Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Your browser doesn’t support Javascript or has it disabled. onEarth works best with Javascript enabled. President Obama creates Atlantic’s first marine national monument – Today the president is announcing the designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, an area of ocean about the size of […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The “decarbonization” of America’s building is critical to reducing carbon emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, the amount scientists believe is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change. California, long a national and world leader in fighting climate change, is already […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund President Obama made history today. He established the nation’s first marine national monument in the waters of the continental United States: the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, located about 150 miles of the coast of Cape Cod. The monument will forever protect the rich diversity of […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Summer is fading into fall and that means heating season is fast approaching, along with daunting energy bills it can bring with it. Fortunately, wasted energy (and money) lost up the chimney could come to an end thanks to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest proposed minimum […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The environmental impacts of burning biomass for electricity are well documented. When power plants use biomass as fuel—in particular biomass that comes from forests—they can increase carbon emissions compared to coal and other fossil fuels for decades. The biomass industry also imperils some of our most precious forests. […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund President Obama is due to speak tomorrow morning at the Our Ocean Conference in Washington, D.C. This has NRDC and the diverse group of supporters for the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts monument proposal on the edge of our seats. We’re waiting to see if he’ll announce the first […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund In Juneau, Alaska, take a spin in an electric car. In Tucson, Ariz., see the film “Revenge of the Electric Car.” In Honolulu, get a “glimpse of the future in which Hawaii’s roadways are filled with EVs.” Those are among the more than 200 events planned for […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Photo credit: Rego Sen As I was frantically cleaning my apartment last month in preparation for a visit from my parents, I paused for a moment to stare at the dark smudge on the damp cloth I was dusting with. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Your browser doesn’t support Javascript or has it disabled. onEarth works best with Javascript enabled. Climate change threatens the world’s wheat crop – A new study says that an increase in global temperature of 1 degree Celsius would lead to a decline in wheat yields between 4.1 and […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Your browser doesn’t support Javascript or has it disabled. onEarth works best with Javascript enabled. Brazil just ratified the Paris Agreement – In order for the landmark deal to enter into force, 55 countries representing 55 percent of global emissions must ratify it. Not counting Brazil, the totals […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund The Dakota Access pipeline needs to be stopped — and the broken system that allowed it to get this far must be fixed. Sacred Stone Camp near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Many have gathered since April 2016. Nima Taradji/Polaris Some environmental victories come in the form of a single, decisive moment: […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund We know industrially-produced meat is bad for our health and the health of the planet, but a new study suggests it’s also bad for business. The study, What Drives Meatier Returns?, conducted in partnership between Changing Tastes, an industry consulting firm, and the Analytical Consulting Lab at the […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Last week, U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) introduced legislation that would restrict the use of “body-gripping” traps (i.e., foothold traps, Conibears, and snares) in two ways: first, it would limit their use by U.S. Department of Agriculture and Interior officials; and second, it would generally prohibit their use […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Drilling in the Arctic Ocean makes no sense. The signs are everywhere. Last week Russia announced a moratorium on drilling in its Arctic waters, our colleagues at the World Wildlife Fund report. At the same time, Norway’s Eni ran smack into the dangerous realities facing every company that’s […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund In the wake of September 11th attacks, lawmakers and nuclear policy experts raised concerns over the possibility of terrorists using radioactive materials to construct radioactive dispersal devices – to try to harm people, damage cities and cause chaos and panic by blowing up stolen radioactive materials. These concerns […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund California is once again leading the way, moving closer to establishing the nation’s first energy efficiency standards for computers and monitors with today’s latest proposal issued by the California Energy Commission (CEC). This new draft follows two earlier proposals and opens up a 45-day comment period, the last […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund It’s been a great summer for the U.S. offshore wind industry—and it got even better today. In August, project developer Deepwater Wind finished construction of the Block Island Wind Farm, the country’s first offshore wind power project, a 30-megawatt project off the Rhode Island coast, and the project […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Your browser doesn’t support Javascript or has it disabled. onEarth works best with Javascript enabled. Most humpback whales are no longer endangered – This week the U.S. government decided to treat the whales as separate groups instead of a single population, resulting in the delisting of nine of the 14 […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Your browser doesn’t support Javascript or has it disabled. onEarth works best with Javascript enabled. Humans destroyed a tenth of the world’s wilderness in just 25 years – A new study says human activity degraded an area of pristine ecosystems twice the size of Alaska between 1993 and […]
Published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund Your browser doesn’t support Javascript or has it disabled. onEarth works best with Javascript enabled. California adopts ambitious climate change law – This week Governor Jerry Brown signed new legislation that will require the Golden State to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030. The […]