News & Commentary

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.

Even One More Oil and Gas Lease Sale in the Gulf of Mexico Is Too Many

November 17, 2023 ExplainerUnited States, LouisianaCourtney Lindwall

An expansion of offshore drilling would lock the region into decades of fossil fuel extraction at the expense of the climate, coastal communities, and marine life.

These 5 Animals Would Be Goners Without the Endangered Species Act

May 4, 2023 ExplainerUnited States, InternationalJason Bittel

They’re just a handful of the hundreds of species that would be extinct without the 50-year-old law.

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.

Crushing Alaska’s Pebble Mine

February 13, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaNicole Greenfield, Jeff Turrentine

The EPA’s decision to veto the project is fantastic news—but the fight to save Bristol Bay isn’t over yet.

Missing for a Century, the California Condor Flies Over Yurok Ancestral Lands Again

November 9, 2022 DispatchCalifornia, WestBecca Cudmore

The Yurok Tribe is helping to restore a sacred and endangered scavenger that is vital to Indigenous cultures and Pacific Coast ecosystems alike.

In the Melting Arctic, a Reckoning to Save Indigenous Culture, Narwhals, and a Silent Sea

September 22, 2022 DispatchArcticBill Donahue

As a mining company seeks to ship millions of tons more of iron ore through caribou and narwhal habitat, good science requires the input of the Inuit.

Can Anything Be Done to Stop Overfishing?

June 24, 2022 ExplainerInternational

It’s a complex problem, but a combination of smart fisheries management and consumer vigilance can encourage more sustainable practices.

Saving Big Mammals Fights Extinction and Climate Change

June 23, 2022 ExplainerInternationalJason Bittel

By bringing back just 20 large mammalian species to landscapes across the globe, scientists say we can make huge dents in the biodiversity and climate crises. Here’s how.

A World Without Bees? Here’s What Happens If Bees Go Extinct

May 2, 2022 Latest NewsUnited StatesBrian Palmer

Assessing our chances of survival without the prodigious pollinator.

America’s Gray Wolves Get Another Chance at Real Recovery

April 21, 2022 NRDC in ActionShelia Hu

After getting last year’s unlawful delisting rule reversed, NRDC is setting the stage for stronger wolf conservation.

Saving Salmon—from One Generation of Fisherwomen to the Next

March 1, 2022 DispatchOregon, Washington, WestNicole Greenfield

Keyen Singer, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, carries on a maternal legacy of conserving salmon and preserving culture. Their efforts could soon pay off.

Five Indigenous Poets Explore Loss and Love of their Native Lands

November 1, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

From saguaros to sacred waters, the writers weave their personal relationships to the environment with the ancestral.

Oysters: Raw Bar Delicacy or Climate Warrior?

October 18, 2021 DispatchNorth CarolinaJodi Helmer

The mighty bivalves are both, and this former schoolteacher and bartender seeks to inspire a new generation of aquaculturists while putting North Carolina oysters on the map.

They’re Spreading the Joy of Birding—and Making It More Inclusive

October 13, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesKeith Mulvihill

A birding podcast host, a science journalist, and a conservationist strive to share their passion with more BIPOC birders like themselves.

Alaska Natives Lead a Unified Resistance to the Pebble Mine

April 20, 2021 DispatchAlaskaNicole Greenfield

The effort to stop a massive mine project in Bristol Bay, Alaska, has been a decades-long fight for the region’s Indigenous People. Five tribal leaders share their experiences.

Deb Haaland Is the Interior Secretary Our Country Needs

February 22, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The fact that senators tied to the fossil fuel industry are opposing her nomination is a big clue as to why.

For a Family in Mexico, a Mission to Protect Monarchs

February 9, 2021 DispatchMexicoNicole Greenfield

Siblings Joel, Anayeli, and Patricio Moreno see the future of their community and that of the butterflies that migrate annually to the local Cerro Pelón forest as being intimately connected.

"We Are the Same as the Salmon": A Story of Suffering and Perseverance

December 17, 2020 DispatchWyoming, Idaho, Oregon, WashingtonNicole Greenfield

Thirty years ago, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes led the effort to save Snake River sockeye salmon from extinction. Today, they’re still fighting for the fish’s survival—along with their own.