Media Center

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…

Report: Chicago’s World-famous Skyline is Crunching Carbon—and Your Town Can too!

July 18, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (July 18, 2014) – Chicago’s unique partnership to showcase energy efficiency efforts in the city’s biggest buildings is already delivering impressive savings and offers a replicable model for other municipalities according to a new report released today by the…

NOAA “State of the Climate” Warnings Signal Need for Cost-Effective Cures

July 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 17, 2014) – The following is a statement from Natural Resources Defense Council President Frances Beinecke on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s “State of the Climate in 2013” report released today: ''Scientific warnings about a potential planetary…

Tipping Point: National Geographic Adds Recycled Fiber To Magazines

July 17, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 17, 2014 -- In a major step forward for the use of recycled paper in the magazine industry, the National Geographic Society (NGS) has begun incorporating recycled fiber in all the pages of National Geographic Magazine…

New Obama Initiatives Add Critical Elements to Climate Change Agenda

July 16, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 16, 2014) – The Obama Administration today added critical components to the president’s climate change agenda by unveiling broad initiatives that will further protect public health, the health of the nation’s infrastructure, and the health of our economy.

Farm Bureau Ducks NRDC Challenge to Debate Clean Water Rule

July 15, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 15, 2014)—The American Farm Bureau Federation has tried to duck a challenge from the Natural Resources Defense Council to a public debate over the bureau’s willful misrepresentations regarding a new clean water proposal, which is now under assault…

House Panel Weakens Protections for Clean Air, Water

July 15, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 15, 2014) —The House Appropriations Interior and Environment Committee today pushed through a flawed spending bill that would seriously undermine the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect the public from breathing dirty air and drinking polluted water.

California Tackles Wasteful Outdoor Watering

July 15, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO (July 15, 2014) – The State Water Resources Control Board today voted to adopt mandatory emergency drought measures to curtail wasteful uses of water outdoors and help safeguard our future water supply. The new statewide rules require city utilities…

Replacing Damaging HFCs Helps Curb Climate Change

July 10, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 10, 2014) – The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency today moved to ban the use of certain hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, that significantly contribute to climate change, noting that safer, more climate-friendly alternatives now exist.

House Panel Votes to Weaken Protections for Clean Air, Water

July 9, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 9, 2014) —House Republicans today rammed a spending bill through the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee that would seriously weaken the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to protect the public from breathing dirty air and drinking polluted…

EPA Should Ban Bee-Killing ‘Neonic’ Insecticides

July 7, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 7, 2014)—The government should move as quickly as possible to ban a major class of insecticides that scientists say is a primary cause of the massive decline of bees and other crucial pollinators, the Natural Resources Defense Council…

Chicago’s Petcoke Problem: No Happy 4th for Southeast Siders

July 3, 2014 Press Release

CHICAGO (July 3, 2014) – As Independence Day approaches, residents on the Southeast Side of Chicago continue to battle issues associated with the massive piles of petcoke heaped on the edge of the Calumet River, in close proximity to homes…

Big Polluters Trying Again to Derail California’s Successful Clean Energy Law

July 3, 2014 Press ReleaseCalifornia

SACRAMENTO, CA (July 3) – On the eve of America’s Independence Day, a California lawmaker is making a Big Oil-backed move to block the next critical step in slashing emissions under California’s successful clean energy program by trying to get…

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…

NRDC Tip Sheet: 8 Things We Hate About Summer Will Worsen with Climate Change

July 1, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2014) — With July 4th upon us, the Natural Resources Defense Council is releasing a tip sheet today about eight summertime woes that will worsen if climate change isn’t combatted soon, along with steps individuals and the…

Federal Support Could Spur Construction of Cape Wind by End of Year

July 1, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (July 1, 2014) — The U.S. Department of Energy today gave the Cape Wind offshore wind project a major boost by providing a $150 million loan guarantee that could prove key to attracting the remaining financing for the project…

New York Court Upholds Communities’ Right to Protect Residents from Fracking

June 30, 2014 Press ReleaseNew York

ALBANY (June 30, 2014) — The New York Court of Appeals today upheld communities' right to use traditional local zoning laws to keep fracking out of their borders if they so choose. The ruling came in two cases decided jointly—one…

Supreme Court Greenlights California’s Clean Fuels Plan

June 30, 2014 Press Release

WASHINGTON (June 30, 2014) – In a big win for the fight against climate change, the Supreme Court today declined oil and ethanol companies’ request to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that upheld California’s Low Carbon Fuel…

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…

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…