OnEarth Magazine

A seam is a border between two separately run electricity markets. Power can cross it, but, because neither market can see the full picture on the other side, the trade of that power can be inefficient. This often leads to cheaper resources—often including wind and solar—being underutilized, which may impact electricity costs, access to reliable power, and the potential for clean energy build-out.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Interior Department today created a shortcut that lets the Bureau of Land Management approve winter oil and gas exploration in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska without preparing an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement. The change takes effect immediately, with no public comment period, and covers exploratory drilling, ice roads, seismic surveys and water withdrawals across the 23-million-acre reserve.

Taken together, these policies could cost the country between 390 and 540 gigawatts of new electricity capacity over the coming decade, as much as 40 percent of what had been planned over that time before the Trump administration upended the industry. Even at the low end of those projections, the power lost would have been enough to increase U.S. electricity capacity by a third, above the current 1,200 gigawatts nationwide.

Phaseout of PFAS in textiles/apparel In 2022, California passed a NRDC cosponsored law (AB 1817, Ting) phasing out PFAS in textiles broadly, including apparel, footwear, backpacks, household textiles, and much more. Almost in parallel, New York passed a law (S1322, Hoylman-Sigal/A994, Fahy) phasing out PFAS in apparel—but not other textiles—that included essentially similar language. Both laws went into effect in January 2025.

Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said he would soon propose rolling back requirements that oil and gas companies prevent leaks of methane, the latest in a series of giveaways to the fossil fuel industry. Zeldin made the announcement at a gathering of oil and gas executives.

The Trump administration's EPA just announced its intention to abandon its legal authority to regulate climate pollution from power plants — which are responsible for one-quarter of U.S. carbon emissions. It's the same illegal logic the agency used to repeal the endangerment finding and gut vehicle emission standards.

PORTLAND, OR – The Pathways Launch Committee approved the inaugural five-member Board of Directors for the Regional Organization of Western Energy, known as ROWE. NRDC, Western Resource Advocates and Renewable Northwest strongly support the slate, which brings decades of experience in state regulation, public power, electricity markets and Western energy governance.

WASHINGTON  - The Supreme Court returns from recess today to take up Suncor v. Boulder, a case that could shape the ability of local governments to seek compensation from fossil fuel companies for the widening toll of storms, droughts and other disasters made worse by climate change. NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) filed an amicus brief in the case, highlighting the strength of climate attribution science.

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) filed a lawsuit today challenging the rollback of vehicle fuel economy standards by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “With the Iran war driving up prices at the pump, the Trump administration is doing all it can to keep us dependent on gas guzzlers,” said Atid Kimelman, an attorney for NRDC. “In fact, most automakers would not need to make any fuel-economy improvements to meet these new standards.

Credit: Geoff Livingston/Getty Images For the past half century, NRDC has been suing polluters, regardless of political stripe. And when presidential administrations violate the laws that protect public health and the environment, we take them to court too. NRDC sued the first Trump administration 163 times, and we have been victorious in nearly 90 percent of the cases that have been resolved. President Trump tried to resurrect the Keystone XL pipeline. We stopped him.