Media Center

Monarch Butterfly Numbers Show Migration Still at Grave Risk, Despite Uptick

January 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 27, 2015)—The low number of migrating monarch butterflies returning to their Mexican refuge shows that the migration remains under grave threat, even though the figures announced today are higher than last year’s, according to the Natural Resources Defense…

Administration Drilling Plan Would Expose Eastern Seaboard, Atlantic and Arctic Waters to Blowout Risk

January 27, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 27, 2015) -- The Obama Administration proposed a five-year offshore drilling lease plan today that would expose much of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans to oil and gas production.

Obama Seeks Wilderness Designation for Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

January 25, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 25, 2015) -- President Obama today recommended to Congress that it designate the coastal plain of the iconic Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as a wilderness. The following is a statement by Rhea Suh, president of the…

Scientific Review Supports New Clean Water Protections

January 15, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 15, 2015)— A new scientific report showing that small streams and wetlands can affect downstream water quality and help supply drinking water to millions of Americans is further evidence that these water bodies need protection from pollution, the…

Supreme Court Allows Scientifically Sound Protections for California’s Bay-Delta Estuary to Stand

January 12, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (January 12, 2015) – The Supreme Court today let stand a federal plan to protect California’s vital Delta ecosystem. The Court refused to hear an appeal brought by agribusinesses trying to undermine protections for the Delta smelt under the…

Making a Killing: California Ivory Sales Largely Illegal, Contributing to Recent Rise in African Elephant Poaching

January 7, 2015 Press Release

SAN FRANCISCO (January 7, 2015) – Every 15 minutes, an African elephant is killed for its tusks. And some of that ivory ends up right here on store shelves in California. According to a report commissioned by the Natural Resources…

Ninth Circuit Court Upholds Protections for California’s Endangered Salmon

December 22, 2014 Press Release

Some of California’s most endangered fish – and the fishermen that rely on salmon for their livelihoods – got a helping hand from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today, which released its opinion in the case of San Luis…

EPA Coal Ash Rule Fails to Protect Public Health and Waterways

December 19, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (December 19, 2014)—The Environmental Protection Agency’s long-awaited rule on disposal of toxic ash from coal-burning power plants falls far short of what’s needed to protect the public and our waterways from the millions of tons of dangerous sludge that…

Environmentalists Sue to Protect Water Quality

December 19, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (December 19, 2014)— The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) today announced they have sued the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to strengthen standards to prevent pollution from stormwater, one of the nation’s most widespread…

NRDC Lauds Obama Drilling Ban in Alaska’s Spectacular Bristol Bay

December 16, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (December 16, 2014)—The Natural Resources Defense Council today welcomed the decision by President Obama to withdraw permanently Alaska’s Bristol Bay from offshore oil development. Bristol Bay supports the world’s largest salmon fishery, worth $1.5 billion per year, and is…

Deep-Sea Discovery: Atlantic Coast Ocean Canyons Teeming with Newfound Marine Life and over 40 Species of Vibrant Deep-sea Coral

December 9, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (December 9, 2014) -- Recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-led explorations into deep undersea canyons off the East Coast have uncovered a steady stream of scientific discoveries, including over 40 different species of corals, some potentially brand…

REPORT: EPA Can Quickly Cut Dangerous Methane Pollution from Oil and Gas Industry in Half

November 20, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 20, 2014) — A new report from leading climate advocates today shows how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can cut climate warming methane pollution in half, while dramatically reducing harmful, wasteful air pollution from the oil and…

House GOP Continues Its Anti-Science Campaign

November 19, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 19, 2014)—House Republicans continued their attack on science-based protections for public health and the environment today, passing on a largely party-line vote a bill that would bar the Environmental Protection Agency from using certain peer-reviewed health research when…

Feds Protect Vast Majority of George Washington National Forest from Oil & Gas Development

November 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 18, 2014) —The U.S. Forest Service today released a management plan that protects the vast majority of Virginia’s George Washington National Forest from oil and gas development.

Clean Water Proposal Will Help Families, Homeowners Get Safe Drinking Water

November 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 17, 2014)—A proposed new clean water rule will help ensure Americans have safe drinking water by closing a critical gap in the country’s pollution laws, the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

Craft Brewers Support EPA Bolstering Protections for American Waters—And Beer!

November 14, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (November 14, 2014) – Some of the nation’s most respected and beloved breweries weighed in on the national debate over clean water protections today. Thirty-two members of the “Brewers for Clean Water” campaign signed onto a comment letter in…

NRDC’s “Exaggerator” Video Takes on Polluters’ Wild Claims about Proposed Clean Water Rule

November 12, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (November 12, 2014) – The Natural Resources Defense Council launched a video campaign today taking a comic jab at big corporate polluters’ hyperbolic claims about the proposed Clean Water Protection Rule, which is intended to restore protections for waterways…

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…

Exide settles with California Department of Toxic Substances Control

November 6, 2014 Press Release

LOS ANGELES (November 6, 2014) — Exide Technologies, Inc. today announced a settlement agreement that will allow the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to begin review of Exide’s hazardous waste permit application. The settlement, which is subject to…

NRDC, Nine other Environmental Groups File Lawsuits Challenging NRC Failure to Comply with 2012 Court Ruling on Nuclear Waste Storage

October 29, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (October 29, 2014) -- The Natural Resources Defense Council and nine other environmental groups filed separate lawsuits today in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit challenging the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) decision to proceed…