News & Commentary

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.

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. 

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.

To Speed Up Climate Progress, Support for Developing Countries Is Key

January 28, 2026 ExplainerInternationalCourtney Lindwall, Shelia Hu

Here’s why follow-through on a $100 billion–per–year climate finance promise, from collecting data to determining success, remains complex but critical.

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.

The Attacks on Science Continue—This Time at the USGS

September 25, 2025 ExplainerUnited StatesSusan Cosier

From sea level rise to bee populations, the agency’s wildlife and climate programs shed light on the world around us.

The Uinta Basin Railway Would Be a Bigger Carbon Bomb Than Willow

August 6, 2025 DispatchUtah, Colorado, United StatesNicole Greenfield

The project could sabotage U.S. climate goals, send oil-filled trains along the Colorado River, and pollute the air from Utah to the Gulf Coast.

What the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA Ruling Means for Wetlands and Other Waterways

March 24, 2025 ExplainerUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

How the twisting of words in the Clean Water Act spells disaster.

How Melting Ice Affects People and the Planet

November 5, 2024 ExplainerInternationalSusan Cosier

Across the world, thawing landscapes, seascapes, and freshwater reserves are reshaping environments and lives for the communities that rely on them.

What the Latest SCOTUS Decisions Mean for Our Climate

October 17, 2024 ExplainerUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

Some recent climate wins have emerged from the Supreme Court’s interventions. But a wave of consequential rulings for the EPA and other federal regulators will continue to challenge environmental progress.

What Will It Take to Tackle Water Scarcity on the Navajo Nation?

September 26, 2024 DispatchArizona, New Mexico, UtahBill Donahue

With contaminated wells, climate-fueled drought, and limited access to safe water sources, a study seeks solutions—and perspective—from the reservation’s residents. 

Protecting Biodiversity Means Saving the Bogs (and Peatlands, Swamps, Marshes, Fens…)

April 23, 2024 ExplainerUnited StatesJason Bittel

Wetlands cover just 6 percent of the planet’s land area but provide habitat for 40 percent of wildlife.

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

March 11, 2024 ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool

Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.

Water Is Life—from Standing Rock to Oaxaca’s Mixtecan Highlands

September 18, 2023 PerspectivesMexico, West, South DakotaElybeth Sofia Alcantar

A geographer sees a familiar pattern of government-backed energy projects devastating Indigenous communities and violating tribal sovereignty.  

From Dams to DAPL, the Army Corps’ Culture of Disdain for Indigenous Communities Must End

September 13, 2023 PerspectivesUnited States, MidwestTroy Pretends Eagle

The prophesied “Seventh Generation” is here—demanding justice for tribes and protecting what they have left. 

A Trailblazer for Tribal Sovereignty

August 16, 2023 NRDC in ActionUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

NRDC Board member John Echohawk, a member of the Pawnee Nation, has devoted his career to asserting the legal and civil rights of Native Americans.

California’s Climate Whiplash

April 17, 2023 ExplainerCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

The state broke snowfall records after three of its driest years ever. Now floods wreak havoc. These swings are the new normal—and they’re very hard to manage.

The Lower Klamath River Will Soon Flow Freely Again

March 21, 2023 DispatchCalifornia, WestNicole Greenfield

Sparking hope for the West’s rivers and beyond, a decades-long battle leads to the world’s biggest dam removal project.

New York Is Exposing the Fashion Industry for What It Is: a Climate Nightmare

February 13, 2023 DispatchNew York City, InternationalNicole Greenfield

The state’s Fashion Act seeks to set a new trend of holding big brands accountable for their exploitation of workers and the environment.