News & Commentary

Getting the Lead Out of DC Drinking Water

May 3, 2019 Expert BlogValerie Baron

Earlier this year, the District Council took a step to clean up our drinking water, passing a law that would prohibit partial lead service line replacements—a practice that contributes to elevated lead levels.

Saving the Planet Starts With Our Plates

May 2, 2019 Expert BlogSujatha Bergen, JoAnne Berkenkamp

What we eat plays a big role in the fight against climate change. Eating more plants and wasting less good food are vital places to start.

Health Solutions a Major Theme of National Adaptation Forum

May 1, 2019 Expert BlogJuanita Constible

The cascading health impacts of climate change—and how to address them—were woven through last week's National Adaptation Forum in Madison, Wisconsin.

EPA Backs Industry, Defending Carcinogenic Herbicide Glyphosate

April 30, 2019 Expert BlogNRDC

But the toxic chemical, more commonly known as Roundup, was just found by the administration’s own science advisors to threaten public health.

UN Recognizes Resistance Crisis, but Soft Pedals Solutions

April 30, 2019 Expert BlogAvinash Kar

To keep our life-saving drugs working, we need urgent reform to the way they are used.

Newark’s Lead Crisis Continues: Even Higher Levels in 2019

April 30, 2019 Expert BlogNewarkErik D. Olson

The first few months of 2019 have brought disturbing news for Newark residents—skyrocketing levels of lead in drinking water. Since the start of the year, more than 10 percent of Newark’s reported drinking water samples have exceeded 66.9 parts per…

EPA Yet Again Fails to Set Health-Protective Levels for PFAS

April 26, 2019 Expert BlogDr. Anna Reade

Yesterday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft interim recommendations for addressing groundwater contaminated with PFOA and PFOS. EPA’s proposal would leave Americans across the country who live near contaminated sites unprotected from potentially dangerous levels of these toxic…

Fenceline Communities Demand Protections from Toxic Industry

April 26, 2019 Expert BlogGina Ramirez

There are more than 12,000 high-risk chemical facilities across the country and 40 percent of the country’s population live within three miles of one or more of them.

“The Biggest Little Farm”: A Bumpy and Beautiful Road to Farming for a Healthier Planet

April 26, 2019 Expert BlogLena Brook, Arohi Sharma

As industrial agriculture so often pollutes our soil, water, air, and people, this new documentary spotlights a different way to grow food and raise animals.

Five Years In, Flint’s Water Crisis Isn’t Over

April 25, 2019 Expert BlogFlintSarah Tallman

Rev. Allen Overton and Melissa Mays, co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the ongoing replacement of Flint’s lead pipes, describe lessons learned—and a community that’s determined to better its future.

Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water in Schools: Model Law

April 24, 2019 Expert BlogJoan Leary Matthews

Lead in drinking water in schools has been in the news over the years, with particular concerns in New York City and Washington, D.C., among other cities. But ever since the recent crisis of lead in drinking water exploded in…

Why Do Some Michigan Water Agencies Oppose the Quest for Safe Water?

April 24, 2019 Expert BlogCyndi Roper

Replacing the state’s lead service lines will be a massive undertaking, but five years after the Flint water crisis, residents deserve no less.

Trump EPA’s Toxic Chemical Policies Draw Another Lawsuit

April 23, 2019 Expert BlogDaniel Rosenberg

NRDC and our allies have filed a lawsuit challenging EPA's illegal failure to protect the public from the toxic chemical methylene chloride.

Good News About Cover Crops from the Census of Agriculture

April 15, 2019 Expert BlogUnited StatesLara Bryant

While the 2012 Census provided the first nationwide overview of cover crop use, state-by-state, the 2017 Census provides the first opportunity to quantify changes in cover crop use over a five-year period.

David Bernhardt Takes Over as New Interior Secretary

April 11, 2019 Expert BlogNRDC

If his past four months as the department’s acting secretary are any indication, our public lands, oceans, and wildlife are in trouble.

Trump Threatens States with Two Executive Orders Favoring Fossil Fuels—Again

April 11, 2019 Expert BlogKimberly Ong

The move is yet another attempt to expedite fossil fuel development, this time by limiting states’ ability to protect their water as well as making it easier to approve cross-border dirty energy pipelines.

Could These Country Roads Be Toxic to Kids?

April 9, 2019 DispatchIowaSusan Cosier

A county in eastern Iowa has been replacing gravel with slag, a steel industry byproduct. It’s hard, sharp, and potentially a public health concern.

These Farmers Are Sowing Seeds of Diversity in the U.S. Food System (and Have Been for Quite Some Time)

April 8, 2019 DispatchGeorgiaRobynne Boyd

A movement to preserve the cultural heritage and organic practices of African American farmers is growing in the Southeast.

NYT Superbug Series Underscores Meat Industry Need to Act

April 8, 2019 Expert BlogDavid Wallinga, MD

Overuse of our most precious medicines is killing us. And much of that overuse has been and continues to be in industrialized agriculture.

Michigan Should Set Precedent-Setting PFAS Water Standards

April 1, 2019 Expert BlogDr. Anna Reade, Erik D. Olson

Today the Natural Resources Defense Council filed an extensive scientific report making a detailed case for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to establish strict drinking water standards for five chemicals within the PFAS class. We also requested that…