News & Commentary

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.

International Day of Indigenous Peoples: Free Nahuelbuta

August 9, 2018 Expert BlogChile, InternationalJames Blair

In the Nahuelbuta Mountains of what is now Chile, Indigenous Mapuche communities offer hopeful lessons for native forest restoration and river protection, based on deep historical relations with the local environment.

To Help the Wildlife in China, This Advocate Believes You Must Help the People First

February 6, 2018 NRDC in ActionChinaNicole Greenfield

The world’s most populous country has a new national park system, a new ban on ivory, and NRDC’s Lisa Hua to support them both.

This 13-Year-Old Gives Us Hope for the Future

November 16, 2017 DispatchConnecticut, Washington, D.C.Nicole Greenfield

From the classroom to Capitol Hill, Sena Wazer has dedicated herself to standing up for whales.

New Haven Is for the Birds—and the People

November 7, 2017 DispatchConnecticutClara Chaisson

This partnership is bringing bird-friendly “urban oases” to underserved neighborhoods in Connecticut.

Farms on the Fringe: New Takes on America’s Farming Tradition

August 1, 2017 DispatchCalifornia, Colorado, Iowa, New York, Kentucky, New MexicoTracie McMillan

These six farmers have found innovative ways to grow plants in today’s climate, whether in corn country or coal country, with fish tanks or smartphones.

State Legislators Say Iowa Has Achieved Sustainable Farming (It Hasn’t) and Doesn’t Need More Research (It Does)

July 17, 2017 DispatchIowaSusan Cosier

The state’s lawmakers have cut funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, leaving rural farmers in the lurch.

What It Took to Create the Atlantic’s First Marine National Monument

October 4, 2016 NRDC in ActionConnecticut, Massachusetts, United StatesMelissa Denchak

After years of work by NRDC and its partners, about 5,000 square miles of ocean—with massive canyons, majestic underwater mountains, and more than 1,000 species—have received permanent protection.

A Smuggler’s Fridge Is No Place for the Weird and Wonderful Pangolin

September 21, 2016 ExplainerAfrica, ChinaJason Bittel

The world must crack down on the pangolin trade or risk losing these animals for good.

Subway Cleans Up Its Chicken Game

May 12, 2016 NRDC in ActionConnecticut

NRDC helped get the world’s second-largest restaurant chain out of the antibiotics business.

The Long Road to Safer School Buses

March 15, 2016 NRDC in ActionWashington, California, New Jersey, TexasAmanda MacMillan

A landmark NRDC study showed that standard-issue diesel-spewing school buses could put kids at risk of cancer—and drove a national effort to clean the vehicles up.

Yellowstone's Grizzlies Aren't Out of the Woods Yet

March 14, 2016 NRDC in ActionWyoming, Montana, IdahoJeff Turrentine

The park's threatened bears are on the road to recovery. But without continued federal protection, they'll be back on the path to extinction.

Why Are Our Waters Turning Green?

March 14, 2016 NRDC in ActionLouisiana, Toledo, Ohio, Des Moines, IowaNicole Greenfield

Toxic algal blooms are suffocating waterways from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Erie.

The Soil Savior

October 15, 2015 DispatchTexasJeff Turrentine

A Texas farmer is bucking tradition by putting soil health above all else. The result? Water-retaining, nutrient-rich pay dirt.

Toxic Two-Step

May 15, 2015 DispatchTexasJeff Turrentine

When politicians and corporate polluters step onto the dance floor in Texas, the state’s environmental agency provides the music.

A Sickening Swill

December 5, 2014 DispatchIowaSusan Cosier

Iowans don't want runoff from factory farms coming out of their faucets. So it’s about time the government does something about it.

Doing Our Dirty Work

November 21, 2014 Latest NewsChina

China emits a lot of carbon, but it’s because they’re making all our stuff.

Port Arthur, Texas: American Sacrifice Zone

November 13, 2014 DispatchPort Arthur, TexasTed Genoways

If built, the Keystone XL pipeline would end in one toxic town.

Proven Pathways to Clean up China's Ports, a Major Source of China's Air Pollution Problem

October 28, 2014 Expert BlogChinaDavid Pettit

Can't Beat 'Em? Eat 'Em

October 8, 2014 PerspectivesConnecticutAlexis Sobel Fitts

I did my thing for the environment by feasting on strange creatures at a weirdly delicious New Haven sushi restaurant.