NRDC

The process of removing dangerous lead pipes should be as simple as it is in Denver. Across the states all families deserve safe water.

New Pipes Equal Safer Family I just had my lead service line replaced, and I couldn’t be happier.

Wildfire seasons could last longer and become more severe as climate change intensifies. If you or someone you know lives in an area that’s prone to wildfires, it’s best to be prepared.

How to Make a Wildfire Evacuation Plan Fires can be wild and unpredictable—don’t let your reaction to them be the same.

It has been an important year for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National monument. More recently the monument just received its first management plan that will help enforce its protections.

Canyons and Seamounts Marine Monument—Summer 2024 Update A lot has happened in New England's Marine Monument, and more is just around the corner!

California’s network of marine protected areas is working, but there’s a clear need for improvements as pollution, ocean industrialization, crowding, and climate change all place added pressure on the ocean.

Help us fight for a healthier ocean:

Help us protect California’s coast from new threats | NRDC California’s network of marine protected areas has been a success, but the work is far from done. Much of the protected network has larger and healthier marine life populations than comparable unprotected areas and serve as a refuge for wildlife against climate-fueled instability.

Beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet are critically endangered—their population has plummeted from 1,300 to around 300 in the last 30 years. When the Department of Interior greenlit an oil and gas lease in Cook Inlet, we sued. An Alaska federal court recently ruled in our favor, holding that Interior did not adequately consider the potential wildlife and environmental risks. Now, development in the lease area is suspended until Interior completes another environmental impact analysis.

Learn more: https://on.nrdc.org/4fnTJcq

In just three years, the Biden-Harris Administration has amassed one of the most impressive lists of environmental achievements in our nation’s history. Now, we must finish the job by finalizing the Lead and Copper Rule ahead of October.
https://on.nrdc.org/3SoU98A

Let’s Finish the Job and Get Lead Out of Our Drinking Water The Biden-Harris Administration has racked up the most impressive list of environmental justice achievements in our nation’s history. But one major priority – finalizing the Lead and Copper Rule – still has not made it across the White House finish...

Studies have found that in many cases Indoor air pollution disproportionately impacts some of the most vulnerable communities in our country. We need to invest in the health of our communities by tackling long-standing harms within the building sector.

Pollution-Free Buildings for Healthy Communities Building equity: Decarbonizing our homes for the climate, affordability, and community well-being.

If animals had their own Olympics, it would be a tough competition. For many of these species, winning is simply in their nature.

To avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emphasizes the importance of limiting the global average temperature to 1.5 degrees. While countries must aim to stay well below this threshhold, even preventing a tenth or hundredth degree of warming can make a difference.

1.5 Degrees of Global Warming—Are We There Yet? Here’s where the world stands in its fight against climate change. The end goal remains the same.

Thank you, Mr. President, for your commitment to confront the climate crisis and for driving a cleaner future for our people and planet.

Baby beluga in the deep blue sea—swim so wild and swim so free, now that the U.S. Department of the Interior must go back to the drawing board to redo analysis of impacts of Alaskan offshore oil and gas lease.

A Big Legal Win for Beluga Whales and Alaskan Communities Court orders Interior Department to redo analysis of Alaska offshore oil and gas lease effects.

In the face of record heat, newly proposed OSHA standards would ensure basic human rights for workers: water, cool places to rest, and education on how to stay safe on extra hot days.

Yes, Workers Need OSHA’s Protection From Deadly Heat OSHA's proposed heat standard is an essential step toward a safer, healthier future for U.S. workers.

Some of the most pristine wildlands in the U.S. are in the Western Arctic.

The Biden administration will be accepting public comments on a new plan that aims to protect even more Arctic lands from the dangerous practices of the oil industry: https://on.nrdc.org/4d8kkYO

Date labels on food can be misleading, and about 20% of food wasted in U.S. homes is due to confusion over what those dates actually mean. In a recent move, California has called on the federal government to fix this issue.

California Calls on Congress to Fix Common Food Waste Problem California’s legislature has passed a resolution calling on the federal government to address food date labels, a systemic cause of food waste....

Toxic metals like lead and arsenic have been found in popular menstrual products that could spell disaster for female reproductive health.

Study finds toxic metals present in popular tampons Despite more than half of those in the U.S. who menstruate using tampons, researchers say this was the first study on metal concentration in them.

Last year was the hottest year on record globally. And this summer is not much different. Record temperatures are being surpassed in cities across the U.S. and will only continue to rise as the use of fossil fuels increases.

'We're screaming into the void.' Across the U.S., heat keeps breaking records It’s not your imagination. Temperature records are falling across the U.S. Climate scientists say they've been predicting this for decades.

A number of corporations have made commitments to reduce their environmental footprints in recent years. Levi's stopped manufacturing clothing with toxic PFAS chemicals, while Kimberly-Clark—the owner of household brands like Kleenex and Cottonelle—adopted a new policy to limit forest degradation. These commitments are the result of direct demands of consumers and shareholders who want companies to do better.

When Customers and Investors Demand Corporate Sustainability Through shareholder resolutions, letters, and activism, consumers and shareholders can push companies to clean up supply chains—and their reputations.

The biggest producers in the meat industry dominate and control the food supply, putting consumers, ranchers, and our climate future at risk. As consumers and everyday farmers are increasingly looking for ways to ensure a stable and competitive meat supply, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed rule will increase opportunities for a fairer marketplace for farmers and consumers alike.
https://on.nrdc.org/4cIRP3V

More Progress on Fairness in Meat The Biden Administration’s long-awaited unfair practices rule under the Packers and Stockyards Act could help responsible meat producers reach more eaters

Anxiety comes in all shapes and sizes, which also means it can also show up as climate anxiety. As the climate crisis intensifies, more people are finding themselves coping with loss and grief. Acknowledging your fears and taking the space and time to process these feelings gives you the power to heal, move forward, and act.

It’s Time to Talk about Climate Anxiety Don’t bottle it up—openly acknowledging your climate anxiety and grief gives you the power to heal and move forward.

If you walk down your local grocery store aisle, chances are many of the brands you see are being made at a mighty cost to our forests. Items from popular detergents to even toilet paper have proven to have severe impacts to vital forests and human rights.

Selling the World’s Forests For retailers, selling the world’s forests is risky business.

Access to beaches is an environmental justice issue. Racist laws, policies, and practices in the United States kept many beaches off-limits to people of color through the 1970s. The long-lasting impacts of those historical injustices—racial segregation, housing covenants, and redlining—continue to bar people of color from enjoying what should be public spaces. Today, BIPOC-led groups are teaching community members how to surf, swim, and sail. Their goal is to reclaim the shore by making space for people of color to help them feel safe and gain a sense of belonging.

Photo: Bob Adelman
Young members of the Revitalization Corps volunteer organization marching for public beach access in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, in the 1970’s.

Make this make sense! Half of all plastic produced is single-use, and it’s suffocating our planet. It’s important for us as consumers to reduce our personal use of disposable plastics and recycle what we can, but what we really need is systemic change. Instead of just asking ourselves what “we” can do to cut back on plastic, we should be asking: Why aren’t governments and companies doing more to end the plastics crisis?

For the last four decades, federal judges deferred to expert officials at agencies like the EPA and FDA to reasonably interpret and implement laws. This was known as Chevron deference—but today, the Supreme Court threw it out, sidelining experts and making the U.S. less safe.

Here’s how it used to work: Congress wrote a law that cut the air pollution that crosses state lines and harms communities downwind. Because it's so complicated, Congress left some details for the EPA’s air pollution team to figure out. The EPA came up with a cost-efficient plan, but some judges tried to say that their own preferred policy was required instead. In 2014, the Supreme Court stepped in and said the EPA could determine the plan because of Chevron deference.

With that deference gone, judges can now easily overrule policy experts.

There are over 850 unaccountable federal judges across the U.S., with different ideologies and backgrounds. They should not be allowed to impose their own policies—and political views.

Polluters are trying to gut the Clean Air Act and its critical protections for the environment and healthy communities. We must stop them.