News & Commentary

Pennsylvania to Join Regional Effort to Slash Climate-Damaging Power Plant Pollution

October 3, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, PennsylvaniaNRDC

Turning away from its fossil fuel past, the Keystone State is preparing to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative—a significant win for our climate and public health.

As the Amazon Burns, Jaguars Burn With It

October 1, 2019 DispatchBrazilJason Bittel

How Brazil’s blazes are devastating for these big cats—and for so, so, so much more.

Xcel Energy to Bring Advanced Smart Charging to Colorado

September 30, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, ColoradoPamela MacDougall

The Complicated Patchwork of Amazonia

September 27, 2019 Expert BlogBrazilJessica Carey-Webb

The Amazon is a complex and ever-evolving region that contains extremely important natural and cultural wealth that is worth conserving.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan to Help Transition Homes off Oil

September 27, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, SeattleMaria Stamas

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, with a unanimous City Council, passed a law to help homes with oil-fueled heating sources transition to clean, electric heat.

In Colorado’s High Desert, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Goes Solar

September 26, 2019 DispatchColoradoStarre Vartan

The Ute Mountain Ute tribe is working to free itself from fossil fuel dependency—and preparing to help solarize the rest of the state, too.

As the DOE Abandons a Toxic Mess Threatening the Columbia River, the Yakama Nation Fights Back

September 18, 2019 DispatchWashingtonLora Shinn

The DOE wants to dodge its cleanup duties by reclassifying the nuclear waste contaminating a site along Washington’s Columbia River. Not only is it a reckless move, but it may violate treaty-protected indigenous rights.

Colorado PUC Says the Price of Electricity Can’t Affect EVs?

September 16, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, ColoradoMax Baumhefner

Colorado's PUC seems to have ruled that the price of electricity will not affect the adoption of electric vehicles, or that environmental interests affected by electric vehicle adoption are not tangible.

How the Food Industry Can Fight Fires in the Amazon

September 5, 2019 Expert BlogInternational, BrazilSujatha Bergen, Jake Schmidt

By diversifying their menus, American companies can drive positive change.

America Should Export Clean Energy, Not Climate Chaos

August 29, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, China, InternationalDan West, Han Chen

As Congress revisits America’s foreign development strategies, it should prioritize clean energy solutions both at home and abroad to chart a more sustainable path forward and provide other countries with a truly clean energy financing alternative to Russia and China.

Are My Denim Jeans Bad for the Environment?

August 27, 2019 ExplainerUnited States, ChinaCourtney Lindwall

Environmental reporter Tatiana Schlossberg, author of "Inconspicuous Consumption," says the American staple needs a 21st-century overhaul for the sake of our water, climate, and health.

The Ohio River Defines the Borders of Five States—But Its Pollution Doesn’t Stop at State Lines

August 21, 2019 DispatchPennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, IllinoisSusan Cosier

In a move that could open the door to industrial waste and interstate squabbles, the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission is making its water quality standards voluntary.

Latin America Can Be a Climate Leader with Better Land Use

August 21, 2019 Expert BlogBrazil, Chile, Mexico, ColombiaCarolina Herrera

One climate priority where Latin America can and must make critical progress and show leadership is land use.

Energy Efficiency Boosts Prospects of Low-Income Marylanders

August 19, 2019 Expert BlogMaryland, BaltimoreDeron Lovaas

There has been considerable attention from national pundits and political operatives pointing at Baltimore as a city that has not reached its full potential. While they fixate on problems, Energy Efficiency for All teammates write about a helpful solution in…

PA Needs CO2 Limits—and Strong Renewables Policy, Too

August 8, 2019 Expert BlogPennsylvaniaMark Szybist, Amanda Levin

New modeling shows that Pennsylvania can remain a large electricity exporter while building a better, cleaner, and stronger economy.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and NRDC Confront Federal Failures

May 17, 2019 Expert BlogNorth Dakota, South DakotaDr. Jennifer Sass

Pennsylvania's Gas Power Problem, Part 1: The Build-Out

May 10, 2019 Expert BlogUnited States, PennsylvaniaMark Szybist

For most of the last decade, the biggest energy story in Pennsylvania has been fracking—the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to extract shale gas—and the dramatic increase in gas production that fracking has driven.

A Tribe in Northern Minnesota Shows the Country How to Do Community Solar

December 12, 2018 DispatchMinnesotaSusan Cosier

Photovoltaic panels on the Leech Lake reservation are generating clean power—and revenue to help those who need it most.

All Eyes on China's Clean Energy Leadership

November 28, 2018 Expert BlogChinaBarbara Finamore

As climate studies grow more urgent and the Trump administration continues to undermine climate action, all eyes are on the world’s biggest country—and currently its biggest polluter—to model the way forward.

Will China Save the Planet?

November 27, 2018 NRDC in ActionBeijing, ChinaNicole Greenfield

Barbara Finamore, NRDC’s senior strategic director for Asia, witnessed the birth of China’s clean energy movement. Her new book considers its future.