Midwest
Downtown Chicago and the Chicago River
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The American Midwest is renowned for its agriculture and abundant sunlight and wind. But given its historic reliance on coal and prevalent role in the oil and gas industry, it is also ground zero for our national transition away from fossil-fired power and the battle to solve climate change. Embracing clean energy in the United States’ breadbasket brings significant public health, environmental, and economic benefits to the Midwest, an area encompassing Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri.
NRDC is helping to bring this brighter future to life while also protecting drinking water in places like Flint, Michigan, and defending critical species and habitats, including the Great Lakes ecosystem. From our Chicago office, we tackle state, local, and regional issues through strong, productive collaborations with local entities, including labor and faith-based groups, environmental justice allies, farmers, businesses, and state agencies.
- After suing the city of Flint and Michigan state officials for their role in the ongoing water crisis, NRDC worked with former governor Rick Snyder’s administration to adopt the most protective Lead and Copper Rule in the country. We continue to defend the rule—which mandates full lead service line replacement within 20 years—from attacks by regional water authorities.
- Following our report on the widespread contamination of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Michigan’s water supplies, NRDC called on the state to create drinking water standards for five PFAS substances and establish a treatment technique.
- NRDC is protecting pollinators from toxic neonic pesticides, which have caused bee and butterfly populations to plummet, and working to restore critical native wildflower habitat. In Minnesota, we’ve advocated for neonic-free wildlife management areas and helped pass legislation that compensates homeowners for converting their turf lawns to pollinator-friendly plantings. NRDC also advanced laws in Illinois and Missouri that encourage solar farm operators to plant pollinator habitat at their installations. We hope to repeat that success in Kansas and across the Midwest.
- NRDC advocates for agricultural policies that improve water quality, address climate change, and regenerate soil health—helping farmers manage risk. For example, with our local partners, we’ve won passage of “good farmer” crop insurance reward programs in Iowa and Illinois, giving farmers who plant cover crops a $5-per-acre break on their crop insurance bills. Now, we’re working to bring similar programs to other Midwest states, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.
- Experts from across NRDC provide scientific, technical, and legislative expertise to help the Standing Rock Sioux tribe in South Dakota protect their land and water from damage by Energy Transfer Partners’ Dakota Access Pipeline.
- Through the Strong, Prosperous, and Resilient Communities Challenge, NRDC is working with partners in the Chicago area to support inclusive, equitable, climate-wise, and healthy community development through training and technical assistance, capital, and a network for shared learning. With local groups, NRDC is reforming city land-use and environmental policies that harm low-income communities and communities of color.
- NRDC has achieved bipartisan success in moving the Midwest toward a low-carbon economy featuring ambitious wind and solar goals, cost-effective energy efficiency programs, and a cleaner electric grid to power the region’s transportation, homes, and buildings. In Ohio we’re supporting utility-scale solar power and spurring the development of a clean energy workforce in the heart of coal country. We’re strategizing in Michigan to shift utility portfolios away from coal- and natural gas–fired power and toward renewables and long-term net-zero carbon goals. In Missouri we are supporting utility efforts to invest heavily in wind power. Collectively, wind and solar across the region are now delivering renewable energy to millions of homes and businesses.
- NRDC helped push Illinois’s Clean Energy Jobs Act, which will accelerate renewable energy generation in the state to 45 percent by 2030, on a path to 100% renewables. The legislation includes programs ensuring that the benefits of clean energy and electrification are available to all people. Illinois is also leading the region in opening up the promise of solar power to communities that haven’t historically seen jobs and economic investment tied to renewable energy.
- Through the Bloomberg American Cities Climate Challenge, NRDC advisers are working with Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Minneapolis–St. Paul to guide ambitious new projects that will reduce pollution from each city’s buildings and transportation sectors.
Meet Our Experts
See Our Work in Other Regions
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Arctic
Arctic, Alaska
NRDC fights for the extraordinary landscapes, majestic seas, and iconic wildlife of Alaska and the Arctic.
East
East, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Dickson, Atlanta, Memphis, Charlotte, Orlando, St. Petersburg
NRDC advocates for the region’s treasured wilderness and thriving urban centers—and all the communities in between.
West
West, California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Portland (Oregon), San Diego, San Jose (California), Seattle, Long Beach, Albuquerque, Austin, San Antonio, Idaho, Denver
NRDC works with local leadership to advance some of the most progressive environmental, health, and climate policies in the country.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
We work with local partners to restore access to power and clean water after Hurricane Maria and ensure a more sustainable future.
Canada
Canada
For more than three decades, NRDC has helped protect some of the world’s most iconic ecosystems and support sound environmental decision making.
China
China
NRDC elevates sustainable development and wildlife conservation in one of the most populous countries in the world.
India
India
NRDC’s India program fights climate change with solutions that advance clean energy and public health.
Latin America
Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Peru
We collaborate with partners in this region to move its nations toward clean energy while protecting wildlands, waters, and communities.
Latest News & Commentary
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Analysis: Battery Storage Maintains Illinois's Reliability
Expert BlogIllinoisClaire Lang-Ree, Annie Minondo, Tom Rutigliano
New analysis shows that Illinois can maintain reliability even after retiring fossil resources by deploying 3 GW of 4-hour battery storage.
Clean Transportation: Another Form of Indigenous Resistance to Big Oil
Expert BlogSouth Dakota, North Dakota, MinnesotaIsabella Sullivan
A deep dive into Tribal clean transportation with the executive director of Electric Nation, Bob Blake.
Electric Utilities are Essential to the Clean Energy Transition
Expert BlogMidwestSheryl Carter, Dawone Robinson
They will need to double down on clean energy to achieve their climate commitments, and they will need help.
Illinois’s REAP Charts a Path to the State’s Clean Energy Future
Expert BlogUnited States, IllinoisAnnie Minondo
Planning for a decarbonized future is crucial if Illinois wants to meet its clean energy goals on time.
Closing the Gap to Protect Illinois Wetlands
Expert BlogIllinoisBecky Hammer
A bill to protect Illinois’ remaining wetlands is moving forward in the state legislature, seeking to close a regulatory gap created by the Supreme Court.
Poll: People Want Action on Plastics for Health and Wildlife
Expert BlogInternational, Canada, United States, Ohio, PennsylvaniaDaniel Rosenberg
New poll results show overwhelming public support for government action to address the plastic crisis, including a strong global plastics treaty.
Reports of Sickening Water Conditions at Pontiac, Illinois Prison
Expert BlogIllinoisIhab Mikati, Sahana Rao
People imprisoned in Pontiac report using makeshift filters to protect themselves from water that is often described as oily, swampy, and brown or black.
Bees on the Brink: Will Minnesota Act to Save Them?
Expert BlogMinnesotaLucas Rhoads
The legislature has a crucial opportunity to pass bills to protect people and pollinators from needless pesticide use.
Columbus Signs Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
Expert BlogUnited States, Ohio, ColumbusAnya Obrez
Columbus Signs Milan Urban Food Policy Pact
Q&A: We Can’t Wait 40-Plus Years for Chicago to Get the Lead Out
Expert BlogUnited States, ChicagoChakena D. Perry
The city with the most lead service lines in the nation has been given 40 years—or more—to replace its lead pipes, according to the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements proposal.
Latest Policy Resources
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Uneconomic Coal Costs MISO Ratepayers $1 Billion and Curtails 400 MW of Wind
MapMidwestDana Ammann
New analysis from NRDC and Grid Strategies quantifies the renewable curtailment and emissions impact of running coal plants in the red.
The Dakota Access Pipeline: What You Need to Know
GuideNorth Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, IllinoisShelia Hu
How protests against an oil pipeline turned into a national fight for Indigenous rights.
Neonics: The Toxic Truth
Fact SheetUnited States, Minnesota, Michigan, California, ColoradoAllison Johnson, Daniel Raichel, Lucas Rhoads, Lena Freij
Pesticides kill bees, pollute water, and threaten our health.
Flint Safe Drinking Water Case Documents and Status Updates
Legal FilingsMichigan, Flint
The legal filing and status updates for our lawsuit against the city of Flint and Michigan state officials.
Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know
GuideFlintMelissa Denchak
After officials repeatedly dismissed claims that Flint’s water was making people sick, residents took action. Here’s how the lead contamination crisis unfolded—and what we can learn from it.
Polling on the International Plastics Treaty
PollingUnited States, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Clean Electricity in States Across the United States: The Impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and Carbon Pollution Standards on States’ Electricity Futures
Fact SheetGeorgia, Michigan, North Carolina, PennsylvaniaAmanda Levin, Mark Drajem
Keystone XL Case Documents
Legal FilingsCanada, United States, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska
NRDC and our partners sued the Trump administration three times, preventing every illegal attempt to ram the Keystone XL project through. These are some of the documents associated with our cases.
Edwards Coal-Fired Plant Settlement
Legal FilingsIllinois, PeoriaSelena Kyle, Jared Knicley, Alyssa Brown
In 2019, the court approved a settlement that required the E.D. Edwards plant to close and provides $8.6 million in funding for projects to benefit the Peoria region. Read more about these programs and grantees.
Energy-Burdened Communities Tool
MapLos Angeles, Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Birmingham, Atlanta, Memphis, Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis, Kansas City (Kansas), Chicago, Milwaukee, Flint, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Richmond (Virginia), Greensboro
Energy burden has disproportionately impacted low-income communities of color for decades. NRDC is actively working to bring justice to these communities through this mapping tool.