Green Blog

Yesterday it became clear the Senate will go home for the August recess without responding to the BP oil spill. Obstruction among Republican Senate leadership and a handful of recalcitrant Democrats has grown so strong that not even an environmental disaster lasting more than 100 days can spur action.

Remember the summer of 2008? There was a gas price spike that made some question our lack of coherent national energy policy but caused others to double down and chant “Drill Baby Drill”?

Some of the fishing areas in the Gulf of Mexico are reopening. In fact, this week Louisiana reopened commercial fishing in areas East of the Mississippi. In the coming weeks, we can expect that many more areas will reopen to recreational and commercial fishing.

Last week, the House Natural Resource Committee passed legislation called the Consolidated Land, Energy and Aquatic Resources Act, known as the CLEAR Act.

Challenge yourself this summer with these 10 useful tips to eliminate your water waste!

In addition to saving money on your utility bill, water conservation helps prevent water pollution in nearby lakes, rivers and local watersheds.  Conserving water can also extend the life of your septic system by reducing soil saturation, and reducing any pollution due to leaks.

In April, twenty-five cities and states received “Retrofit Ramp-up” awards from the U.S. Department of Energy’s stimulus funds (a competitive grant under the Energy Efficiency and Community Block Grant Program). These grants are beefing up existing programs and new initiatives set to launch this fall and winter that allow households and building owners to improve the energy efficiency performance of their homes and businesses.

Before you buy your next bag of coffee beans, it may do you some good to think about your purchase. It makes a dramatic difference, not only in the quality and flavor of the coffee beans, but also in the impact on the environment, to purchase from a sustainable roaster. All over the world, commercial coffee companies are focusing on the economic value for their brand, meaning that they want high-enough quality coffee beans for the cheapest possible cost.

NRDC's David Pettit made a blog post on Tuesday about a day he just spent on the Louisiana bayou.

It's neither news nor political commentary. It's not focused on health or wildlife or our oil-fueled economy. It's just observation, written and photographic.

Today NRDC, Oceana, and Mote Marine Laboratory launched “Waldo” – an ocean robot that will help defend the environmental and economic bounty of the Florida Keys from impacts from the Gulf oil spill.

Satellite imagery and aerial reconnaissance can only see what’s visible on the surface of the water – they’re not able to tell us the locations and movement of the submerged plumes of oil droplets. These plumes could well be drifting offshore of Florida and without looking to see if they’re there, we won’t know.