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.

Latest News

Stay on top of the latest research, policy updates, publication releases, and environmental news. 

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.

Ocean Wind Becomes California’s Future Power

Expert BlogCaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Mohit Chhabra

Department of Interior advances leasing for offshore wind energy development in California offshore waters, ending years-long impasse with the Department of Defense.

VAs Are a Bad Deal for California’s Fish and Wildlife

Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi

Unfortunately, the State of California continues to negotiate backroom deals with the biggest water users in the State that fails to protect and restore water quality in the Bay-Delta, threatening thousands of fishing jobs, farms and communities in the Delta…

No More Secrets: CA Needs Community Pesticide Notification

Expert BlogCaliforniaMiriam Rotkin-Ellman

Living near fields where pesticides are applied is dangerous, particularly for children and pregnant women. However, the California communities who bear this burden are kept in the dark about poisons sprayed near their homes.

California Leads the Way on Conservation and Climate

Expert BlogCaliforniaHelen O'Shea

The PUBLIC Lands Act would designate nearly 600,000 acres of new wilderness, more than 583 miles of new wild and scenic rivers and expand an existing national monument by over 100,000 acres. Protecting California’s world-famous natural heritage is the key…

Biden Clears Way for States to Curb Vehicle Pollution

Expert BlogUnited States, California, New JerseyLuke Tonachel
President Biden is following through on his promise to re-establish the long-held authority of governors to adopt vehicle pollution regulations to protect the health and welfare of people in their states.

The Bay-Delta Salmon Crisis That Didn’t Have to Be

Expert BlogCaliforniaKate Poole
Enough with playing politics with the heart of California’s freshwater system. It is well past time for both the state and federal governments to update standards for salmon management in the Bay-Delta.

Canadian Trade Group Opposes U.S. Anti-Deforestation Bills

Expert BlogCanada, New York, CaliforniaAnthony Swift
The Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) claims that applying proposed anti-deforestation legislation in California and New York to the boreal forest would threaten its business model.

Killing Most Endangered Salmon Is How the Trump BiOps "Work"

Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi
While this year is shaping up to be a catastrophe for salmon in California, it is not a surprise—it was anticipated and, shockingly, authorized under the Trump Administration’s final permits (known as biological opinions, or "BiOps" for short).

Victory in California

Expert BlogCalifornia, Chicago, IllinoisLauren P. Phillips
A court rules that California must stop exempting metal shredding facilities from hazardous waste laws, clearing a path to finally protect California communities from metal shredder pollution.

Stressed by Heat, Farmworkers Deserve Federal Protections

Expert BlogCalifornia, Washington, MinnesotaTeniope Adewumi-Gunn
Unprotected from many basic workplace rights and in the face of a growing climate crisis that threatens their well-being, farmworkers deserve federal safeguards from extreme heat and its dangerous effects.

Chance for a More Resilient and Equitable Food System in CA

Expert BlogCaliforniaLena Brook, Arohi Sharma
With AB 125, California has an opportunity to reshape our food and farming system to help protect workers in fields, kitchens, and grocery stores while providing our most vulnerable communities improved access to healthy, sustainably produced food.