News & Commentary

This Is What a Just Transition Looks Like

March 2, 2020 ExplainerUnited States, Peoria, IllinoisBrian Palmer

To help a community leave its dirty energy economy behind, advocates must fight for local representation, equity, and retraining that prepares workers for high-quality jobs.

What Does the Plastic Bag Ban Mean for New Yorkers?

February 27, 2020 ExplainerNew York, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

Here’s everything you need to know before plastic carryout bags disappear from the Empire State on March 1.

International Analyst

January 31, 2020 NRDC in ActionInternationalJeff Turrentine

Han Chen, energy policy manager in NRDC’s International Program, keeps the big picture in view as she works to advance a global clean energy transition.

With Family Roots in the Mines, He’s Championing Illinois’s Clean Energy Future

January 31, 2020 NRDC in ActionMichigan, Illinois, Chicago, PeoriaNicole Greenfield

With grassroots groups and other partners, J. C. Kibbey is fighting for one of the country’s most ambitious climate bills—and a just transition away from coal.

A Fearless Defender for Our Future

January 6, 2020 NRDC in ActionBoston, Washington, D.C., United StatesJeff Turrentine

President and CEO Gina McCarthy started out as a public health agent in small-town Massachusetts, rose to become head of the EPA under Obama, and now guides NRDC into its next chapter.

Indiana Dunes Finally Gets Its Due, but Conservationists Are Clamoring for More

November 7, 2019 DispatchIndianaSusan Cosier

After a century of advocacy, the Hoosier State has a national park, and its immense popularity is making a case for more protected lakeshore.

We Need a Just Transition—Because We Should Abandon Coal, Not Coal Workers

October 18, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

Taking care of those communities distressed by the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy is an economic and ethical imperative.

The World’s Beauty and Destruction—Bound Together

October 8, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesPatrick Rogers

With thread, plastic, and reams of climate data, textile artist Tali Weinberg displays our dangerous entanglement with the fossil fuel industry.

New Mexico Has a Methane Cloud Visible by Satellite. It Also Has Bold Climate Plans.

October 2, 2019 DispatchNew MexicoTim Vanderpool

As greenhouse gasses fill the sky, a progressive governor and worried residents take on oil and gas—the state’s most powerful industry.

The Bomb Train Derailment That Sparked a Resistance in the Columbia River Gorge

September 30, 2019 DispatchOregon, CanadaLora Shinn

The fossil fuel industry maintains a strong presence in the Pacific Northwest thanks to its international export activity. But ever since a dangerous rail accident in 2016, local residents have served as a fierce check on its growth.

In Colorado’s High Desert, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Goes Solar

September 26, 2019 DispatchColoradoStarre Vartan

The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is working to free itself from fossil fuel dependency—and preparing to help solarize the rest of the state, too.

The Fight to End Offshore Drilling Is Bipartisan

September 9, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

Because everyone can stand behind clean beaches, thriving coastal economies, and healthy fisheries.

Coal Ash Is Hazardous. Coal Ash Is Waste. But According to the EPA, Coal Ash Is Not “Hazardous Waste.”

September 6, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

And the coal industry is more than happy to keep things that way.

The Conniving at the EPA Has Gotten Kafkaesque

July 19, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The agency aims to stop citizens from challenging pollution permits—while continuing to allow challenges from polluters who want to pollute more.

In Other News, Renewables Just Passed Coal on the Energy Capacity Racetrack

June 21, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

We’ve just crossed a major threshold, and renewables' lead is expected only to widen.

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.

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.

The Natural Gas Industry Has a Methane Problem

June 7, 2019 ExplainerUnited States, LouisianaJeff Turrentine

Oil and gas operations leak this potent greenhouse gas far more than previously thought, and (par for the course) the Trump administration is making the situation worse.

Battered by Floods, Nebraskans Worry About Pipeline Spills

May 28, 2019 DispatchNebraskaCourtney Lindwall

Historic flooding recently inundated parts of the Cornhusker State where the proposed Keystone XL pipeline would pass through. Here’s why that’s a disaster in the making.

The Student Activist Fighting Pittsburgh’s Dirty Industry

May 23, 2019 DispatchPittsburghCourtney Lindwall

Anaïs Peterson is busy organizing, educating, and ushering in a new era of environmentalism in the Steel City.