News & Commentary

Meet the Chicagoan Determined to Break Down Barriers to Outdoor Inclusion for Latino People Like Him

August 31, 2021 DispatchChicagoKyler Sumter

Southeast Sider Luis Cabrales is fighting to deconstruct colonial thinking about nature and empower other Latino youth to work in conservation.

The South’s Clean Energy Disruption

August 17, 2021 DispatchFlorida, Texas, MemphisRobynne Boyd

The region’s heritage of fossil fuels falters as clean energy rises in its place.

How Can I Convince Doomers That It’s Not Too Late to Fight Climate Change?

August 13, 2021 ExplainerUnited States, International

NRDC senior scientist Kim Knowlton explains how to stay in the fight—not throw up your hands.

Washington State Adds Emergency Rules to Protect Workers from Heat and Wildfire Smoke

August 13, 2021 DispatchWashingtonLora Shinn

But many advocates point out that to fully address our new climate reality, we also need national solutions.

Defenders of Homes, Hills, and Heritage Unite Against the Mountain Valley Pipeline

August 13, 2021 DispatchVirginia, West Virginia, North CarolinaNicole Greenfield

Meet five people who are fighting on the ground—from Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina—to stop the destructive fossil fuel project before it’s too late.

Fighting Climate Change Through Farming

August 12, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaAlisa Opar

In Central California, small ranches and farms are growing their connections—to the land, to the past, and to each other.

IPCC: We’ve Already Warmed the Planet to Catastrophic Effect, but the Level of That Catastrophe Is Up to Us

August 9, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

There’s no going back, but there is a way forward: Act now and go big.

An Advocate for Building Equity into Michigan’s Climate Goals

August 4, 2021 NRDC in ActionMichiganBrian Palmer

NRDC’s Derrell Slaughter sees climate justice as one of the foremost civil rights issues of our time.

These Energy Efficiency Advocates Give Home Comforts a New Look

August 2, 2021 DispatchNew York CityMaudlyne Ihejirika

The Association for Energy Affordability is helping to keep low-income housing cool in the summer, warm in the winter, and good for the pocketbook and our climate, all at the same time.

In Chicago, Safe Water Is Still No Guarantee

July 30, 2021 PerspectivesChicagoKeith Mulvihill

“There are so many lead service lines in Chicago, but people aren’t talking about it,” says advocate Cheryl Watson. Now she and other frontline residents are changing the conversation.

Communities to Coal Plants: Clean Up Your Mess Before You Go!

July 29, 2021 DispatchTennesseeAustyn Gaffney

Distrust in the TVA runs deep in eastern Tennessee, and as the utility shutters two power plants—Bull Run and Kingston—local activists fear it will close up shop without safely containing its leaky pits of toxic sludge and ash.

Millions of Leaky and Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Are Threatening Lives and the Climate

July 26, 2021 ExplainerUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

Biden’s Build Back Better agenda would cap them—while putting tens of thousands of people to work.

From Unemployment to Staff Shortages, This Is What a K-Shaped Recovery Looks Like

July 6, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesMaudlyne Ihejirika

In Part Four of our “Pandemic at Work” series, two small-business owners, an office manager, and an undocumented meatpacking employee share where the last 15 months have left them.

The Unlikely Takedown of Keystone XL

June 29, 2021 NRDC in ActionNebraska, South Dakota, Canada, MontanaCourtney Lindwall

The notorious tar sands pipeline was a lightning rod in the fight against climate change and the seemingly unstoppable oil industry. NRDC advocates were part of a broad coalition that helped stop Keystone XL—for good.

The Scientist Who Found Her Voice by Listening to Workers

June 29, 2021 NRDC in ActionCalifornia, United StatesNicole Greenfield

Teniope Adewumi-Gunn combines her scientific expertise with her mission to help keep workers—from hairstylists to day laborers—safe and healthy.

Nurses Wanted in a City Long Plagued by Coal Plant Pollution

June 29, 2021 DispatchPeoriaMaudlyne Ihejirika

Through efforts to train a more diverse pool of nurses and create family-sustaining careers, workforce leaders in Peoria, Illinois, are jump-starting their economy and addressing the inequities of the past.

Protesting like Your Life Depended on It

June 28, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesBrian Zabcik

A former ACT UP organizer explains how his AIDS activism in New York City—and his upbringing on a Texas farm—helped him become a better environmentalist.

Sharing the Road: Safer Streets Means Safe for Everyone

June 25, 2021 ExplainerUnited States, California, Missouri, Atlanta, San Jose (California), St. Louis, GeorgiaDan Reed

As they incorporate equity into transportation planning, a number of U.S. cities are making room for bicyclists, pedestrians, scooters, and wheelchairs in every part of town.

Sowing the Seeds of Queer and Trans Liberation This Pride Month

June 24, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesTejal Mankad

NRDC senior social media manager Tejal Mankad dreams of a future with climate and gender justice.

Blackfeet Nation Is Taking Back the Food System

June 21, 2021 DispatchMontanaNicole Greenfield

A tribal-led plan to build a meat-processing facility on the Blackfeet Nation reservation in Montana will help invigorate the local economy, safeguard cultural traditions, and protect community health and the environment.