Data, Reports & Resources

NRDC is a leader and trusted source in environmental policy and research. 

From reports to issue briefs, we ensure accountability through peer review led by our Science Office, which provides data and scientific analysis that help shape and guide NRDC’s policies and positions. We also offer a range of other resources, such as 101 guides and consumer-focused scorecards to increase access to knowledge about how everyone can be a catalyst for change. 

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A man picks a tomato from a dumpster filled with discarded food.

Food Waste 101

GuideUnited StatesShelia Hu
An overview of why we throw away so much food, how it impacts people and the planet, and what we can do to waste less.
A bee landing on a blooming purple flower

Neonics: The Toxic Truth

Fact SheetUnited States, Minnesota, Michigan, California, ColoradoAllison Johnson, Daniel Raichel, Lucas Rhoads, Lena Freij
Pesticides kill bees, pollute water, and threaten our health.
A plastic cup among a pile of wet leaves and branches on the ground

Single-Use Plastics 101

GuideUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall
Here’s everything you need to know about the most ubiquitous (and avoidable) kind of plastic waste: the kind made to be tossed in mere minutes.

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Food Waste 101

GuideUnited StatesShelia Hu
An overview of why we throw away so much food, how it impacts people and the planet, and what we can do to waste less.

Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know

GuideFlintMelissa Denchak
After officials repeatedly dismissed claims that Flint’s water was making people sick, residents took action. Here’s how the lead contamination crisis unfolded—and what we can learn from it.

Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

GuideUnited States, InternationalJillian Mackenzie, Jeff Turrentine
How smog, soot, greenhouse gases, and other top air pollutants are affecting the planet—and your health.

Causes and Effects of Lead in Water

GuideUnited States, Flint, Michigan, IllinoisKeith Mulvihill

How this harmful neurotoxin got into our taps and what it’ll take to get it out.

Procter & Gamble Again Fails Forests, Climate, and Human Rights - Brief (PDF)

Issue Brief
Procter & Gamble's latest policies fail to mention forest degradation prohibition in pulp supply chain, IFL sourcing prohibition in palm oil supply chain, corporate group level requirements, strong language on policy expectations for Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, and non-compliance...

Greenhouse Effect 101

GuideUnited States, InternationalMelissa Denchak
By increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, we’re amplifying the planet’s natural greenhouse effect and turning up the dial on global warming.

What Is Environmental Racism?

GuideUnited States, InternationalMaudlyne Ihejirika
This form of systemic racism disproportionately burdens communities of color.

Tapping the Power of Wetlands to Secure a Thriving Planet

Issue BriefUnited StatesKate Poole
Even though wetlands cover only about 5 percent of the land in the coterminous United States, they support nearly half of all species federally listed as threatened or endangered, harbor more than 30 percent of plant species, and provide essential…

Water Pollution: Everything You Need to Know

GuideUnited States, InternationalMelissa Denchak
Our rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and seas are drowning in chemicals, waste, plastic, and other pollutants. Here’s why―and what you can do to help.

Building Climate-Ready Fisheries and Fishing Communities

Issue BriefUnited StatesDr. Lisa Suatoni, Molly Masterton
Warming waters are driving a mass migration of life beneath the sea—and a decades-old fishery law cannot keep up without climate-ready science and policy.

What Are the Effects of Climate Change?

GuideUnited States, InternationalCourtney Lindwall

A rapidly warming planet poses an existential threat to all life on earth. Just how bad it gets depends on how quickly we act.

Industrial Agricultural Pollution 101

GuideUnited StatesCourtney Lindwall
From fertilizer runoff to methane emissions, large-scale industrial agriculture pollution takes a toll on the environment.

Biodiversity 101

GuideInternational, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

How do we define and measure biodiversity—and just why is it so important?

Regenerative Agriculture 101

GuideUnited StatesNRDC
NRDC interviewed more than 100 farmers and ranchers who are building healthy soil and growing climate-resilient communities across the country. This guide incorporates much of what we learned.

Soil Erosion 101

GuideKeith Mulvihill

The loss of topsoil to wind, rain, and other forces is a natural process, but when intensified by human activity, it can have negative environmental, societal, and economic impacts.