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.

California Should Strengthen Commitment to Ropeless Fishing Systems

Expert BlogCaliforniaDr. Francine Kershaw
An updated draft Conservation Plan issued by the state represents a positive step towards reducing entanglements of whales and sea turtles, but the state should do more to advance ropeless (or "pop-up") fishing systems.

Stopping Pebble Mine: A Test of Our Democracy

Expert BlogAlaska, United States, CanadaJoel Reynolds
Isolation grows for Canadian owner of widely condemned Bristol Bay mine, faced with broad-based opposition at all levels and intensifying calls for permanent protection of the region.

Pebble Mine 2021 Year in Review: Back to the Future at EPA

Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds
Destructive Bristol Bay mega-mine is all but dead following EPA’s re-start in 2021 of Clean Water Act 404(c) process for region’s lasting protection, long sought by Bristol Bay tribes and communities.

Independent Review Rejects Pebble Mine Economic Analysis

Expert BlogAlaskaJoel Reynolds

Citing major flaws in Pebble Mine’s Preliminary Economic Assessment, Rio Tinto’s former Environment Chief concludes destructive Bristol Bay mining project risks losing “many hundreds of millions to multiple billions of dollars."

Ten New Environmental Laws in California

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.

EPA Sets Schedule for Bristol Bay Protections

Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Demonstrating its commitment to ending the threat of large-scale mining to the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery, EPA announced a new timeframe for considering whether to permanently protect Bristol Bay and stop the Pebble Mine.

Despite Climate Dangers, Offshore Leasing Continues in Gulf

Expert BlogUnited States, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, AlabamaValerie Cleland, Lauren Kubiak

This morning, the Biden administration held the largest offshore oil and gas lease sale in U.S. history. Though the Biden administration has been bold on climate in other ways, this latest action is profoundly disappointing.

Groups Urge EPA to Protect Bristol Bay by Summer 2022

Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

More than 50 groups urge EPA to issue permanent protections for Bristol Bay, Alaska under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act by the start of the 2022 fishing season. 

Court Vacates Trump Reversal of Bristol Bay Protections

Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Granting EPA motion to vacate, federal judge in Alaska reinstates safeguards against widely condemned Pebble Mine, dealing latest blow to embattled copper and gold mine in world's greatest wild salmon fishery

Biden Admin Takes 1st Step to Undo Trump’s Delta Destruction

Expert BlogCaliforniaDoug Obegi

The Trump Administration’s biological opinions were the result of scientific misconduct, political interference, and bias. The end result is nothing short of a plan for extinction that is playing out before our eyes.

California Enacts Plan for Smart Offshore Wind Development

Expert BlogCaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Mohit Chhabra

When AB 525 became law last month, California set the standard for floating offshore wind energy development in the United States. The law requires California to develop offshore wind in a way that creates good jobs, protects California's unparalleled marine…

California’s Wildly Inequitable Water Rights System

Expert BlogCaliforniaKate Poole

It's time to put the interests of the community above the interests of the ancestors of a handful of white settlers who staked their claim to our public resources over a century ago.

California Oil Disaster Brings New Urgency to Calls to Ban Drilling

Expert BlogCalifornia, United StatesValerie Cleland

We have to transition away from fossil fuels. That’s why it’s essential that Congress pass budget reconciliation with offshore drilling provisions—and enact President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.

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.