News & Commentary

Meet the activists and NRDC staff propelling change, read our expert analysis, and learn about the latest challenges and solutions to advancing a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world.

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Explainer

Get a breakdown of complex climate, public health, nature, and equity topics to inform your activism.

Dispatch

Read about activists tackling climate justice and other environmental causes in their communities and beyond.

Perspectives

Discover intersectional viewpoints from activists and artists on the environmental issues of the moment.

NRDC in Action

Find out how NRDC protects people and the planet by learning about some of our key fights.

Expert Blogs

Hear from our policy advocates, scientists, and litigators about the challenges and solutions for building a healthier and more just world.

PennEast Gas Pipeline Cancelled by Developers

Expert BlogNew York, New Jersey, Delaware, PennsylvaniaSahana Rao

Development of the PennEast Pipeline has been put on hold! This fracked gas pipeline would be disastrous for the Delaware River Basin and would exacerbate the climate crisis—here’s how we can stop the pipeline permanently.

Brief Filed in Lawsuit to Protect Delaware River from PCBs

Expert BlogNew Jersey, PennsylvaniaMarisa Guerrero, Julia Jonas-Day
Water quality in the Delaware River is under threat of PCB chemical pollution from a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal. To protect the river, NRDC filed an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit challenging the facility's dredging and construction…

Pittsburgh Poised to Thrive on Biden’s Plan

Expert BlogPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaMitchell Bernard
An equitable recovery powered by climate action means millions of well-paying jobs—with the Steel City, and other places like it, at the center of it all.

Every State Should Have a Right to a Healthy Environment

Expert BlogNorth Carolina, Pennsylvania, Montana, Massachusetts, CaliforniaCorinne Bell
A few states currently have a constitutional right to a healthy environment and several more are working to enshrine such rights.

Black Walden Came First. Thoreau, After.

DispatchMassachusettsCourtney Lindwall
A little-known community of formerly enslaved Black residents in Concord, Massachusetts, took up home in Walden Woods long before Henry David Thoreau arrived. Today, local activists are working to ensure the stories of Black Walden stay alive.

Cities Are Leading the Way: 2020 Wins & Look Ahead

Expert BlogUnited States, Charlotte, Honolulu, Pittsburgh, St. LouisJay Orfield, Kimi Narita
Cities made tremendous progress in their climate challenge goals throughout a difficult 2020. Now, cities are eyeing all that is possible in the new year.

A Champion for Equitable and Sustainable Infrastructure

NRDC in ActionLos Angeles, PhiladelphiaShelia Hu
Stephanie Gidigbi Jenkins is pushing for public policy solutions that address social equity and climate justice while strengthening access to reliable transportation, affordable housing, and open spaces.

To Support Recovery, Protect Environmental Agency Budgets

Expert BlogNew MexicoNoah Long, Drevet Hunt
The legislature will face many tough decisions in this special session. Whether to retain as much funding as possible for environmental and natural resources agencies is not one of them.

Life in the Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands

Expert BlogTexas, New MexicoJessica Carey-Webb

90 percent of the grassland bird species that breed on the Great Plains in the United States and Canada winter in the grasslands of the Chihuahuan Desert, which encompasses the northwestern region of Mexico, spreading into the states of Arizona…

A Fearless Defender for Our Future

NRDC in ActionBoston, Washington, D.C., United StatesJeff Turrentine
President and CEO Gina McCarthy started out as a public health agent in small-town Massachusetts, rose to become head of the EPA under Obama, and now guides NRDC into its next chapter.

From Farms to Dollar Stores, One Woman’s Fight for Justice

DispatchAlbuquerque, New MexicoNicole Greenfield
In her long history as a community organizer and environmental justice activist, Helga Garza has advocated for clean water and nontoxic toys. Her current mission: making fresh, local produce accessible.

Giraffes Win International Protections to Limit Their Trade

Expert BlogInternational, AfricaElly Pepper

The protections will ensure that all giraffe parts trade were legally acquired instead of from poached giraffes trade by requiring countries to make non-detriment findings before allowing giraffe exports.

It’s Groundhog Day for Rhinos at CITES CoP18

Expert BlogAfrica, InternationalElly Pepper

At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which takes place August 17-28, the Parties will again vote on whether to legalize the international commercial…