our climate at risk.

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest at Risk Once Again

August 19, 2026 NRDC in ActionAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

After a quarter century of fighting to keep these wild lands and others safe from road construction and logging, NRDC’s battle for the Roadless Rule presses on.

Why Are the Feds Leasing Public Lands to Big Oil for So Cheap?

August 3, 2026 ExplainerNevada, United StatesShelia Hu

In the sunny Southwest, oil and gas companies can get an acre for as low as $10, while solar companies can barely get a scrap.

Offshore Wind Can Power the Future (If We Just Let It)

June 29, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesSusan Cosier

Despite Trump administration policies to block renewable energy development, there’s more electricity coming from the wind than ever.

The AI Boom Is Stressing the Grid—but It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

June 24, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall, Jenny Shalant

There are ways we can avoid blackouts, sky-high energy bills, and climate backpedaling when powering AI data centers.

A Snorkeler’s-Eye View of the Gulf of California

June 1, 2026 NRDC in ActionMexicoJoel Reynolds

These photos that NRDC captured—of whales, porpoises, rays, and a dazzling array of reef fish—underscore what’s at stake as we resist the latest attempts to industrialize the “Aquarium of the World.”

From Whales to Walruses, Sea Mammals Are Under Attack—and So Is the Law That Protects Them

May 21, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesShelia Hu

In yet another attack on science, Congress is proposing to dismantle the Marine Mammal Protection Act, all while the bycatch crisis worsens.

Blue Whales Ply the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts; Industry Could Soon Too

May 8, 2026 DispatchUnited States, EastJason Bittel

The first-ever sightings of the earth’s largest animals in these waters come as the Trump administration opens the marine national monument to destructive commercial fishing.

Deep-Sea Mining: What’s at Stake

May 1, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesSusan Cosier, Shelia Hu

Highly sought-after mineral resources lie in the ocean depths. But so does a world we could destroy before ever understanding it.

A Fund for Cleaning Up Coal Mining’s Toxic Legacy Dries Up

April 27, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, Pennsylvania, Illinois, West VirginiaSusan Cosier

As rural communities seek to move on from polluted pasts, funds to address thousands of abandoned mines and wells are coming up short. 

The Endangered Species Act Under Attack

March 19, 2026 ExplainerUnited StatesJason Bittel

The Trump administration takes aim at imperiled wildlife and the public servants who help protect them.

Senate Vote Will Decide Fate of the Boundary Waters

February 9, 2026 PerspectivesMinnesotaDavid Doniger

The U.S. Senate will vote this week on whether to allow dangerous sulfide-ore copper mining on the edges of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness—a place where my family’s roots go back more than a century.

Another Alarm Call from the Arctic: Its Rivers Are Turning Orange

January 27, 2026 DispatchArcticClara Chaisson

The once clean and clear waterways are rusting, a visually striking example of the catastrophic—and sometimes unpredictable—impacts of global climate change.

Yes, Climate Wins Are Still Happening! Let’s Keep It Up in 2026.

December 22, 2025 NRDC in ActionUnited States, InternationalShelia Hu

Despite the science denialism of federal leaders, on the ground, we’ve continued to make strides for cleaner air, threatened wildlife and wildlands, and community resilience.

The Arctic in Peril: The Story Behind One of TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2025

December 16, 2025 DispatchArcticMelissa Mahony

As the Trump administration seeks to expand drilling and mining in northern Alaska, a photographer captures a glimpse of one of earth’s last great wild spaces.