News & Commentary

This Former Meatpacking Facility Is Now an Experiment in Sustainable Urban Ag

March 8, 2016 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Come take a tour of "The Plant."

EJ: Getting Us (All of Us) to Environmentalism 4.0

March 2, 2016 ExplainerUnited States, Flint, Michigan, ChicagoBrian Palmer

“Environmental justice” isn’t only about what is put in whose backyard—it’s the future of the environmental movement.

Life on the Mississippi, Now

January 5, 2016 DispatchMissouri, Illinois, MidwestBarry Yeoman

We've spent billions of dollars on dikes, locks, and levees in a vain attempt to subdue what Mark Twain called "that lawless stream." Is it time to let the river have its way?

The Dirty Fight Over Canadian Tar Sands Oil

December 31, 2015 NRDC in ActionCanada, United StatesMelissa Denchak

For more than a decade, we've fought to keep this filthy fossil fuel from being dredged up and piped through the United States.

Our Man in Chicago

December 31, 2015 NRDC in ActionChicago, MidwestEmily Voigt

Henry Henderson knows that achieving energy independence and creating new jobs go hand-in-hand.

The Latin Quarter

December 11, 2015 ExplainerInternational, Brazil, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, PanamaBrian Palmer

Latin America is key to addressing climate change at the Paris conference. Why doesn’t it get more attention?

Stop, Drop, and Roll

December 9, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Every week, barrels upon barrels of volatile crude oil crisscross Chicago by rail, endangering tens of thousands of schoolkids.

The Maple Leaf Lag

November 13, 2015 Latest NewsCanadaJeff Turrentine

Under Justin Trudeau, Canada has a chance to make amends for a decade of climate inaction. But if it’s ever to catch up, it needs to start right now.

Is Justin Trudeau Canada’s Climate Savior?

October 20, 2015 Latest NewsCanadaBrian Palmer

The complicated environmental policies of Canada’s new prime minister.

Bring Out Your Dead

September 30, 2015 Latest NewsCanadaBrian Palmer

TransCanada makes a desperate bid to revive the persistently vegetative Keystone XL pipeline.

Keeping Tabs on the Church’s Power...and Water and Gas

September 22, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

The Archdiocese of Chicago is acting on the pope’s environmental message.

Which Countries' COP21 Climate Pledges Made the Grade?

September 22, 2015 ExplainerChina, United States, Mexico, Canada, InternationalNicole Greenfield

What countries got right and what still has room for improvement.

6 Cities That Are Ready for Climate Change

August 31, 2015 ExplainerNew York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Portland (Oregon), San AntonioKim Castleberry

By embracing green infrastructure, these urban areas have a solid defense against increased drought or flood.

Not-So-Vacant Lots

August 28, 2015 DispatchNew Orleans, LouisianaAlisa Opar

From birds to trees to rats, post-Katrina New Orleans is a study in “disaster ecology.”

Who Should Pay to Restore the Louisiana Coastline?

August 26, 2015 DispatchLouisianaBrian Palmer

The oil and gas industry says, “not it.”

The Impacts of a Tar Sands Oil Spill

August 17, 2015 ExplainerCanada

Tar sands oil is harder to clean up than conventional crude. Here are the reasons why.

10 Threats from the Canadian Tar Sands Industry

August 13, 2015 ExplainerCanadaNicole Greenfield

At every turn, the Tar Sands Invasion would put people and the environment in harm's way.

Killing KXL

August 12, 2015 NRDC in ActionCanada, Nebraska, Washington, D.C., United States

How an unlikely coalition of environmental activists stopped the destructive tar sands oil pipeline.

Oh, Canada…

July 28, 2015 Latest NewsCanadaBrian Palmer

Meet Timothy Ball, our northerly neighbor’s most prominent climate change denier.

Not-So-Secret Gardens

June 15, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Uncovering Chicago’s gardens—and planting their locations on a map—could help sow the farming movement.