News & Commentary

Let Us Breathe! A Vision for a Healthy Oxnard

February 10, 2022 Expert BlogCaliforniaNatalia Ospina, Heather Kryczka

Learn how an industrial project threatens a community-led vision for health and justice in a coastal California community, and support residents by submitting a comment letter by Feb. 14th.

The Texas Storm That Proved the Need for Grid Investments

February 9, 2022 Expert BlogTexas, United StatesChristy Walsh

It has been a year since Winter Storm Uri left millions of people without power. The United States cannot wait any longer to invest in its aging transmission system.

A Turning Point in the Fight to Protect New Mexico’s Greater Chaco Region

February 1, 2022 DispatchNew MexicoKeith Mulvihill

The Biden administration’s proposal to prohibit new oil and gas leasing and drilling in the area comes after years of exploitation that’s had devastating health and cultural impacts on Indigenous communities.

LA City Council Votes Unanimously to End Urban Oil Drilling

January 28, 2022 Expert BlogLos AngelesDamon Nagami

This watershed moment demonstrates the power of community engagement and momentum.

Preventing Fire Deaths Demands Confronting Energy Insecurity

January 26, 2022 Expert BlogNew York City, United StatesSam Whillans

The horrific fires in Fairmount and the Bronx are a wake-up call: We need to take bold action to confront energy insecurity.

California Leads the Way in Fighting the Biodiversity Crisis

December 22, 2021 Expert BlogCaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Helen O'Shea

California once again has an opportunity to lead the country with visionary conservation efforts that put equity and access at the forefront of decision making.

No Time for Half Measures to Prevent Extinction in the Delta

December 20, 2021 Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi

There is no time for half measures, like those proposed in the Interim Operations Plan, if we are going to stop the destruction of the Bay-Delta’s native fish and wildlife.

Clean Trucks Rules Are NJ’s First Step

December 20, 2021 Expert BlogNew JerseyKathy Harris, Patricio Portillo

By adopting the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule—which requires an increasing number of zero-emission truck sales each year in the state—New Jersey took a major step to reduce harmful air pollution.

Albany Environmental Roundup: 2021 Victories and 2022 Agenda

December 14, 2021 Expert BlogNew YorkMarisa Guerrero, Rich Schrader

New York State secured several key environmental and public health victories in 2021—and that momentum is continuing into 2022, as we push for bills to expand the use of electric vehicles, improve energy efficiency, promote food security, and reduce toxic…

Gibbstown Ends, Not with a Bang but with a Whimper?

November 30, 2021 Expert BlogNew JerseyKimberly Ong

While the Department of Transportation proposed rescinding the LNG by rail rule, the Department must still adopt this proposal.

Ten New Environmental Laws in California

November 30, 2021 Expert BlogCaliforniaVictoria Rome

The environmental community continued to chalk up wins in the state legislature despite another unusual year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a gubernatorial recall election.

For Thousands of Years, Indigenous Tribes Have Been Planting for the Future

November 30, 2021 DispatchIowa, Canada, Pennsylvania, OklahomaSusan Cosier

With yields of biodiversity and a more climate-resilient food supply, a movement is sprouting in BIPOC communities across North America to save heirloom seeds and preserve culture.

How to Stop a Highway

November 19, 2021 DispatchHouston, Texas, United StatesTim Vanderpool

Houston activists fuel a growing movement to increasingly center environmental justice in infrastructure and protect urban neighborhoods from endlessly expanding road projects.

A Lawyer That Sees Grassroots Relationship-Building as the Path Toward Social Change

November 16, 2021 NRDC in ActionCaliforniaKeith Mulvihill

NRDC’s first chief equity and justice officer, Melissa Lin Perrella, believes the way to strengthen advocacy work is to prioritize community partners who are closest to the problem—and often closest to the solution.

Haaland Takes Important Step to Protect Sacred Chaco Canyon from Fossil Fuel Extraction

November 15, 2021 Expert BlogNew MexicoNRDC

The move is a major win in the larger fight to safeguard the Greater Chaco region, but permanent protection is still needed.

Will Los Angeles Finally Put an End to Oil Drilling in Neighborhoods?

November 12, 2021 DispatchLos AngelesNicole Greenfield

For close to a decade, the STAND-L.A. coalition has been calling on the city to stop extracting oil near homes and schools. Victory, at long last, is within reach.

LA Must Tackle Clean Buildings & Affordable Housing Together

November 8, 2021 Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaStefan Schaffer, Michele Knab Hasson, Megan Ross

Currently, LA’s building stock is responsible for 43% of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions. A recent report dives deep into the complex relationship between getting fossil fuels out of buildings and creating and preserving affordable housing in Los Angeles…

Denver’s Climate Fund to Focus on the Most Impacted

November 4, 2021 Expert BlogColorado, DenverEloisa Portillo-Morales, Alana Miller

New Program Provides Energy Burden Relief for Tenants in LA

November 3, 2021 Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaMichele Knab Hasson

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal utility in the country, has worked with advocates to develop a comprehensive program that provides benefits to low income tenants and is accessible by affordable housing providers.

Senator and WA Governor Join Forces to Tackle Snake Dams

November 1, 2021 Expert BlogWashington, WestGiulia C.S. Good Stefani

U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Washington Governor Jay Inslee answered advocates’ calls to energize the decades-long push to save our iconic salmon from extinction.