News & Commentary

More Qs than As at EPA Oil and Gas Wastewater Meeting

October 12, 2018 Expert BlogBriana Mordick, Alison Kelly

The oil and gas industry wants to dump its wastewater into our rivers and lakes, and Trump’s EPA is supposed to figure out how to let them do it.

Lake Erie’s New Invasive Species May Be Tiny, But Its Ranks Run Deep

October 11, 2018 DispatchMidwestJason Bittel

Here are billions of new reasons Congress shouldn’t go soft on ballast water.

Groundhog Day for Gray Wolves, Endangered Species

September 26, 2018 Expert BlogUnited StatesNora Apter

In the latest string of attacks on our nation’s natural heritage, the Congressional Western Caucus has put forth the Expanded Wildlife Extinction Package, a suite of nine bills that would weaken the Endangered Species Act.

Florida SLAPP Case Threatens Right to Free Speech

September 21, 2018 Expert BlogAlison Kelly

Florida's beauty is consistently under threat from those who seek to destroy it for profit. Environmental advocates now face a new threat in this fight in the state’s courts – “SLAPP” lawsuits targeted at environmental advocates speaking out on the…

Drilling Off VA Coast: An Invitation for Climate Havoc

September 20, 2018 Expert BlogVirginiaFranz Matzner

The public is keenly aware that auctioning off public ocean waters to oil giants is not in the national interest. From catastrophic spills like the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster that oiled the entire Gulf region, to “minor” spills and almost…

One Year After Hurricane Maria: A Retrospective

September 19, 2018 Expert BlogUnited StatesMekela Panditharatne

More federal funds are needed to ensure that the Puerto Rico's infrastructure can be rebuilt with strength and sustainability to withstand future hurricane seasons and protect its hard-fought progress toward recovery.

NRDC & Partners Threaten Lawsuit Over Giraffe Protections

September 18, 2018 Expert BlogElly Pepper

As with many imperiled species, there is no time to waste when it comes to giraffes.

Breaking the Cycle: Getting Ahead of Carnivore Conflicts

September 17, 2018 Expert BlogMontanaDr. Jennifer Sherry

In 2018, the partnership between Wildlife Services, NRDC, Defenders of Wildlife, and other conservation organizations has helped to fund, develop, and implement numerous nonlethal predator control projects across the northwestern United States.

Saying Goodbye to Bob Gillam, Pebble Mine's Worst Nightmare

September 17, 2018 Expert BlogJoel Reynolds

Fearless Alaskan Financier and friend of Donald Trump fought to defend Bristol Bay and its communities from the reckless mining scheme at Pebble Mine

Drinking Water Impacts Reported Near VA Pipeline Site

September 17, 2018 Expert BlogAmy Mall

Now, groundwater and surface water across Virginia continue to be at risk from massive pipeline construction that is moving forward under permits that lack adequate protections for water quality or quantity. DEQ can and should act to enforce Virginia water…

The Race to Develop Offshore Wind—and Protect Endangered Whales

September 17, 2018 DispatchEast, Rhode IslandNicole Greenfield

As Northeast states make impressive commitments to this clean energy source, scientists are helping them stay out of the way of marine mammals.

What’s in Your Water? An Updated Analysis

September 14, 2018 Expert BlogUnited StatesKristi Pullen Fedinick

NRDC’s new analysis of the most recent EPA data finds that nearly 30 million people in the United States drank water from community water systems that violated the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule between January 2015 and March 2018.

Confessions of a Bad Reptile Owner

September 12, 2018 PerspectivesUnited StatesJason Bittel

I released Misty the Chinese water dragon into the Pennsylvania wild—but don’t be like me. There are other options.

From Moose to Monarchs, Wildlife in the Heartland Needs the Endangered Species Act

September 11, 2018 DispatchMidwestSusan Cosier

This conservation law has been saving our flora and fauna since the 1970s. The Trump administration should stop fiddling with it.

Industry Spin Hides Threats of Widespread Boreal Logging

September 11, 2018 Expert BlogCourtenay Lewis

The Forest Products Association of Canada's new report falsely asserts that the same logging industry responsible for degrading caribou habitat is, in fact, saving caribou.

The Southeast Already Has Extinction Rates as High as Hawaii, “the Extinction Capital of the World”

September 10, 2018 DispatchEastRobynne Boyd

And the Trump administration’s gutting of the Endangered Species Act will only make things worse.

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.

“Protection”—the EPA’s Middle Name?

September 6, 2018 Expert BlogErik D. Olson, Dr. Anna Reade

Erik Olsen testified at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment hearing today on how the EPA is not protecting the public from PFAS contamination. Erik's testimony also includes NRDC's recommendations on what needs to be done now to…

A New Approach to Oregon’s Growing Rat Problem

September 5, 2018 DispatchOregonBecca Cudmore

The city of Eugene is testing an unconventional solution to a serious issue, with a ban on feeding a slew of wild animals.

Oklahoma Takes Its Backyard—and Roadside—Butterflies Seriously

September 4, 2018 DispatchOklahomaNatalie Gould Tomko

Situated along the monarch’s migration corridor, the Sooner State is coming up with creative ways to save the imperiled pollinators.