News & Commentary

Meet the activists and NRDC staff propelling change, read our expert analysis, and learn about the latest challenges and solutions to advancing a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world.

Latest News

Stay on top of the latest research, policy updates, publication releases, and environmental news. 

Explainer

Get a breakdown of complex climate, public health, nature, and equity topics to inform your activism.

Dispatch

Read about activists tackling climate justice and other environmental causes in their communities and beyond.

Perspectives

Discover intersectional viewpoints from activists and artists on the environmental issues of the moment.

NRDC in Action

Find out how NRDC protects people and the planet by learning about some of our key fights.

Expert Blogs

Hear from our policy advocates, scientists, and litigators about the challenges and solutions for building a healthier and more just world.

America’s Failing Drinking Water System

ExplainerUnited States, Buffalo, Houston, Puerto Rico, California, FlintNicole Greenfield

First, Flint, Michigan; then, Jackson, Mississippi. Communities around the country wonder if their water quality problems will lead to the next national crisis.

An Ally in the Fight for Safe, Affordable Drinking Water for All

NRDC in ActionDetroit, Illinois, Flint, Chicago, MichiganNicole Greenfield
Detroit native Jeremy Orr combines his personal experience and community organizing roots with his legal expertise to help communities of color in Michigan and Illinois dismantle environmental racism.

Food Systems Analyst

NRDC in ActionBaltimore, Nashville, Denver, Maryland, Tennessee, ColoradoJeff Turrentine
Andrea Spacht Collins is working to minimize food waste by changing the way we think about what we eat—and what we don’t eat, where it comes from, and where it ends up.

Fighting the Tide of Watered Down Justice

NRDC in ActionFlint, Michigan, Newark, New JerseyNicole Greenfield
Nearly three years after winning a $97 million legal settlement that required the city of Flint to replace its lead water service lines, NRDC is still on the ground holding officials accountable, and using similar tactics as we demand clean…

What Can We Do to Fix the Drinking Water Problem in America?

ExplainerUnited States, Flint, Newark, Michigan, New Jersey
Seth Siegel, author of the new book “Troubled Water: What’s Wrong with What We Drink,” says we must change people’s mind-sets and get to the root of the issue to ensure safe drinking water for everyone.

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

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.

This Is How We Stand Up to Trump

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.

An Uphill Battle, and Persistence, in Flint

NRDC in ActionFlint, MichiganNicole Greenfield
These four NRDC lawyers would finish each other’s thoughts—at any odd hour of the day or night—in their quest to help victims of the city’s lead crisis.

Why We Need the EPA

ExplainerPuerto Rico, New York City, United States, ClevelandBrian Palmer
Let’s not forget what America looked like before we had the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Our rivers caught on fire, our air was full of smog, and it stank (literally).

Going Deep to Save Our Ocean Treasures

NRDC in ActionNew York, New JerseyLora Shinn
How NRDC helped form an unlikely alliance to help protect 38,000 square miles of unique habitat in the Atlantic.

Greening the Playing Fields

NRDC in ActionPhiladelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, Portland (Oregon), BostonAmanda MacMillan
How the sports industry became one of the planet's most powerful allies.

Is Water a Human Right?

ExplainerUnited States, Flint, New York, Jackson, Michigan, MississippiBrian Palmer
A look at what U.S. and international laws have to say about our right to clean drinking water.

Lead by the Numbers

ExplainerFlint, Michigan, United StatesNicole Greenfield
This Harper’s-inspired index on lead puts the Flint Water Crisis into new perspective.

Go Easy on the Salt

ExplainerFlint, Michigan, United StatesBrian Palmer
Did road salt help cause the Flint water crisis?

Meet the Waste Watcher

NRDC in ActionNew York City, United StatesSarah Engler
NRDC scientist Dana Gunders has written the book on the mounting problem of food waste.