News & Commentary

Bureau of Land Management to D.C. Employees: Go West or Get Lost

July 26, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The forced relocation of hundreds of staffers is seen by many as a precursor to the agency’s dissolution—and a sell-off of public lands to the states.

After a Century of Being Dammed Up, Illinois Rivers Get to Go With the Flow

July 24, 2019 DispatchIllinoisSusan Cosier

Dam removals are setting rapids and fish populations free and keeping swimmers and boaters safer.

As Temperatures Soar in India, One City’s Efforts Are Saving Lives

July 23, 2019 NRDC in ActionAhmedabad, Hyderabad, New Delhi, IndiaNicole Greenfield

The western city of Ahmedabad is preparing residents to cope with the longer and more intense heat waves sweeping across South Asia—and inspiring other Indian cities and states to follow suit.

The Conniving at the EPA Has Gotten Kafkaesque

July 19, 2019 PerspectivesUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The agency aims to stop citizens from challenging pollution permits—while continuing to allow challenges from polluters who want to pollute more.

Japan Goes Rogue and Resumes Commercial Whaling

July 18, 2019 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

The nation’s departure from the International Whaling Commission was followed immediately by the slaughter of two minke whales.

How Austin Plans to Grow—Without Adding More Cars to Its Roads

July 17, 2019 DispatchAustin, TexasMike Clark-Madison

By tackling transit, ride sharing, and more, the Texas capital hopes to embrace its big-city identity.

Watch These Young Spoken-Word Poets Take On Climate Change

July 17, 2019 PerspectivesNew York CityCourtney Lindwall

The Climate Museum’s poetry slam at Harlem’s Apollo Theater was equal parts grief, anger, and hope.

Is the Home of Big Auto Going Electric?

July 15, 2019 DispatchMichiganSusan Cosier

With its incoming network of charging stations and incentive programs for consumers, Michigan may have the most forward-looking EV infrastructure plan in the Midwest.

The United States Is the Most Wasteful Country In the World

July 12, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

We’re number one! We’re number one!

Out of Sight, Out of Time: The Endangered Species Living Hundreds of Feet Beneath Austin

July 11, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJason Bittel

Pollution and the overdrawing of groundwater threaten to wipe out several species of subterranean salamanders.

Columbus Makes Its Historically Disadvantaged Neighborhoods a Key to Its Climate Future

July 9, 2019 DispatchColumbus, OhioSarah Stankorb

Self-driving shuttles and energy audits are helping to keep this Ohio boomtown booming (without the carbon bust).

Do Plastic Bag Bans Work?

July 9, 2019 ExplainerUnited States, InternationalCourtney Lindwall

NRDC scientist Jennifer Sass says yes and debunks the skeptics’ claim that in trying to wean ourselves off plastic bags, we’re only creating more troubles.

California Beckons the Gray Wolf—but Can’t Guarantee a Safe Journey There

July 8, 2019 DispatchWest, California, Oregon, WashingtonCorey Binns

The future of wolves in the West depends on collaborative cross-border commitments to protecting this icon of the wild.

Congress Has Been Treating Our National Parks and Waters Funding Like a Piggy Bank for Decades

July 2, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

The 55-year-old Land and Water Conservation Fund needs to be kept safe from lawmakers who suddenly find themselves strapped for cash.

Livestock and Predators Can Coexist

June 28, 2019 NRDC in Action

NRDC has long collaborated with regional partners, including ranchers, to promote nonlethal methods as an effective alternative to the needless cycles of conflict and killing.

Millions of Songbirds Do Not Need to Suffer Gruesome Deaths So the Olive Industry Can Save a Buck

June 26, 2019 Latest NewsInternationalJason Bittel

A new practice of harvesting olives at night leads to grim mortality statistics for migratory birds in southern Europe.

New York City Students Are Taking On Climate Change, Starting in the Lunchroom

June 24, 2019 DispatchNew York CityJessica Rodriguez

This fall, a Meatless Mondays initiative will go into effect across all 1,800 NYC public schools.

Mining Oil Shale Would Be Disastrous to Utah’s Rivers, Climate, and Public Health—but the Trump Administration Wants to Do It Anyway

June 21, 2019 DispatchUtahStarre Vartan

NRDC and other environmental and public health groups are suing to stop an extraction project (the first of its kind in the United States) proposed by the Estonian company Enefit.

In Other News, Renewables Just Passed Coal on the Energy Capacity Racetrack

June 21, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesJeff Turrentine

We’ve just crossed a major threshold, and renewables' lead is expected only to widen.

Three Former Republican EPA Administrators Are Sounding the Alarm

June 19, 2019 Latest NewsUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall

These environmental protectors of the Reagan and Bush eras have some things to say about the state of Trump’s EPA.