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Expert Blogs

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Celebrating Year One of the Food Matters Regional Initiative

Expert BlogChicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, Madison, Ohio, Baltimore, Jersey City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, North Carolina, Memphis, OrlandoMadeline Keating, Darby Hoover

A year after the launch of the Food Matters Regional Initiative, we are pleased to report considerable progress and accomplishments from the 15 regional initiative participants.

Colorado Basin Shortages Point to Need for State Action

Expert BlogColoradoEd Osann

This year's unprecedented shortage declaration for the Colorado River should galvanize all Colorado Basin states to redouble their efforts to curtail wasteful and unnecessary uses of water and build more resilient communities. 

NRDC Sets Region Specific Water Targets for Each Office

Expert BlogUnited States, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Bozeman, Beijing, San Francisco, Santa MonicaMaria McCain

NRDC has seen a steady decline in total water usage institution-wide and has taken steps to advance water stewardship.

New Ads Urge EPA to Finish the Job and Veto Pebble Mine

Expert BlogAlaskaTaryn Kiekow Heimer

Broad-based coalition rolls out new media campaign on TV, print, and digital platforms in Washington DC, calling on EPA to “Finish the Job” and permanently protect Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine.

North Carolina Is Moving Forward with Climate Regulations

Expert BlogNorth CarolinaLuis Martinez

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission (EMC) approved a petition from CleanAIRE NC and the NC Coastal Federation (represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center) to have North Carolina begin rulemaking to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

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 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.

PeoriaCorps Green Infrastructure Training Increases Stipend

Expert BlogPeoria, IllinoisAlyssa Brown, Jared Knicley

This is the fourth in a series of blogs celebrating the grant projects funded through our Clean Air Act settlement with the owners of the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant outside Peoria, Illinois. The settlement provides for the plant to…

NJ Extends Utility Shutoff Moratorium Through End of Year

Expert BlogNew JerseyLarry Levine

NJ extends shutoff protection, through 2021, to millions at risk of losing water, electric, and gas service. A necessary step, while the state works to secure financial support for families that fell behind on utility bills during the COVID-19 emergency.

JBS' Workers Paid the Ultimate Price, While Profits Surged

Expert BlogUnited States, ColoradoJessica Carey-Webb, David Wallinga, MD

As an industry, meatpackers seem to operate according to their own set of rules, often reprehensible and sometimes deadly. Among its global peers JBS, the world’s largest meatpacking company, is exceptional. The extent and documentation of its corporate irresponsibility is…

Energy From Pig Poop: Industry’s Recent Dupe

Expert BlogUnited States, North CarolinaPaloma Sisneros-Lobato

Pork producer Smithfield Foods, in partnership with Dominion Energy under the new name Align RNG, have focused their corporate agribusiness agenda on building a network of directed biogas to generate energy from methane gas, rather than investing in cleaner waste…

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…

A New Customer Bill of Rights: Affordable Utility Services

Expert BlogIllinois, United StatesDeron Lovaas, Larry Levine
The vital need for uninterrupted utility service was evident before the coronavirus pandemic, but the COVID-19 public health emergency has reinforced the essential nature of utility service and the threats of energy and water poverty.

Brief Filed in Lawsuit to Protect Delaware River from PCBs

Expert BlogNew Jersey, PennsylvaniaMarisa Guerrero, Julia Jonas-Day
Water quality in the Delaware River is under threat of PCB chemical pollution from a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal. To protect the river, NRDC filed an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit challenging the facility's dredging and construction…