News & Commentary

The Biden Administration Protects Millions of Acres of Arctic Alaska

April 19, 2024 Latest NewsArctic, AlaskaJenny Shalant

The new Special Areas Rule in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska could boost biodiversity and empower Indigenous Peoples to defend the lands they’ve relied on for generations.

The Long, Long Battle for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

March 15, 2024 ExplainerAlaskaBrian Palmer, Nicole Greenfield

For decades, politicians have vacillated between protecting Alaska’s refuge as one of the last unspoiled places on earth and plundering it for oil.

California’s Climate Whiplash

April 17, 2023 ExplainerCaliforniaNicole Greenfield

The state broke snowfall records after three of its driest years ever. Now floods wreak havoc. These swings are the new normal—and they’re very hard to manage.

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.

A 22-Year Court Battle Ends with Justice for the Penobscot River

October 11, 2022 NRDC in ActionMaineNicole Greenfield

After more than a half century of toxic mercury contamination, Maine’s longest river is finally getting cleaned up—a major win for the public interest over corporate polluters.

These NRDC Experts Show Us How We Can Slow the Spread of Zoonotic Diseases

May 14, 2020 NRDC in ActionChina, United StatesCourtney Lindwall

It will take the highest levels of international cooperation, but by working to curb wildlife trade and conserve vast swaths of disappearing habitat, we can minimize the interspecies interactions that spread viruses.

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.

Monarch Butterflies Get a Head Start in the Schoolyard

March 12, 2019 NRDC in ActionGeorgiaCourtney Lindwall

NRDC joins with Monarch Watch to distribute free milkweed plants to schools across the country and turn students into butterfly gardeners.

Army Corps Releases a Slapdash Environmental Review of Alaska’s Pebble Mine

March 1, 2019 Latest NewsAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

But the proposed gold and copper mine’s catastrophic threats to the waterways, salmon, and people of Bristol Bay haven’t changed.

Facing Down the Ivory Sellers, Pangolin Poachers, and Giraffe Traders

December 10, 2018 NRDC in ActionNew York, California, Hawaii, United States, ChinaNicole Greenfield

Elly Pepper, deputy director of NRDC’s Wildlife Trade Initiative, says there’s much that U.S. advocates can do to end the illegal marketplaces endangering animals across the globe.

After 140 Million Years, the Chinese Sturgeon May Soon Be Extinct

November 20, 2018 ExplainerChinaJason Bittel

As dams have popped up in the Yangtze River, one of the world’s biggest freshwater fish is running out of room—and time.

This Lawyer Is Fighting to Save Two of the World’s Most Endangered Species

September 10, 2018 NRDC in ActionOregon, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Oregon-based NRDC attorney Giulia Good Stefani is living her dream by working to protect orcas off her coast and vaquitas in the Gulf of California.

Alaska's Previously Defeated Pebble Mine Project Has a New Investor

February 23, 2018 Latest NewsAlaskaCourtney Lindwall

The proposed mine, resurrected by EPA administrator Scott Pruitt last year, now has financial backing from Canada's First Quantum Minerals.

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 Is How We Stand Up to Trump

December 20, 2017 NRDC in ActionUnited States, Washington, D.C., Utah, Michigan, CaliforniaNicole Greenfield

Meet a handful of the NRDC staffers who resisted Trump’s attacks and defended our environment in 2017—and who won’t stop fighting anytime soon.

This Leader of the (Legal) Resistance Has Never Felt More Ready

December 7, 2017 NRDC in ActionWashington, D.C., Flint, Michigan, MaineJeff Turrentine

NRDC Chief Counsel Mitch Bernard takes on big polluters, climate deniers, and their powerful allies—including those who sit in the West Wing.

The Fight to Keep Oil and Gas Rigs Out of Our Waters. For Good.

October 3, 2017 NRDC in ActionAlaska, Florida, California, Washington, United StatesMelissa Denchak

NRDC played a key role in banning offshore drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic. Once again, it’s fighting to protect those oceans—and the rest of America’s waters.

Could Grizzlies Make Good Neighbors?

February 13, 2017 ExplainerWashingtonJason Bittel

In Washington State, biologists and conservationists are working to open the wilderness (and people’s minds) to the Great Bear.

Trashing the Gregory Canyon Landfill

December 12, 2016 NRDC in ActionSan Diego, CaliforniaMelissa Denchak

The California garbage dump project would have desecrated sacred tribal lands, destroyed vital wildlife habitat, and put local waters at risk.