West
Amboy Crater in Mojave Trails National Monument, California
Credit:
Bob Wick/U.S. Bureau of Land Management
Areas across the American West—California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington—and Hawai‘i are now experiencing life at the forefront of the climate crisis, facing destructive wildfires, severe droughts, rising sea levels, and more. NRDC is working with local leadership, businesses, and advocacy groups to push for 21st-century energy systems; advocate for legislation to curb climate-damaging pollution; and create programs that will protect vulnerable communities, lands, and waters.
The Southwest is a vast, geographically diverse region rich in natural resources that have long been exploited by the fossil fuel industry. NRDC is working to help Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas transition to clean energy, advocating for policies that promote renewable power, energy efficiency, and clean transportation. We are also fighting to protect public lands from oil and gas development—all while helping vulnerable communities avoid the health impacts of dirty energy and the climate change it is fueling.
NRDC’s work in the Rockies focuses on preserving the region’s wild character while promoting sustainable development. In Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, NRDC marshals local support to create breakthroughs in wildlife protection and agricultural practices, as well as clean energy and transportation policies. Our attorneys regularly head to court to stop the reckless extraction of oil, coal, and natural gas from public lands and to protect the health of vulnerable communities.
- NRDC is working to reduce the use of harmful chemicals in food and consumer products. In California, we helped pass a law that protects families and firefighters by ending the sale of furniture containing flame-retardant chemicals. We’re also joining with food system advocates to develop an organic farm-to-school program, increasing access to pesticide-free foods that are good for students as well as farmworkers.
- Through partnerships with business and state leaders, NRDC is producing stronger climate and energy actions, like a commitment to 50 percent renewable electricity by 2030 in Nevada, economic development initiatives in Oregon, and low-carbon fuel programs in Washington. Through Bloomberg Philanthropies’ American Cities Climate Challenge, NRDC is supporting Honolulu, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, San Jose, and Seattle to accelerate and deepen their efforts to create the greatest climate impact.
- NRDC is working to protect our coasts and communities from the dangers of offshore drilling. In California, we helped pass legislation that made it illegal for the state to approve any new infrastructure that would enable new drilling in federal waters. Our experts are also combating dammed rivers, toxic chemicals, and disruptive activities in order to bring species like Washington’s endangered Southern Resident killer whales back from the brink of extinction.
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona
Credit:
Bob Wick/Bureau of Land Management
- NRDC has led the way to protecting our public lands, pushing for reform of fossil fuel leasing and highlighting the threat that drilling and mining pose to the environment and nearby communities, particularly to Indigenous People and other at-risk populations.
- Our clean energy experts have worked in Arizona and New Mexico to adopt and carry out renewable energy and energy efficiency programs—helping residents fight climate change, which has devastated the region by exacerbating droughts and wildfires.
- NRDC is fighting to protect ecosystems and wildlife in the region’s national monuments, including the Grand Canyon and Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks.
- NRDC has been working with local partners—the Martineztown Work Group and the Historic Neighborhoods Alliance—in Albuquerque to ensure that their comprehensive zoning plan complies with federal civil rights laws and promotes environmental justice.
- Through the American Cities Climate Challenge, NRDC supports the cities of Albuquerque and Austin and San Antonio, Texas to tackle their carbon reduction goals.
- NRDC has been partnering with TEJAS (Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services) and local environmental justice communities in Houston to highlight the disproportionate burden that low-income residents and people of color face from natural disasters and air pollution.
- In Denver, through the Food Matters project, NRDC advocates are working with city agencies and local partners to enact innovative solutions and strategies to prevent food from being wasted, to rescue surplus food for those in need, and to recycle food scraps.
- We successfully sued to halt the opening of the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming to new coal leasing. We took the Bureau of Land Management to court to block new mining outside Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park.
- With the American Cities Climate Challenge, NRDC is helping Denver to execute key elements of its Climate Action Plan: expanding vehicle electrification, improving and adding high-frequency transit lines, redesigning streets to prioritize safety for walking and biking, and increasing public transit ridership.
- NRDC experts are also working with business and government leaders across Colorado to support transportation policies that improve air quality. With a coalition of health and consumer groups, we promote expanding access to electric vehicles and public transit in the state through investments, policies, and tax credits.
- NRDC stood with Indigenous communities to defend Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments in Utah and to push President Biden to restore the protections that had been eliminated by the Trump administration.
- As more and more people demand a clean energy economy, NRDC is advocating for policies that increase energy efficiency savings for residents and cut carbon across all sectors. We are also holding utilities accountable as partners in a just transition—ensuring communities like Colstrip, Montana, aren’t left behind when a local coal-fired power plant becomes uneconomical.
- NRDC collaborates with ranchers, government agencies, and conservationists to implement on-the-ground projects in Idaho, Montana, and surrounding states that preserve livestock and property, all while protecting apex species like wolves and bears.
Meet Our Experts
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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.
Midwest
Midwest, Illinois, Bartonville, Chicago, Peoria, Indiana, Indianapolis, Iowa, Des Moines, Kansas, Michigan, Benton Harbor, Detroit, Flint, Minnesota, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City (Missouri), Missouri, St. Louis, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Empowered by strong collaborations in America’s heartland, NRDC is promoting climate action, supporting investments in rural and urban communities, and protecting drinking water.
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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CPUC Sends Strongest Signal Yet to Advance Offshore Wind
Expert BlogCaliforniaLauren Kubiak
The California Public Utilities Commission just unanimously voted to approve a decision that establishes a strong central procurement pathway for offshore wind.
Lessons Learned from Colorado’s Transportation Leadership
Expert BlogColorado
A look at Colorado provides examples of how to build a transportation system that is just, equitable, and sustainable.
Breathing in Harm: The Toll of Freight Pollution in California
Expert BlogLos Angeles, Long Beach, CaliforniaGuillermo A. Ortiz
Diesel trucks, making up just 6 percent of vehicles in California, are responsible for a disproportionate amount of harmful emissions, severely impacting communities near freight routes like those in the Inland Empire.
California Legislature Sprinting Toward Finish Line
Expert BlogCaliforniaVictoria Rome
Key climate and environment bills still pending.
CA Prop 4 Includes Historic Investments in Food & Farm Resilience
Expert BlogCaliforniaArohi Sharma
Proposition 4 can tackle ag supply chain emissions with funds for sustainable farming, farmworker wellbeing, healthy food access, and local food infrastructure.
New Pipes Equal Safer Family
Expert BlogDenver, ColoradoSam Gilchrist
I just had my lead service line replaced, and I couldn’t be happier.
California Ballot Shifts Toward Environment and Health
Expert BlogCaliforniaVictoria Rome
Read on for recent developments on the initiatives that will appear on California's general election ballot.
CA Must Protect Its Energy Efficiency Programs Amidst the Rates Crisis
Expert BlogCaliforniaMerrian Borgeson
As we transition to a clean energy future, keeping electricity affordable is crucial for powering vehicles, homes, and industries to meet our climate targets.
Battery Storage Stands the Heat in California and the West
Expert BlogCalifornia, WestKelsie Gomanie, Annie Minondo
California’s fleet of batteries helped the grid not only survive the recent heat wave, but support neighbors in the broader West.
Drax Coming for California Forests by Partnering with GSNR
Expert BlogUnited Kingdom, CaliforniaRita Frost
Drax has joined forces with GSNR to bring its forest-destroying practices to California. After signing an MOU in February 2024, it is transparent that GSNR’s aims are solely profit-driven.
Latest Policy Resources
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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.
Busy People Love Leftovers
Issue PaperDenverAndrea Collins, Stacy Woods
A community-based social marketing campaign aims to reduce food waste in Denver.
Offshore Drilling 101
GuideAlaska, West, Louisiana, Georgia, North CarolinaShelia Hu
A look into how drilling for oil and gas in the oceans works—and why it’s time to make it history.
Dirty Water: Toxic “Forever” PFAS Chemicals Are Prevalent in the Drinking Water of Environmental Justice Communities
ReportCaliforniaAvinash Kar, Dr. Anna Reade, Susan Lee
Action is urgently needed to protect Californian communities—especially those already overburdened with cumulative exposure to multiple different types of pollution—from this ubiquitous chemical.
Fossilized Finances: State and Federal Oil and Gas Subsidies in the Permian Basin
ReportTexas, New MexicoSujatha Bergen, Susan Casey-Lefkowitz
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.
Closing the Climate Investment Gap: California Must Prioritize Climate-Smart Transportation Projects
ReportCaliforniaCarter Rubin, Rabi Abonour
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.
The First 10 Years: Measuring the Success of California’s Underwater Parks
Fact SheetUnited States, CaliforniaAnupa Asokan
There are positive signs that California’s marine protected areas network is promoting ecosystem health by supporting biodiversity; providing refuge for more, bigger, and older fish; and even showing attributes of climate resilience.
State-Based Food Waste Policy Gap Analysis and Inventory Reports
ReportMaryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, ColoradoDarby Hoover, Yvette Cabrera
Food waste costs the US $408 billion each year. Producing food that we do not consume swallows up roughly 18 percent of America’s cropland and 14 percent of our fresh water, and generates about 270 million metric tons CO2 equivalent…
Diesel trucks are a major contributor to the dangerous emissions in Colorado.
Tell the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to protect residents from toxic air pollution caused by these trucks.
Protect Coloradans from toxic air pollution caused by diesel trucks!
Tell the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to support the Advanced Clean Truck and Low NOx rules.