Author: NRDC

The Particulars of PM 2.5

Why particulate matter … matters. PM 2.5 (n.): Air pollution consisting of particles less than 2.5 microns across A year after New York put its congestion pricing program into place, requiring vehicles to pay a fee to enter the central business district of Manhattan, city dwellers noticed changes. The sounds of car honking had … [continued]

A dumbo octopus swimming in the Atlantis II Seamount Complex, a group of underwater mountains in the North Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of the United States | Credit:NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Exploring Atlantic Canyons and Seamounts 2014

The Trump Administration Is Racing to Launch the Deep-Sea Mining Industry, Despite Huge Risks and…

This would destroy deep-sea habitats and the ecosystems they support. By Rebecca Loomis, Staff Attorney, Nature, NRDC The Trump administration is supporting a new and highly destructive deep-sea mining (DSM) industry in our ocean, despite immense environmental risks and broad international opposition. Early in his second term, President Trump issued … [continued]

Quitting & Rejoining Global Climate Agreements: What’s at Stake for the United States

By Jake Schmidt, Senior Strategic Director, International Climate, International, NRDC Following its previous announcement withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, the Trump administration announced it intends to also withdraw from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—the foundational international climate agreement adopted in 1992 that the United States joined in 1994. In … [continued]

Photovoltaic solar panel arrays in the California desert. Credit: Tom Brewster Photography via Bureau of Land Management, CC BY 2.0.

California Climate & Energy Update

California is making strides in reducing emissions while the economy continues to grow. Check out some of the state’s recent wins! California continues to charge forward with significant climate wins: The California Air Resources Board (CARB) just released a report showing that California’s emissions continue to fall — a 20% reduction … [continued]

Volvo Electric Truck, from Volvo Trucks.

California Adopts Nation’s First Deadlines for Utilities to Connect EV Chargers to the Grid

This action marks an important step in reducing delays that could undermine progress toward the state’s climate and air quality standards. But it doesn’t go far enough. The California Public Utilities Commission approved a new set of timelines to accelerate the connection of new residential buildings, commercial businesses, and electric … [continued]

Image courtesy of GWM ORA, UK

EVs Already Reduce Electricity Rates — & They Can Do Even More

EVs reduce electricity rates for all utility customers, and recent legislation accelerates a cycle of more EVs, better climate, better health, and lower rates. In addition to their myriad health and direct economic benefits compared to polluting gasoline vehicles, electric vehicles (EVs) also help reduce electricity rates for all utility customers. They’ve already been … [continued]

Courtesy of BLM Bureau of Land Management, Solar Energy Permitting and Program Resources

BLM’s Solar Plan: Balancing Efficiency, Flexibility, & Conservation

The Bureau of Land Management’s updated Western Solar Plan will guide solar energy siting and development across 11 western states for the next decade. A foundation for smart siting of solar power on federal public lands Today’s publication of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS) … [continued]