Media Center

Supreme Court Reaffirms EPA Authority to Curb Power Plant Carbon Pollution

June 23, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 23, 2014) — Building on two prior decisions affirming the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to set carbon pollution standards like those recently proposed for power plants, the Supreme Court today upheld the core of EPA’s associated permitting requirements…

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…

Senate Panel’s Keystone XL Measure about Politics and Bad Policy

June 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2014) — The Senate Energy Committee today considered yet another political ploy by some in Congress to force construction of the controversial Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which will worsen climate change and jeopardize communities along its…

Senate GOP’s Looming Attacks on Health Protections Raise Specter of Government Shutdown

June 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 18, 2014) — Senate Republicans are putting the country on the path toward another government showdown by aiming to lard up appropriations bills with amendments that block the first-ever federal standards on carbon pollution from power plants and…

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…

New Report: Drought-Stricken California Could Save Up to 14 Million Acre-Feet of Water; Enough to Supply All the State’s Cities Annually

June 10, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (June 10, 2014) – California could be saving up to 14 million acre-feet of untapped water – providing more than the amount of water used in all of California’s cities in one year – with an aggressive…

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.

NRDC Celebrates Sustainable Food Movement at L.A. Benefit

May 29, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

LOS ANGELES (May 29, 2014) – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) celebrates the growth of the safe and sustainable food movement tonight at a one‐of‐a‐kind benefit featuring the work of the organization’s food and agriculture program.

New Report Shows Decline in Carbon Dioxide and Other Pollutants from U.S. Power Plants, but State and Power Company Emissions Vary Widely

May 28, 2014 Press Release

BOSTON (May 28, 2014) A new report on U.S. power plant emissions from the country’s top 100 electric power producers shows a downward trend in nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxides (SO2), mercury and carbon dioxide (CO2) since 2000, with CO2…

Chamber’s Attack on Clean Water Rule Puts Polluters’ Profits First

May 28, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 28, 2014)—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today attacked a new clean water rule with unsubstantiated charges about excessive costs that hold no water.

NRDC and Berkeley Food Institute Announce Winners of the 2014 Growing Green Awards

May 14, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 14, 2014) – Today, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Berkeley Food Institute (BFI) celebrate four remarkable leaders who are advancing sustainable food and agriculture at the sixth annual Growing Green Awards. Chosen from…

EPA Must Require Full Disclosure of Fracking Chemicals

May 9, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2014) – The Environmental Protection Agency today announced it will solicit comments from the public regarding whether it should require chemical manufacturers to reveal basic information about the dangerous chemicals used in fracking around the country.

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Strong Health Standards for Soot Emissions

May 9, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 9, 2014)—A federal appeals court today unanimously upheld EPA’s latest health-based clean air standards for fine particulate matter, or soot. Inhaling soot pollution can have serious health consequences, ranging from increased asthma attacks, to heart attacks and premature…

National Climate Assessment Highlights Urgent Need to Cut Carbon Pollution

May 6, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (May 6, 2014) – The third National Climate Assessment today documents the alarming extent to which climate change already is adversely impacting Americans all across the country, underlining anew the important opportunities we have today to take strong action…

Food Security Background Briefer: Our Food and Farms are at Risk from Climate Change

May 1, 2014 Press Release

Two definitive reports, representing the work of hundreds of scientists, show the risks that climate change poses to our food system. A recent U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, including a chapter on food and agriculture is available here…

Chicago’s Petcoke Problem: City Council Ordinance Moves in the Right Direction

April 30, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (April 30, 2014) – Chicago’s City Council today prohibited more oil refining waste storage sites from blighting the city’s neighborhoods, air and waterways with the passage of an ordinance aimed at banning new coal and petroleum coke (petcoke) operations…

Supreme Court Ruling Protects Millions from Air Pollution

April 29, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 29, 2014) -- The Supreme Court today upheld, by a 6-2 vote, the cross-state air pollution rule, one of the most significant health standards ever adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Koch Brothers in Court Over Chicago's Petcoke Piles?

April 28, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (April 28, 2014) – Environmental groups today signaled their intention to sue the owners of two sites that together hold massive mounds of oil refining waste and coal on Chicago’s Southeast Side. The Southeast Environmental Task Force (SETF) and…

CDC: Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak Not Over

April 21, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (April 21, 2014) – More than two months after declaring the outbreak appeared to be over, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported an additional 43 people sickened by strains of Salmonella linked to Foster Farms…

Spring-run Salmon Release Marks Progress in Restoring San Joaquin River

April 17, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 17, 2014) – Today, for the first time in over 60 years, spring run Chinook salmon returned to the San Joaquin River when the San Joaquin River Restoration Program released 54,000 juvenile into California’s second largest…