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.

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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.

The Unlikely Takedown of Keystone XL

NRDC in ActionNebraska, South Dakota, Canada, MontanaCourtney Lindwall
The notorious tar sands pipeline was a lightning rod in the fight against climate change and the seemingly unstoppable oil industry. NRDC advocates were part of a broad coalition that helped stop Keystone XL—for good.

The West Coast: Carbon Free by 2045 . . . or Earlier

Expert BlogWest, California, Oregon, WashingtonRalph Cavanagh

HB 2021, Oregon’s “100% Clean Electricity” bill just approved by the legislature and sent to Governor Brown’s desk for signing, aligns with New York for the most aggressive state clean electricity goal in the country—zero greenhouse gas emissions in the…

Power Outages in Colorado: Why Now and How to Stay Safe

Expert BlogColoradoAriana Gonzalez, Sam Gilchrist

Hot days and climate-fueled disasters are the times we need reliable power the most, yet all too often, that’s when we experience blackouts. Keep reading to learn about why Colorado is experiencing blackouts, how to prepare and protect your family…

Colorado Heat Waves: Why, Where, and How to Stay Safe

Expert BlogColoradoSam Gilchrist, Juanita Constible, Ariana Gonzalez

Heat waves are on the rise, and they’re especially dangerous for outdoor workers, people without adequate air conditioning, and the elderly. Keep reading to learn more about the connections between climate change and heat waves, what you can do to…

Colorado Wildfires: When, Why, and How to Stay Safe

Expert BlogColoradoSam Gilchrist, Dr. Vijay Limaye, Ariana Gonzalez

More frequent and intense wildfires in Colorado are a clear sign that the climate crisis is here. Keep reading to learn more about how climate change is fueling stronger wildfires across Colorado, what you can do to keep yourself and…

Colorado Steps Up for Healthy Homes and Good Jobs

Expert BlogColoradoAlejandra Mejia Cunningham

New laws will put Colorado’s building sector on track to meet the state’s climate goals and ensure that the transition to healthy, 100% clean energy buildings will result in good, family-sustaining jobs for those who need them most.

Putting Pembroke’s Priorities Above a Gas Giveaway

Expert BlogIllinoisAmulya Yerrapotu

Nicor Gas is currently pushing a gas line extension bill to foist costly and dangerous fossil fuel energy onto Pembroke—one of Illinois’s last remaining historical Black farming communities—for decades to come.

Minnesota Advances to Become First Midwest Clean Cars State

Expert BlogMinnesotaDr. Simon Mui

The proposal to adopt a Clean Cars Minnesota program was given a greenlight today, which would mean Minnesota will become the first Midwest state to adopt a Clean Cars program to introduce more electric vehicles together with cleaner internal-combustion engine…

Chicago Lays Out New Green Recovery Priorities on COVID-19

Expert BlogChicago, IllinoisStefan Schaffer
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a series of environmental priorities aligned with a “Green Recovery,” a significant step toward reducing the city’s reliance on fossil fuels and creating more equitable economic opportunities in the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

How Cities Are Centering Equity in Benchmarking Policies

Expert BlogDenver, Colorado, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seattle, WashingtonCaroline Keicher
A new resource from the City Energy Project—Incorporating Equity into Energy Benchmarking Requirements: Guidance for Policy and Program Practitioners—helps cities understand the opportunity to leverage benchmarking and transparency policies to address racial and social equity.

Time to Repeal New England’s Anti-Consumer Dirty Energy Rule

Expert BlogEast, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, ConnecticutBruce Ho
The arcane Minimum Offer Price Rule threatens to frustrate New England's efforts to tackle the climate crisis while raising electricity bills by $3 billion dollars over 10 years.

Time to Bury Big Oil's Criminal Enhancement Bill for Good

Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey
An Illinois legislator is pushing for a bill which would significantly enhance criminal penalties for anyone entering or causing damage to a very widely defined group of “critical infrastructure facilities,” effectively chilling peaceful exercise of freedom of speech, and threatening…

Fighting Inequity with Solar Power

DispatchMinneapolis, St. PaulSusan Cosier
Minneapolis’s 4d program to boost energy efficiency and affordable housing in the city is kicking it up a notch.

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.