News & Commentary

EPA Backs Industry, Defending Carcinogenic Herbicide Glyphosate

April 30, 2019 Expert BlogNRDC

But the toxic chemical, more commonly known as Roundup, was just found by the administration’s own science advisors to threaten public health.

EPA Yet Again Fails to Set Health-Protective Levels for PFAS

April 26, 2019 Expert BlogDr. Anna Reade

Yesterday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released draft interim recommendations for addressing groundwater contaminated with PFOA and PFOS. EPA’s proposal would leave Americans across the country who live near contaminated sites unprotected from potentially dangerous levels of these toxic…

Fenceline Communities Demand Protections from Toxic Industry

April 26, 2019 Expert BlogGina Ramirez

There are more than 12,000 high-risk chemical facilities across the country and 40 percent of the country’s population live within three miles of one or more of them.

Colorado: Support a Just and Equitable Transition via Securitization

April 24, 2019 Expert BlogJulia Prochnik

A just and equitable transition is possible with political support, investment, and community involvement. Utility securitization can be a prescription for lowering energy costs and a useful financing tool to help fund a just and equitable transition to clean energy…

Trump EPA’s Toxic Chemical Policies Draw Another Lawsuit

April 23, 2019 Expert BlogDaniel Rosenberg

NRDC and our allies have filed a lawsuit challenging EPA's illegal failure to protect the public from the toxic chemical methylene chloride.

Midwest Leadership in the Climate Fight

April 22, 2019 Expert BlogRhea Suh

America’s heartland is stepping up to do what’s best for their people, their states, and their country.

What Does It Mean to Have Healthy People and Thriving Communities?

April 22, 2019 Expert BlogShelley Poticha

Defining what "everyday environmentalists" do to fight for a just, sustainable, and socially equitable world in which people have a meaningful voice in their health and well-being.

Climate Adaptation: A Growing Priority for NRDC

April 22, 2019 Expert BlogJuanita Constible, Rob Moore

NRDC experts are headed to National Adaptation Forum this week, one of the most important gatherings of climate adaptation professionals in the United States.

Call on Virginia's Governor Now to Protect Climate Action

April 19, 2019 Expert BlogVirginiaWalton Shepherd

Virginia just advanced a groundbreaking climate action plan—but pro-polluters are trying to block it.

We Saved the Ozone Layer. We Can Save the Climate

April 17, 2019 Expert BlogUnited StatesDavid Doniger

Climate change is not the first planetary pollution crisis we have faced. That distinction belongs to the depletion of the earth’s protective ozone layer. And how we solved the ozone crisis teaches lessons for climate change.

Setting the Standard for Climate-Protective Homes

April 15, 2019 Expert BlogDr. David B. Goldstein

A new energy standard for homes can save an additional 20 percent compared to the current model that advanced jurisdictions are adopting. If your city or state wants to be greener, they should consider ASHRAE Standard 90.2-2018

U.S. Power in 2018: The Good, the Better, and the Gassy

April 11, 2019 Expert BlogAmanda Levin, Sophia Ptacek

The first numbers on last year’s energy trends are in, and there are two pieces of great news and one that should worry us: Solar and wind energy are thriving, coal-fired generation sunk to a four-decade low—but natural gas infrastructure…

Could These Country Roads Be Toxic to Kids?

April 9, 2019 DispatchIowaSusan Cosier

A county in eastern Iowa has been replacing gravel with slag, a steel industry byproduct. It’s hard, sharp, and potentially a public health concern.

Making Investments Climate Smart: Globally and in India

April 2, 2019 Expert BlogSameer Kwatra

Human-induced climate change is an epoch-defining event that is already affecting all life on earth and, if left unchecked, portends catastrophic consequences. Both mitigating greenhouse gas emissions to alleviate the effects of climate change and adapting to its adverse impacts…

Michigan Should Set Precedent-Setting PFAS Water Standards

April 1, 2019 Expert BlogDr. Anna Reade, Erik D. Olson

Today the Natural Resources Defense Council filed an extensive scientific report making a detailed case for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to establish strict drinking water standards for five chemicals within the PFAS class. We also requested that…

National Public Health Week 2019: Climate Changes Health

April 1, 2019 Expert BlogJuanita Constible

An important takeaway from this year's National Public Health Week is that climate action is good for our health, now and into the future.

Climate Adaptation Shouldn’t Fuel Inequitable Displacement

April 1, 2019 Expert BlogClare Morganelli

Adapting to climate change must be done in an equitable and just way so that the most vulnerable aren't left behind.

A New Bill Proposes to Ban Chlorpyrifos Nationwide

March 28, 2019 Expert BlogNRDC

The move comes in response to the EPA’s longtime refusal to act, even while knowing the pesticide is particularly harmful to children.

Capitol Abuzz With Climate Action

March 27, 2019 Expert BlogNRDC

A new committee and the first climate bill of the new Congress show that the climate crisis is back on the front-burner.

Spring Flood Forecast: Rising Rivers, Widening Inequalities

March 26, 2019 Expert BlogAnna Weber

Thousands of communities may be underwater this spring. Will disaster assistance reach the people who need it most?