News & Commentary

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.

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.

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.

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.

Grandma’s Garden: A Place of Resistance, Abundance, and Black Environmental Memory

June 14, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesRasheena Fountain

My connection to the land cannot be erased—it grows with my remembrance of ancestors and my reimagining of boundaries.

The Drinking Water Crisis That North Carolina Ignored

June 7, 2021 DispatchNorth CarolinaNicole Greenfield

For decades, DuPont dumped toxic PFAS into the Cape Fear River. Today, a local community is suffering the health consequences—and fighting back.

Biden’s American Jobs Plan Is Also a Climate Plan

June 4, 2021 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The $2 trillion it would invest in the country’s infrastructure and workforce will help the United States recover from the past while preparing for the future.

Nobody Is Safe Until Everybody Is Safe

May 27, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesBora Chang

We must recognize the violence against Asian Americans as an outgrowth of structural racism in our society. And we cannot confront the former without taking down the latter.

The Electric Car Revolution Shouldn’t Leave Anyone Behind

May 27, 2021 DispatchUnited States, Missouri, St. LouisSusan Cosier

A new program in St. Louis, Missouri, is bringing EVs and charging stations to low-income neighborhoods—and turning senior and disabled residents into early adopters, one ride at a time.

“I know this man. I almost was this man.”

May 25, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesKhalil Shahyd

On the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, NRDC senior policy advisor Khalil Shahyd recalls his own harrowing encounter with law enforcement—and how it informed his community organizing.

This Lawyer Is Leading the Fight for New York’s Clean Energy Future

May 25, 2021 NRDC in ActionNew York, New JerseyShelia Hu

Senior attorney Kimberly Ong is taking on the dirty fossil fuel industry in a state that has the eyes of the nation: “Where New York goes, other states have the chutzpah to follow.”

The Future Has Spoken: It’s Time to Shut Down DAPL and Stop Line 3

May 24, 2021 PerspectivesUnited StatesNicole Greenfield

Frontline Indigenous youth, who have been standing up against destructive oil pipelines for years, are imploring President Biden to join them in protecting their water, lands, and cultures.

A Leader for Conservation in Gabon and Beyond

May 21, 2021 DispatchAfricaMelissa Denchak

Dr. Aurélie Flore Koumba Pambo works to preserve and protect the biological wealth of this central African coastal nation while also advocating for a global agreement to safeguard one-third of earth’s ecosystems by 2030.

Laurie David Is Keeping the Action in Climate Activism

May 20, 2021 DispatchCaliforniaJeff Turrentine

The producer and author wants people to understand what our planet is up against, but even more than that, she wants to show us how, together, we can make real change.

A Native Hawaiian Digs into Her Roots to Grow Food, Knowledge, and Hope

May 18, 2021 DispatchHawaiiJeff Turrentine

Inspired by an ancient system of natural resource management, Kukui Maunakea-Forth works with her community to turn Oʻahu youth into farmers—and scholars.

A Race to Track the Southern Seas

May 13, 2021 Latest NewsInternationalBrian Palmer

To help prepare coastlines for the worsening effects of the climate crisis, scientists need more historical sea level records from the Global South—and they’re looking everywhere, from libraries to attics.