Published by Ocean Conservancy A large area of valuable seagrass was protected from expanded shellfish farming thanks to the California Coastal Commission, a state agency tasked with protecting the California coastline. The initial proposal by Coast Seafoods (a subsidiary of Pacific Seafoods) aimed to farm 922 acres of shellfish in eelgrass habitat. If the vote had gone through, […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Pronghorn of the American West have been springing across this continent—at up to 60 miles per hour—for approximately 17 million years. Though sometimes called antelopes, these fleet-footed mammals are actually one of the few remaining species of giraffids, which also include Africa’s giraffes and okapis. The distinction led […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund In a forceful show of climate leadership, Governors Andrew Cuomo (NY), Jerry Brown (CA), and Jay Inslee (WA) and former Secretary of State John Kerry came together in New York City today as part of Climate Week to celebrate the progress and growth of the U.S. Climate Alliance, […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund A huge source of water waste lies buried in yards across California and the U.S.: the pop-up sprinklers many homeowners use to irrigate turf grass. Now California’s investor-owned energy utilities, led by Pacific Gas & Electric, are proposing new standards for spray sprinkler bodies that could save jaw-dropping […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund In vulnerable pockets across the globe, women are benefiting themselves, their children, and their larger communities by learning how to harness renewable energy. The barefoot solar engineers of Tinginaput, India (from left): Talsa Miniaka, Pulka Wadeka, Meenakshi Dewan, Bundei Hidreka ©Abbie Trayler-Smith/Panos Pictures/Department for International Development Proponents of […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund California is lucky to escape the wrath of hurricanes, like the ones that have pummeled Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and other areas. But we know that our state is not immune to extreme weather events. On the contrary, with climate change California is likely to face longer, more […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), the body responsible for regulating water quality in the Delaware River, announced yesterday that they will re-open a process that may lead to banning fracking in the watershed. Despite this, the resolution that has been put forward by the DRBC could open […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Last week, my colleague published a report entitled Mismatched: A Comparison of Future Water Supply and Demand for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Its Member Agencies. The report compares the 2015 Urban Water Management Plans prepared by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund A comparison of future water supply and demand projections for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) and its water agency customers reveals substantial differences over the next 25 years. Despite recent trends toward greater conservation and efficiency and more local water supplies, MWD expects relatively less […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Rather than address the need for dollars to build our water, transportation and other failing infrastructure, Congress blames the requirement to evaluate the environmental and community impact of a project, as the major reason for project delays. Study after study has proven that is not the case and […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The catastrophe of Hurricane Harvey is now shedding light on how climate change – manifesting in the form of stronger and more intense weather events – can bring enormous destruction to communities. Because the region hit by Harvey also serves as a home base to much of the […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund In a victory for all New Yorkers, the state has blocked a natural gas pipeline that would have threatened upstate residents’ health, water quality and communities, citing climate change concerns. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) denied the water quality certification to the Valley Lateral Pipeline […]
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) release the following statement today, in regards to the water quality of flood-impacted areas from Hurricane Harvey. Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epatceq-statement-water-quality-flood-impacted-areas-hurricane-harvey
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Part I of this blog discussed recent DEP budget cuts and the Permit Decision Guarantee, the DEP’s 2012 policy to ensure that environmental permits are issued expeditiously. Here, I’ll scrutinize the forced-approval and third-party review provisions of HB 542, and explain why the House of Representatives should vote against the […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund THIS WEEK: Bolivia’s TIPNIS under renewed threat, financing renewables in Argentina, electromobility in Chile To subscribe to NRDC’s Latin America Green News click here Feature: TIPNIS National Park in Bolivia under threat The Isiboro Sécure Indigenous Territory and National Park (known by its Spanish acronym TIPNIS) in the […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Groups rally to ask Governor Cuomo to protect NYS water by denying water quality certificate for Constitution Pipeline. Erik McGregor In a victory for New York, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld New York State’s decision to block the Constitution Pipeline, a 124-mile natural gas pipeline intended […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The devastating effects of water pollution are on full display this summer. The Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone”, which is an oxygen-poor area off the Gulf Coast, is the largest ever measured since record-keeping began more than 30 years ago. In fact, this year’s dead zone is as […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Danna Walker Another Executive Order on Infrastructure Permitting? Really? President Trump just signed another Executive Order on Infrastructure Permitting. And once again it’s unlikely to improve infrastructure we rely on such as bridges, roads, commuter rail and water and sewer systems. What is needed to fix the infrastructure […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) released its final white paper on paying for the California WaterFix project yesterday. Based on my initial review, as discussed below the white paper relies on two inaccurate assumptions, which significantly bias the analysis and conclusions and provides the Board […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Guest blog by Meredith Brown and Carley Reynolds, Latin America Project Interns Protests Photo Credit: Daniel Cima Indigenous peoples across Latin America have demonstrated their determination to protect their communities and their territories over the centuries and, in the process, have proven their role as stewards of the […]