National Resources Defense Council
House Committee Approves Misleading Oil and Air Bills
The House Energy and Commerce Committee today approved two bills claiming to provide relief from high gas prices but ignore real solutions and instead just hurt our health and the environment.
Climate Study: Extreme Rain Storms in Midwest Have Doubled in Last 50 Years, Often Leading to Worsened Flooding
CHICAGO (May 16, 2012) – The kind of deluges that in recent years washed out Cedar Rapids, IA, forced the Army Corps of Engineers to intentionally blow up levees to save Cairo, IL, and sent the Missouri River over its banks for hundreds of miles are part of a growing trend, according to a new report released today by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Big storms, leading to big floods, are occurring with increasing frequency in the Midwest, with incidences of the most severe downpours doubling over the last half century, the report finds.
NRDC Announces the Winners of the 2012 “Growing Green Awards”
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (May 16, 2012) – The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) today honors four remarkable food visionaries for their trailblazing work to make our food systems healthier and more sustainable at the fourth annual “Growing Green Awards”. The winners, who are leaders in regenerative ranch management, farmworker justice, farm-to-school food, and making organic food mainstream, will be celebrated this evening at the Palace of Fine Arts Rotunda in San Francisco.
Endangered Whales Threatened by Alaska Oil and Gas Drilling
ANCHORAGE, AK (May 15, 2012) – Endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales are threatened by oil drilling and exploration, according to a lawsuit filed today by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Native Village of Chickaloon, Center for Water Advocacy and Center for Biological Diversity. The suit challenges a permit issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service to Apache Alaska Corporation to allow oil and gas exploration in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, home to a dwindling population of 280 beluga whales protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Mexico Mega Resort Project: Risky Business for Investors and the Environment
La Paz, Mexico/Washington, D.C. (May 15, 2012) – A proposed Baja California mega tourism project near the oldest and most important coral reef system in the entire American Pacific is a risky investment and threatens to undermine the local eco-tourism based economy, according to an investor risk advisory released today by Natural Resources Defense Council.
Report: Springfield Coal Rate Hikes Could Total $21.3 Billion
CHICAGO (May 14, 2012) – As the Illinois House Public Utilities Committee prepares to vote Wednesday on legislation that would raise electric rates on Illinois consumers to pay for a coal plant proposed by Tenaska, Inc, a new study by a longtime consumer advocate shows the true cost of the rate hikes proposed for Tenaska and already approved for two other proposed coal plants.
Governor Brown Appoints NRDC’s Felicia Marcus to the California State Water Resources Control Board
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (May 10, 2012) – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced appointments to the California State Water Resources Control Board, including Felicia Marcus, Western Director of NRDC.
Report: Five Primary Disposal Methods for Fracking Wastewater All Fail to Protect Public Health and Environment
NEW YORK (May 9, 2012) – All currently available options for dealing with contaminated wastewater from fracking are inadequate to protect human health and the environment, but stronger federal and state protections can better safeguard against the threats posed by this byproduct, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Defense Council. The report reveals how gas companies in Pennsylvania disposed of more than 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater last year and details the dangers presented by the disposal methods used.
BLM Proposal to Reduce Risks to Ground Water from Oil and Gas Fracking
WASHINGTON (May 4, 2012) –- The Bureau of Land Management today issued draft safeguards to reduce the risks to groundwater from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) of oil and gas wells. These new safeguards, once finalized, will apply to leasing of federal oil and gas reserves beneath BLM land, national forests, national wildlife refuges, and other property. The proposal would require operators to better manage fracking waste, disclose the chemicals used during fracking, and strengthen the actual wells put into the ground.
Ambitious Solar Program in India Driving Prices to Impressive Lows
WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 25, 2012) – India’s ambitious national solar program has catalyzed rapid growth in the solar market, driving prices for solar energy to impressive lows and demonstrating how government policy can stimulate clean energy markets, according to a report released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
