News & Commentary

FDA's New Report on Animal Antibiotics Ignores Public Health

July 13, 2022 Expert BlogWashington, D.C., United StatesDavid Wallinga, MD

Amid a decades-long concern about widespread U.S. antibiotic overuse in livestock, the FDA continues ignoring the public health need to track and make that use visible.

Congress Speaks Out Against More Offshore Leasing

July 7, 2022 Expert BlogWashington, D.C., United StatesValerie Cleland

Food Waste Reduction in Chicago’s Climate Action Plan

June 3, 2022 Expert BlogChicagoMadeline Keating

The plan identifies co-benefits and strategies that are intended to not only drive down carbon emissions but also create a more just and equitable city, where all Chicagoan’s can thrive.

Why Illinois Has a Power Supply Crunch, and How to Fix It

May 3, 2022 Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey

Market forces have driven a lot of coal power offline in the past decade—but regulatory barriers and outdated thinking by some utilities has led to missed opportunities to expand affordable clean energy resources.

Time to End Consumers Energy’s Use of Coal

April 13, 2022 Expert BlogMichiganDerrell E. Slaughter

Consumers Energy wants to speed up the retirement of its remaining coal plant—the J.H. Campbell Power Plant, located just outside of Grand Rapids—as part of its plan to become carbon-neutral by 2040.

Celebrating Year One of the Food Matters Regional Initiative

August 30, 2021 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.

Michigan's Gas Giveaway

July 6, 2021 Expert BlogMichiganAmulya Yerrapotu

The Michigan Legislature is currently considering a massive giveaway to gas utilities, tucked away in the state budget. This proposal would allocate $250 million of taxpayer money towards paying for gas utility infrastructure expansions, with no specification on how many…

Nurses Wanted in a City Long Plagued by Coal Plant Pollution

June 29, 2021 DispatchPeoriaMaudlyne Ihejirika

Through efforts to train a more diverse pool of nurses and create family-sustaining careers, workforce leaders in Peoria, Illinois, are jump-starting their economy and addressing the inequities of the past.

The Rubber Stamp Allowing Pipelines to Pollute Clean Water

June 21, 2021 Expert BlogNorth Dakota, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, MichiganAmy Mall

Putting Pembroke’s Priorities Above a Gas Giveaway

May 26, 2021 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.

Food Matters City Partners Work Every Day to Stop Food Waste

April 28, 2021 Expert BlogOhio, Washington, D.C., United StatesNina Sevilla

Partnerships are the cornerstone of NRDC’s Food Matters project. Exciting work is happening in Food Matters partner cities and counties to reduce food waste.

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

April 11, 2021 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…

Feed People and the Soil, Starve Landfills and Incinerators

March 15, 2021 Expert BlogBaltimore, MarylandYvette Cabrera, Darby Hoover

At a time when one in four American adults face hunger, it is imperative that we look for ways to ensure food is eaten, not disposed.

Consumers Win If Illinois’ Prairie State Coal Plant Closes

March 3, 2021 Expert BlogIllinoisJ.C. Kibbey

Prairie State is one of the top 10 polluters in the nation.

Fossils and Nukes: The Downsides to Congress’ Latest Actions

December 23, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, D.C.Josh Axelrod, Geoffrey H. Fettus

With the passage of significant energy and climate legislation as part of an end-of-year spending package, Congress cobbled together legislation with both major climate wins (including the phase-down of HFCs) and problematic handouts for the fossil fuel industry and dangerous…

Bipartisan States Commit to Clean and Healthy Transportation

December 21, 2020 Expert BlogMassachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Washington, D.C.Bruce Ho

A bipartisan group of Eastern states announce an agreement to modernize transportation.

EPA Declines to Limit Deadly Soot Air Pollution

December 8, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, D.C.Emily Davis, John Walke, Dr. Vijay Limaye

On its way out the door, the Trump Administration undermines the Clean Air Act and public health in a profound way.

Compost Matters—But Food Matters More

December 3, 2020 Expert BlogBaltimore, United StatesYvette Cabrera

With food waste reduction in mind, the Baltimore Food Matters team created a resource that could serve as a reminder to be cognizant of food waste, what we can do to prevent it, and how anyone can compost locally.

The Federal Reserve’s New Signals on Climate

November 18, 2020 Expert BlogUnited States, Washington, D.C.Sarah Dougherty

The Fed, the U.S. central bank, has moved from irregular mentions to a concerted effort to roll out a spate of new ideas and endeavors that highlight the risks of climate change to our financial system.

Environmental Justice in Chicago: It’s Been One Battle After Another

October 29, 2020 PerspectivesChicagoKeith Mulvihill

Cheryl Johnson and Peggy Salazar have been speaking out against pollution and environmental injustice for decades, but the city of Chicago sees their South Side neighborhoods as sacrifice zones. They are demanding change.