News & Commentary

In This Forest, a Clean Bill of Health Comes with Blue Polka-Dot Salamanders

May 4, 2016 PerspectivesIllinoisSusan Cosier

To keep an invasive plant from poisoning amphibians, Illinois conservationists are cutting and burning the dreaded buckthorn.

The Battered Belugas of Cook Inlet

April 21, 2016 NRDC in ActionAlaskaNicole Greenfield

Only a few hundred beluga whales remain in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, and they’re facing threats from every direction.

His Ancestors Hunted Them—Now This Man Is on a Mission to Save Arctic Whales

April 13, 2016 DispatchArctic, AlaskaJason Bittel

As climate change and oil drilling threaten the northern seas, John Morrison is carving out biodiversity hot spots for conservation.

The Woman Who Loves Orcas

January 20, 2016 DispatchAlaska, WestTed Genoways

Scientist, poet, and cancer survivor Eva Saulitis says that orcas saved her life. If only she could return the favor.

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?

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.

Burnin' Blubber

December 9, 2015 Latest NewsArcticJason Bittel

As warmer summers melt the Arctic, Pacific walruses have to work a lot harder to reach their seafloor feasts.

Northward Ho!

August 27, 2015 Latest NewsArctic, AlaskaAlisa Opar

Obama is headed to the Arctic. Here are five things the president should put on his must-do-in-Alaska list.

The Great Boto Botch Job

August 20, 2015 Latest NewsBrazilJason Bittel

How a brilliant marketing move led to the slaughter of thousands of pink river dolphins.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (from Distant Flames)

August 7, 2015 ExplainerUnited States, Colorado, Alaska, CaliforniaAlisa Opar

Wildfires may be harming the health of people who live hundreds or thousands of miles from the flames.

Dead Bear Walking

July 17, 2015 Latest NewsArcticBrian Palmer

Will “walking hibernation” help polars bears survive climate change?

Bringing the Noise

July 13, 2015 Latest NewsArcticAlisa Opar

How will Shell’s Arctic drilling affect marine mammals in the Chukchi Sea?

Spreading Their Wings

June 24, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Butterflies bred in a Chicago lab are fluttering their way back to Illinois swamps.

Blame It on the Rain

May 1, 2015 DispatchChicagoSusan Cosier

Chicago’s enormous drainage system will expand this summer, but it won’t be enough to handle climate change.

Wild Idea

April 3, 2015 Latest NewsArcticClara Chaisson

The president is asking Congress to designate crucial Arctic habitat as wilderness.

A Carbon Sink, Sinking

March 18, 2015 Latest NewsBrazilBrian Palmer

A new study suggests excess carbon dioxide is shrinking the Amazon.

Shell Game

February 19, 2015 Latest NewsArcticBrian Palmer

The Department of the Interior says there’s a 75 percent chance of a major oil spill in the Arctic—and it’s willing to take that chance.

Pebble Mine 2014 Year in Review: “And Then There Were Lawyers…”

January 5, 2015 Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds

Bison Back East

December 29, 2014 DispatchIllinois, MississippiSusan Cosier

Wild buffalo now roam east of the Mississippi for the first time since the 1830s, playing a crucial role in restoring Illinois grasslands.

Can't Touch This

December 16, 2014 Latest NewsAlaska

President Obama just protected the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery from oil and gas drilling.