News & Commentary

That Summer When Climate Change Baked Alaska

August 9, 2019 DispatchAlaskaJeff Turrentine

An Anchorage-based wildlife biologist describes what life is like in our northernmost state—one that’s been dramatically altered by rising temperatures.

Giant Wooden Birds Are Flocking to Broadway

August 2, 2019 PerspectivesNew York CityCourtney Lindwall

Nicolas Holiber’s reclaimed-wood sculptures highlight the threat of climate change to avian city-dwellers.

Saving a Rare Plant and Rescuing a River

August 1, 2019 DispatchArizonaTim Vanderpool

The fate of southern Arizona’s embattled San Pedro River could hinge on whether the government acts to protect the nearly extinct Arizona eryngo—and in doing so puts the brakes on groundwater pumping that’s draining the landscape.

Bureau of Land Management to D.C. Employees: Go West or Get Lost

July 26, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The forced relocation of hundreds of staffers is seen by many as a precursor to the agency’s dissolution—and a sell-off of public lands to the states.

After a Century of Being Dammed Up, Illinois Rivers Get to Go With the Flow

July 24, 2019 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Dam removals are setting rapids and fish populations free and keeping swimmers and boaters safer.

Japan Goes Rogue and Resumes Commercial Whaling

July 18, 2019 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

The nation’s departure from the International Whaling Commission was followed immediately by the slaughter of two minke whales.

Out of Sight, Out of Time: The Endangered Species Living Hundreds of Feet Beneath Austin

July 11, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Pollution and the overdrawing of groundwater threaten to wipe out several species of subterranean salamanders.

California Beckons the Gray Wolf—but Can’t Guarantee a Safe Journey There

July 8, 2019 DispatchWest, California, Oregon, WashingtonCorey Binns

The future of wolves in the West depends on collaborative cross-border commitments to protecting this icon of the wild.

Congress Has Been Treating Our National Parks and Waters Funding Like a Piggy Bank for Decades

July 2, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The 55-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund needs to be kept safe from lawmakers who suddenly find themselves strapped for cash.

Livestock and Predators Can Coexist

June 28, 2019 NRDC in Action

NRDC has long collaborated with regional partners, including ranchers, to promote nonlethal methods as an effective alternative to the needless cycles of conflict and killing.

Millions of Songbirds Do Not Need to Suffer Gruesome Deaths So the Olive Industry Can Save a Buck

June 26, 2019 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

A new practice of harvesting olives at night leads to grim mortality statistics for migratory birds in southern Europe.

Mining Oil Shale Would Be Disastrous to Utah’s Rivers, Climate, and Public Health—but the Trump Administration Wants to Do It Anyway

June 21, 2019 DispatchUtahStarre Vartan

NRDC and other environmental and public health groups are suing to stop an extraction project (the first of its kind in the United States) proposed by the Estonian company Enefit.

Why Everybody Is So Excited About 23 Salmon

June 14, 2019 Latest NewsCaliforniaAlisa Opar

After millennia of migrating to and from the sea, Chinook salmon disappeared from California’s San Joaquin River 65 years ago. Now they’re trickling back.

In the Fight Against Climate Change, Humans and Wildlife Are Allies

June 11, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Scientists say we must fight the biodiversity crisis and climate change at the same time.

Gaze Into This Reflecting Pool and See Your Plastic Self

June 6, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesClara Chaisson

Dutch artist Thijs Biersteker’s kinetic installation puts the “I” in plastic pollution.

Fishing in Warming Seas, North Carolinians Trek North to Reel in Their Catch

June 3, 2019 DispatchNorth CarolinaJodi Helmer

As climate change sends fisheries into flux, managers must keep up with the latest science to sustain them.

The Philippines Rallies Behind a “Feisty” Dwarf Buffalo

May 21, 2019 DispatchInternationalJason Bittel

From lowland Filipinos and indigenous groups to international conservation organizations, everyone is getting in line to save the critically endangered tamaraw.

Keeping an Eye on Tench, an Invasive Fish That’s Crept Into the Great Lakes

May 20, 2019 DispatchMidwestLorraine Boissoneault

After finding the species in Lake Ontario last fall, scientists and authorities are trying to get ahead of a possible invasion before it’s too late.

Is Climate Fiction a Subset of Science Fiction—or Something Else Entirely?

May 17, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

A new novel imagines what life in Bangkok would be like if nearly half the city were underwater—which some experts say is a real possibility.

L.A. Takes a Fresh Look at Recycled Water

May 13, 2019 DispatchLos AngelesLauren Evans

Facing dwindling freshwater supplies, the city is ready to stop dumping millions of gallons into the Pacific—and to follow Orange County’s lead.