Media Center

California Public Utilities Commission Makes a Bad Call for San Diego, Approves Natural Gas Power Plant in Carlsbad

May 21, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (May 21, 2015) – The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) erred today by overruling its own staff’s recommendation and approving a giant pollution-emitting power plant in San Diego. By a vote of 4-1, the commission adopted a proposal…

Ruptured Pipeline Spills Oil Along Santa Barbara’s Coast

May 19, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2015) — A pipeline burst along Santa Barbara’s coast today, spilling an estimated 21,000 gallons of toxic crude oil in Santa Barbara’s waters and creating a four-mile oil slick.

Governor Brown’s Revised Budget Invests in a Cleaner, Healthier California

May 14, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (May 14, 2014) – The revised State Budget proposed by Governor Brown this morning and sent to the State Legislature would make use of California’s improved fiscal picture and apply much-needed funds to protect our air, land, and water…

Cuomo Administration Takes Next Step in Making Fracking Ban Official

May 13, 2015 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK, NY (May 13, 2015)—Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Department of Environmental Conservation today took the next step toward making the state’s fracking ban official, releasing its final environmental impact review of the proposed heavy industrial activity in New York.

Governor Brown Announces 2030 Statewide Climate Pollution Limit

April 29, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (April 29, 2015) – Speaking before the annual Navigating the American Carbon World conference, Governor Brown issued a historic new executive order to reduce California’s carbon pollution to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The order will…

New Study: Tar Sands to Skyrocket West Coast’s Climate and Air Pollution

April 28, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (April 28, 2015) – The Pacific coast faces a looming health, climate, and environmental crisis posed by an influx of tar sands fuel from oil interests in Alberta, Canada, according to new analysis released today by the Natural Resources…

State Gives Big Oil and Gas a Free Pass to Continue Endangering California’s Dwindling Groundwater

April 2, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (April 2, 2015) – The California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) today announced a plan – developed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – to bring into compliance thousands of wells currently injecting potentially…

California Climate Plan’s Auction Results Show Carbon Caps Move Us Toward a Cleaner Future

February 25, 2015 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (February 25, 2015) – The California Air Resources Board announced today the results of the first carbon auction with polluting fuels such as gasoline included under the cap. For the first time, the oil industry joined other major industries…

Cuomo Announces Fracking Will Not Move Forward in New York

December 17, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (December 17, 2014) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced the state will not move forward with high volume hydraulic fracturing.

Federal Court Tosses Shell Oil Company’s Preemptive Suit Against Environmental Groups

November 12, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (November 12, 2014) – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected today a Shell Gulf of Mexico Inc. and Shell Offshore Inc. lawsuit that attempted to prevent environmental groups from challenging its oil drilling plans…

FRACKING REPORT: 5.4 Million Californians Now Live Within a Mile of Oil or Gas Wells, Majority are People of Color

October 22, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (October 22, 2014) – Nearly five and a half million Californians now live within a mile of an oil or gas well, including nearly 4 million who are people of color. Approximately one-third of those living near wells…

NEW POLL: 8 in 10 New Yorkers Support State’s Fracking Moratorium

October 7, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (October 7, 2014) – A new statewide poll of New Yorkers found that nearly eight in 10 support the state’s moratorium on fracking, amidst widespread concern over the safety of the practice. At the same time, the overwhelming…

Governor Brown Extends Climate Commitment Across Border

July 28, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (July 28, 2014) – California Governor Jerry Brown signed a climate change memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Mexico's Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources today. This California-Mexico accord follows a series of MOUs Governor Brown has signed with leaders…

Big Polluters Trying Again to Derail California’s Successful Clean Energy Law

July 3, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO, CA (July 3) – On the eve of America’s Independence Day, a California lawmaker is making a Big Oil-backed move to block the next critical step in slashing emissions under California’s successful clean energy program by trying to get…

New York Court Upholds Communities’ Right to Protect Residents from Fracking

June 30, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

ALBANY (June 30, 2014) — The New York Court of Appeals today upheld communities' right to use traditional local zoning laws to keep fracking out of their borders if they so choose. The ruling came in two cases decided jointly—one…

Four Million Californians at Risk from Oil Train Danger Zones

June 18, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO (June 18, 2014) – A series of detailed crude oil rail route maps, released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), show nearly four million Bay Area and Central/San Joaquin Valley residents are at risk should an…

California Budget Puts Proceeds from Carbon Pollution Auctions to Work Building a Cleaner, Healthier California

June 16, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (June 16, 2014) – The State Budget passed by the Legislature last night and sent to Governor Brown for the first time puts carbon pollution proceeds collected under California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) to work to combat…

California Senate Rejects Moratorium on Fracking

May 29, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (May 29, 2014) – The California State Senate today rejected a bill that would have imposed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, acidizing and other controversial forms of oil and gas development.