News: Media Center

"Reality" Coalition Launches Campaign Debunking "Clean Coal" Myth
Menlo Park, CA (December 4, 2008) – Today, the Alliance for Climate Protection, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council and Sierra Club launched the “Reality” Coalition, a national grassroots and advertising effort to tell a simple truth:  in reality, there is no such thing as “clean coal.”  

Lawsuit Seeks to Enforce Ban on Toxic Toys
NEW YORK (December 4, 2008) –The Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen today sued the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to keep unsafe children’s toys and childcare products, laden with harmful chemicals called phthalates, off store shelves this winter.

Lead Free: Settlement Protects California Condors from Lethal Lead
LOS ANGELES (December 3, 2008) – A settlement announced today between environmentalists and the State of California will strengthen protections for California condors by placing limits on the use of lead ammunition throughout the species’ range. Lead ammunition is a significant threat to the big birds because they are likely to scavenge prey that has been shot with the heavy metal. Studies show that ingesting lead causes reproductive problems and death for this majestic and endangered bird of prey. Recent reports show a similar problem for Grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies.

NRDC Exposes Health and Environmental Programs Slashed Under Bush Administration
WASHINGTON (December 4, 2008) – Millions of Americans have been left in the dark about hazardous pollutants being released into their communities, according to a new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The new report provides a comprehensive look at the Bush Administration’s systemic cutting of health and environmental programs that monitor toxins across America.

Americans Want Clean Energy, Not More Oil to Solve Energy Crisis
WASHINGTON (December 3, 2008) -- A large majority (72 percent) of Americans believe that our country has the technology to move from its reliance on oil and other dirty fuels to support investments in clean, smart energy choices, according to new polling data released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Cliffside Must Clean Up: Court Finds Violations of Clean Air Act
ASHEVILLE, NC (December 2, 2008)- A federal court ruling today will force Duke Energy to meet stringent Clean Air Act requirements for control of hazardous air pollution from the 800-megawatt addition to its Cliffside coal-fired power plant. The judge sided with conservation groups challenging Duke’s failure to obtain pollution limits that would adequately control toxic air pollution. The decision is particularly important as it closes what had been perceived as a loophole that allowed similar plants to skirt pollution requirements.

EPA Allows Mining Companies to Destroy America's Streams
WASHINGTON (December 2, 2008) -- In the latest move by the Bush administration to undo environmental protections, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today agreed to relax the conditions under which mining companies -- particularly those engaged in mountaintop removal -- may bury waste.

Tar Sands Oil Development Could Claim More Than 160 Million Boreal Birds
CHICAGO (December 2, 2008) – Extraction and refining of heavy oil from Canada’s tar sands is taking a significant toll on migratory birds throughout North America, according to a report released today. DANGER IN THE NURSERY: Impact on Birds of Tar Sands Oil Development in Canada’s Boreal Forest is a new peer-reviewed policy and science document outlining the current and projected impacts the tar sands oil industry is having on migratory bird populations in the Boreal forest of Alberta and along the hemisphere’s flyways.

Automakers Get Third Strike in California Car Litigation
WASHINGTON (November 25, 2008) -- A federal judge in Rhode Island today ruled that General Motors, Chrysler, and the Association of Automobile Manufacturers cannot challenge that state’s adoption of California’s landmark clean car standards, which will cut global warming pollution 30 percent by 2016. The standard will help solve the global warming crisis while saving consumers billions of dollars at the pump. Thirteen other states have already copied California’s standards, and at least another four states are planning to do so. 

Backyard Oil Drilling Affects Thousands in LA
LOS ANGELES (November 25, 2008) – Thousands of residents living near Baldwin Hills may soon be exposed to serious health risks if Texas-based oil company, Plains Exploration and Production Company (PXP) is allowed to expand their drilling projects, according to a lawsuit filed today by Community Health Councils, Inc. (CHC) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The lawsuit against the County of Los Angeles challenges the County for failing to provide adequate health and environmental safeguards against the dangers of expanded oil drilling operations in the densely populated south Los Angeles and Culver City neighborhoods.