Why is climate change a public health issue? Our senior scientist Dr. Vijay Limaye explains how the climate crisis affects us all in the latest episode of our What the Earth podcast: https://on.nrdc.org/4dBILBJ
U.S. deaths attributed to the hottest days have increased by 50% in the last two decades alone. Without better preparation for extreme heat events, communities could face more casualties. We urgently need state and local governments to act now.
Plan for both emergencies and long-term resilience: State and local governments shouldn’t be choosing between one or the other. Both emergency response and long-term investment are needed to protect communities from heat-related disasters.
Budget for extreme heat on an ongoing basis: Research shows that a dedicated investment in every phase of a disaster is vital when planning for and responding to an event. This could unlock funds for utility assistance, surge staffing and supplies during emergencies, and more.
Appoint leaders in heat resilience: Places like Arizona, Los Angeles, and locations outside the United States have created chief heat officers, or similar positions, to ensure a capable and empowered person is taking charge of heat-related planning, preparedness, and response.
Summers are getting more dangerous as average temperatures rise, but heat events are not yet included in federal disaster declarations, leaving state and local governments on their own to protect residents. Here’s what they can start doing now before it's too late:👇🧵
Climate change is one of our biggest public health threats, so what’s being done to address it? On the latest episode of our What the Earth podcast, our senior scientist Dr. Vijay Limaye explains how climate action can save lives: https://on.nrdc.org/4tJJ3v8
The EPA is giving the fossil fuel industry another free pass to pollute by weakening safeguards against coal ash pollution, a toxic byproduct of burning coal that can contaminate drinking water and is linked to serious health harms.
The Trump administration is letting the oil and gas industry bypass endangered species protections in the Gulf of Mexico, putting endangered Rice’s whales—with fewer than 100 left—and other marine life at serious risk.
Our senior scientist Dr. Vijay Limaye connects the dots between climate change and public health, stressing the importance of finding solutions that build up our resilience to climate impacts. Listen to the new episode of our What the Earth podcast: https://on.nrdc.org/4dBILBJ
As global temperatures rise, extreme heat is threatening communities everywhere, especially those in the Global South. Later this month, we’ll convene experts from around the world to advance on-the-ground solutions that protect people most at risk.
California’s Nitrogen Pollution Reduction Act would require farms to address fertilizer runoff that’s polluted the state’s air and water for decades to protect our health, clean water, and healthy farming economies.
Trump’s EPA is stacked with chemical industry insiders who used industry-funded studies to downplay science linking a toxic chemical to cancer. Now, they’re threatening to roll back protections against other cancer-causing chemicals, putting public health at greater risk.
This move is part of a larger Trump administration push to weaken or eliminate bedrock environmental and public health protections to prop up the coal industry. We will continue to fight for our right to breathe clean, safe air, even when the Trump administration refuses to.
The Trump administration announced that they are rolling back those updated mercury standards and repealing monitoring requirements for coal plants that inform the public just how much toxic pollution they’re spewing.
Coal plants are the largest U.S. mercury source, but the MATS rule has cut mercury pollution from this source by 90%. Newer standards further tightened mercury emission limits and required continuous monitoring to provide real-time data on what plants release.
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can find its way into water, soil, and even our bodies. Exposure to mercury can damage brain function and is particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women.
In 2011, the EPA created the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)—a rule that limits mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants that endanger public health.
The Trump administration is continuing their assault on our right to breathe clean air. putting us all at greater risk of heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature death. 👇🧵
Investing in more foreign fossil fuel projects would lock us into a dirty energy future and raise costs for American families when we should be choosing clean, more affordable energy instead.
The Trump administration weakened vital mercury and toxic air standards for coal-fired power plants—threatening communities like the Northern Cheyenne Tribe with dangerous health effects.
As climate disasters worsen, the Trump administration is doubling down on fossil fuels while attacking affordable, renewable energy—trying to cancel offshore wind projects and wiping out nearly 40,000 good-paying jobs.
If we continue as is, AI data center growth can have a tremendous impact on our energy grid—and our wallets. Listen to Ben Schaefer, NRDC’s senior manager of strategic communications, lay it out for us in our latest explainer video.
The EPA says they want to address the threat of microplastics in drinking water, but words aren’t enough. Without issuing new standards, toxic particles will stay in the tap water of millions of Americans’ homes and threaten public health.
The Trump administration is abusing emergency powers to keep expensive, dangerous coal plants online—like the J.H. Campbell plant in Michigan—leaving families to foot the bill. We’re suing to stop this unlawful power grab and protect public health.
The Trump administration has convened a rarely invoked committee for the first time in 30 years to sell out wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico to Big Oil. Speak up to show you won’t stand for this: https://on.nrdc.org/47YsFyv
Health experts warn that the Trump administration’s agenda will leave communities facing more asthma attacks, lung disease, and premature deaths as they put polluter profits ahead of Americans’ right to breathe clean air.
A hundred years ago, narwhals largely inhabited the San Francisco Bay Area, but the decline of their main food source, driven by overfishing, led them to migrate to more suitable habitats. The species’ rare appearance in the bay reflects improved conditions that could signal a comeback.
Today, the Trump administration convened the rarely used “God Squad” and voted to give oil and gas companies sweeping exemptions in the gulf that will strip safeguards from wildlife like manatees, Rice’s whales, and sea turtles.
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) were created to protect public health—decreasing risks of cancer and heart and lung disease. Updated in 2024, these standards were just rolled back by the Trump administration. We will see them in court for repealing these stronger standards.
