Media Center

House Again Votes to Weaken Health, Safety, Environmental Protections

February 4, 2015 Press Release

WASHINGTON (February 4, 2015)--The House once again today voted to weaken environmental, health, safety and consumer safeguards for the public by approving the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act, which would impose layers of bureaucratic red tape on the laws…

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.

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…

Nation’s Largest School Districts to Procure Antibiotic-Free Chicken

December 9, 2014 Press Release

LOS ANGELES (December 9, 2014) – The Urban School Food Alliance (The Alliance), a coalition of the largest school districts in the United States that includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Dallas and Orlando, announced today an antibiotic-free…

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…

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…

Groups Petition FDA to Ban Toxic Chemicals Used in Pizza Boxes and Other Food Packaging

October 16, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (October 16, 2014) – The Natural Resources Defense Council and several groups today called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban several toxic chemicals allowed in food packaging, citing their potential to harm fetal development, male reproductive…

NRDC Sues EPA to Block New Pesticide That Threatens Monarch Butterflies, Human Health

October 15, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (October 15, 2014)—The Natural Resources Defense Council today filed suit to block the use of a powerful, newly approved weed killer that will wreak further destruction on monarch butterfly populations already devastated by agricultural chemicals and poses risks to…

Governor Brown Calls for Real Antibiotic Stewardship with Veto of SB 835

September 30, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (September 30, 2014) – Jonathan Kaplan, director of the Food and Agriculture program at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), issued the following statement today after Governor Brown last night vetoed SB 835, authored by Senator Jerry Hill, which…

Expanded Pacific Marine Reserve Protects Critically Important Sea Life

September 24, 2014 Press Release

President Obama will expand the Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument, southwest of Hawaii, putting under protection large new areas of ocean with some of the richest and most diverse sea life on the planet. The original 83,000-square mile monument…

Whale Woes: NRDC Petitions for Endangered Species Act Protections

September 18, 2014 Press Release

LOS ANGELES (September 18, 2014) —The Gulf of Mexico’s only non-migrating great whales are in big trouble, which is why the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to add the region’s Bryde’s (pronounced BROO-dus)…

EPA Endorses New & Improved Beach Water Quality Safety Threshold

July 31, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 31, 2014) – In a move designed to protect more than 180 million people who visit America’s coastal and Great Lakes beaches every year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced stronger National Beach Guidance for all…

Appeals Court Allows Industry Misuse of Antibiotics in Animals to Continue

July 24, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK (July 24th, 2014) – In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have to consider banning the practice of regularly feeding antibiotics to…

Federal Government OKs Seismic Exploration for Oil, Gas on the East Coast

July 18, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 17, 2014) — The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a decision today that would open the East Coast — from the New Jersey/ Delaware border to Cape Canaveral, Florida — to dangerous “seismic” exploration for offshore…

Suit Filed to Ensure Foreign Fisheries Meet American Standards for Dolphin and Whale Safety

July 2, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

NEW YORK— Each year, nearly half of the more than 5 billion pounds of seafood consumed by Americans — including tuna, swordfish, shrimp, cod and other fish — comes from foreign fisheries that have not been shown as meeting U.S…

Beach Report: 10 Percent of America’s Beach Water Samples Fail Safety Test

June 25, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 25, 2014) – Ten percent of all water quality samples collected last year from nearly 3,500 coastal and Great Lakes beaches in the U.S. contained bacteria levels that failed to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s most protective…

Obama takes 'bold action' to protect Pacific marine life

June 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 17, 2014)--President Obama today proposed expanding protections in the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The expansion would shelter some of the world's most pristine and biologically rich marine ecosystems.

We Can’t Risk Another Deepwater Horizon, and Shouldn’t Open Coasts for Drilling

June 13, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 13, 2014) —The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is beginning to develop its plan for leasing offshore parcels for oil and gas production for the five-year period that begins in mid-2017.

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…

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.