News & Commentary

UPDATED: Another Court Victory for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

August 18, 2023 Expert BlogWashington, D.C.Lucas Rhoads

A court sided with NRDC in its latest lawsuit to protect the endangered rusty patched bumble bee, paving the way for critical habitat protections. 

DOE Shrugs as U.S. Natural Gas Exports Surge

August 11, 2023 Expert BlogLouisiana, Texas, Florida, Alaska, New Jersey, PennsylvaniaGillian Giannetti, Morgan Johnson

A decade-long expansion of U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminals has transformed American energy policy.

Oil Industry Netted Billions in Profits, Despite Global Price Dip

August 10, 2023 Expert BlogWashington, D.C.Zanagee Artis

Amidst record breaking heat and intensifying climate disasters, industry is still calling for fossil fuel expansion in the second quarter of 2023

Winter Storm Elliott Report Highlights the Risk of Natural Gas Failures

July 20, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, East, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, TexasDana Ammann

PJM’s report on Winter Storm Elliott found that gas generators were responsible for 70 percent of forced outages during December 2022. Climate change will only intensify future severe weather. 

Oregon Must Do More to Reduce Entanglements

July 10, 2023 Expert BlogOregon, United StatesDr. Francine Kershaw

Help our West Coast marine life and ask the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to require stronger management measures.

Federal Agencies Restore Endangered Species Protections—Mostly

June 23, 2023 Expert BlogWashington, D.C.Lucas Rhoads

U.S. FWS and NMFS proposed to reverse prior rollbacks of protections for imperiled species, but more is needed.

Did Pebble Mine Shareholders “Blink” in Securities Fraud Suit?

June 16, 2023 Expert BlogAlaska, United StatesJoel Reynolds

Pebble Mine owner agrees to settle shareholder claims that company failed to disclose secret plan for exponential expansion of widely opposed Bristol Bay mine.

Study Shows 14,000 Unplugged Oil and Gas Wells in Gulf of Mexico

May 23, 2023 Expert BlogTexas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, FloridaRebecca Loomis, Rebecca Ramirez

Industry has neglected thousands of unused oil and gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico. They will cost an estimated $30 billion to plug and decommission.

Strengthen Power Plant Carbon Standards for Greater Climate Benefit

May 22, 2023 Expert BlogWashington, D.C.Amanda Levin, Sophia Ahmed

Power plants have operated without accountability for their carbon emissions for too long. The proposal represents a good first step, however, the EPA should seize the opportunity to strengthen the standards in both scope and speed. This approach will help…

EPA: Neonics Likely Driving 200+ Species Toward Extinction

May 15, 2023 Expert BlogWashington, D.C.Lucas Rhoads

U.S. EPA's unprecedented findings confirm that widespread neonic pesticide use threatens critical pollinators, other wildlife, and whole ecosystems. 

Western Electricity Grid Is Entering Its Day-Ahead Market Era

April 28, 2023 Expert BlogWest, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, WashingtonKelsie Gomanie

NRDC is working with stakeholders to safeguard consumer interests and environmental protections as utilities from California to the Great Plains weigh proposals to share energy resources through an organized market.

Goodbye Verner, Fearless Fighter Against the Pebble Mine

April 19, 2023 Expert BlogUnited States, AlaskaJoel Reynolds

Bristol Bay tribal and environmental leader Verner Wilson III personified the next generation of committed opposition in decades-long battle against destructive Bristol Bay mining scheme.  

Rate Increases and Blackouts: Duke Energy’s Strategy for 2023

April 6, 2023 Expert BlogNorth Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, EastLuis Martinez

Duke failed to keep the lights on last December, but it is now pursuing enormous rate increases of more than 30 percent to help pay for fossil fuels and huge executive salary raises.

Holding Interior to Account on Gulf Oil and Gas Leasing

March 6, 2023 Expert BlogAlabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, TexasIrene Gutierrez

Continuing to extract oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico will have a steep price for the environment and coastal communities in the region. That's why NRDC and our partners took BOEM to court.

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest Gets the Protections It Deserves

February 17, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

After a decades-long fight, the newly reinstated Roadless Rule will safeguard these wildlands from road construction and logging.

Crushing Alaska’s Pebble Mine

February 13, 2023 NRDC in ActionAlaskaNicole Greenfield, Jeff Turrentine

The EPA’s decision to veto the project is fantastic news—but the fight to save Bristol Bay isn’t over yet.

One Year Since Court Restored ESA Protections for Wolves

February 10, 2023 Expert BlogCalifornia, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, WisconsinDr. Jennifer Sherry

Without these protections, wolf recovery could be stopped dead in its tracks—or even reversed—as we have seen happen when states with authority over wolf management work to cut populations down through aggressive measures.

White House Poised to Carbon-Bomb Its Own Climate Progress

February 8, 2023 Expert BlogAlaskaAnn Alexander

The Willow oil drilling project—the largest single drilling project proposed on federal land—will cause roughly 280 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over the course its lifetime.

Fish and Wildlife Service to Review Grizzly Bear Protections

February 6, 2023 Expert BlogMontana, WyomingAmy McNamara, Dr. Jennifer Sherry

USFWS will assess if grizzly bears require ongoing protection in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems.

NRDC and Partners Sue to Stop Oil Leasing in Cook Inlet, AK

December 21, 2022 Expert BlogAlaskaJulia Forgie

We're challenging Interior's decision to lease nearly a million acres of this vibrant ocean ecosystem for oil production without looking more carefully at the environmental harms that will result.