News & Commentary

Our Public Lands Are on the Chopping Block Again

August 21, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, Utah, AlaskaTim Vanderpool

Another assault on America’s natural heritage puts cultures, wildlife, tourism, and our climate at risk.

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest at Risk Once Again

August 19, 2026 NRDC in ActionAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

After a quarter century of fighting to keep these wild lands and others safe from road construction and logging, NRDC’s battle for the Roadless Rule presses on.

Why Redistricting Could Lead to More Pollution, Sickness, and Death

July 9, 2026 ExplainerUnited States, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, TennesseeJeffrey Michaels

The new wave of racial gerrymandering ushered in by Louisiana v. Callais threatens the ongoing struggle for environmental justice.

What It’ll Take to Save Cities like New Orleans from Climate Disaster

July 1, 2026 ExplainerNew Orleans, United StatesMolly Bergen

These insights from around the globe hold lessons in planning a just relocation.

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 Arctic in Peril: The Story Behind One of TIME’s Top 100 Photos of 2025

December 16, 2025 DispatchArcticMelissa Mahony

As the Trump administration seeks to expand drilling and mining in northern Alaska, a photographer captures a glimpse of one of earth’s last great wild spaces.

The Fight to Keep Oil and Gas Rigs Out of Our Waters. For Good.

November 24, 2025 NRDC in ActionArctic, East, United StatesMelissa Denchak

NRDC played a key role in banning offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. Once again, it’s fighting to protect those oceans—and the rest of America’s waters.

The Long, Long Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

October 24, 2025 DispatchAlaskaBrian Palmer, Nicole Greenfield

For decades, politicians have vacillated between protecting Alaska’s refuge as one of the last unspoiled places on earth and plundering it for oil.

The Trump Administration Seeks to Undo Protections for Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

June 5, 2025 Latest NewsArctic, AlaskaJenny Shalant

The government is backtracking on the Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, threatening biodiversity and the cultural traditions of Indigenous Peoples who’ve relied on these lands for generations.

America’s Newly Discovered Whale Is Already in Trouble

April 4, 2025 ExplainerLouisianaJason Bittel

Described officially for the first time in 2021, Rice’s whale has the distinction of being one of the most endangered whales on the planet.

The Biden Administration Cancels Its Offshore Drilling Plan for Alaska’s Cook Inlet—Let’s Keep It Off the Books

July 23, 2024 DispatchAlaskaSusan Cosier

The lease sale would have endangered Indigenous communities, threatened rare whales, added to the Far North’s climate crisis, and gambled with a 20 percent chance for a large oil spill.

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.

Why the Willow Project Is a Bad Idea

November 13, 2023 Latest NewsAlaskaJeff Turrentine

The oil drilling proposal would be disastrous for Alaska and the planet (not to mention President Biden’s climate legacy). 

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.

Advocates Are Sparking a Revolution in Louisiana's “Cancer Alley”

November 10, 2022 DispatchSt. James Parish, LouisianaNicole Greenfield

Residents of St. James Parish are fighting to boot harmful petrochemical plants from this majority-Black community—and hoping to usher in more sustainable industries like solar.

Mutual Aid and Disaster Justice: “We Keep Us Safe”

October 6, 2022 ExplainerUnited States, Puerto Rico, Louisiana, Mississippi, FloridaNicole Greenfield

As climate-fueled disasters become more frequent—from Mississippi to Puerto Rico and beyond—relief efforts by communities, for communities, could become increasingly critical.

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.

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.

Katrina, Climate, and Justice: A Future in Foreshadow?

August 28, 2020 PerspectivesNew Orleans, LouisianaZaria Howell

After Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana just days before the Katrina remembrance, photojournalism from 15 years ago reminds us that disaster preparation isn’t just about wind and water.

Defender of Housing Justice

August 25, 2020 NRDC in ActionNew Orleans, United States, LouisianaJenny Shalant

Energy efficiency and social safety net advocate Khalil Shahyd explains why supporting affordable housing is intrinsic to the climate fight.