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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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...

What Is Environmental Racism?

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

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.

Biodiversity 101

GuideInternational, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

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

Installing Turbo Fladry: An Informational Guide

Issue BriefWyoming, Wisconsin, Oregon, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho, CaliforniaDr. Jennifer Sherry
Reducing the risk of wolf predation on livestock is key to ensuring both people and wolves can thrive throughout wild and working lands. Turbo fladry is a relatively simple fencing tool designed to protect livestock from wolves, that, when used…

Commercial Whaling 101

GuideInternationalLauren Evans

Despite an international ban on commercial whaling since 1986, the animals are still being hunted and killed across the world’s oceans, with devastating impacts on global populations.

Keystone Species 101

GuideInternational, United StatesMelissa Denchak
From coastal tide pools and rolling prairies to African savanna and arctic terrain, the earth is home to myriad ecosystems, each one regulated by interlinking parts, including the creatures that call them home.

Wildlife Trade 101

GuideInternational, United StatesChia-Yi Hou

Wildlife trade is big business, with wild plants, animals, and products made from them sold around the globe, legally and illegally. It’s also a leading cause of the planet’s accelerating biodiversity crisis and resultant ecosystem collapse.