Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The Senate has confirmed President Trump’s nominees to fill two of the four open seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), producing a quorum for the first time since February for the independent agency that oversees the high power electric grid, natural gas pipelines, and hydroelectric dam […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund India plays an important role in Al Gore’s new movie, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. The film looks at India to highlight the challenges developing nations face as they seek to move away from conventional, polluting coal energy toward clean but less established sources of renewable energy. […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Lawmakers heading home to their states and districts for the August recess will have some explaining to do. Attempts to repeal healthcare for millions of Americans will be top of mind for many of their constituents. But members of U.S. House of Representatives also may have to answer […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund More than 90 million U.S. households have one or more set-top boxes connected to their televisions and these boxes from service providers like Comcast, AT&T, and Dish Network nationally consume lots of electricity every year. But a new report released today shows consumers saved almost $1 billion on […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Studies have shown that writing down goals increases the chance that they are achieved.[i] That is why NRDC’s Facilities and Administration Team has distilled our sustainability efforts into 13 written goals. What we aim to achieve in the next 4 years, when it comes to reducing the planetary […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Some good news from Washington! Comprehensive federal legislation to reduce wasted food has just been introduced in both the House and Senate. It’s the Food Recovery Act of 2017 and we have U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) to thank for it. This […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Co-authored by Lori Kerr, Senior Director at Climate Finance Advisors Combating global climate change requires both enormous policy efforts and massive capital investment in mitigation and adaptation. This is not a new assertion. Both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and of course the Paris Agreement—which was built on the foundation […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The historic joint proposal to retire and replace Diablo Canyon—California’s last nuclear power plant—has taken another important step forward now that a California court has dismissed the only pending legal challenge to one of its key elements. Judge Mary Strobel of the Superior Court for the County of […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund How do you feed a hotter, drier, more inequitable world? A new generation of American farmers are coming up with answers that rarely resemble the cornstalks and cattle pens of mainstream agriculture. Today’s American farmers are less white. They’re also increasingly experimental. Even as our biggest farms get […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Elections have consequences, and therefore a new administration can change the priorities of a federal agency such as the Department of Energy as they want, right? Wrong. The Department of Energy (DOE) was not created to allow the executive branch to do whatever it wants, or even to […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Are you interested in what the Environmental Protection Agency is doing about air and water contamination and the pollution that causes climate change? Here’s an easy way to know what’s up: (1) name an issue; and (2) if the prior administration did something to curb these threats, you […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Herd of African elephants Johan Sjolander/iStock Until it was amended in 2015, California’s state ivory ban had a loophole that cost many lives. Its primary victims were those same beleaguered African elephants the law was written to protect. The loophole allowed the continued sale of ivory imported into […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The nine states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) would gain $3.2 billion extra in clean energy funding—nearly a quarter-billion dollars more annually—by choosing the most ambitious power plant pollution cuts currently under consideration for the next phase of their pioneering climate program, according to a new […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund [embedded content] The following is a transcript of the video. Audrey Peterman, president and cofounder, Earthwise Productions: One of my favorite national monuments in the system is the African Burial Ground National Monument, just off Wall Street in Manhattan. It was designated in 2006 by President George W. […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Late Thursday evening, in response to public pressure, the Canadian federal government quietly released a draft “Action Plan for the Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou), Boreal Population, in Canada.” This “Action Plan” draft provides an outline for research, protection, and reporting that should have been established five years […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge is home to a small population of endangered ocelots Tom Smylie, USFWS For the past two years, President Trump’s idea for a wall on the U.S.–Mexico border has existed as little more than a psychosocial blueprint. At his rallies and other public events, […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Anticipation is building in advance of the release of a study ordered by Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry to examine “critical issues central to protecting the long-term reliability of the electric grid.” It is more likely to end with a fizzle than a bang, however, because […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The rollback of the Clean Water Rule has officially begun, a wildlife refuge is at risk from Trump’s border wall. iStock Back on June 21 at a political rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, President Trump promised that, under his watch, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would focus on […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund After almost 7 years of design and construction work, and over $7 billion spent, the much-publicized Kemper County coal gasification power plant will now run on natural gas without capturing any carbon. Does this mean carbon capture and storage (CCS) for power plants is not ready for prime […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The new deputy secretary of the Interior Department has spent most of his life attacking land, water, and wildlife on behalf of dirty energy companies. AP Photo/Molly Riley For an insider’s look at how industry games our system of government for corporate gain, it would be hard to […]