Latest Natural Resources Defense Council Stories

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Friday that they would not ban the use of a controversial chemical used in food packaging, various media outlets have reported. According to Bloomberg's Jack Kaskey, the FDA rejected a request from environmental advocates seeking the agency to prohibit the use of bisphenol A, also known as BPA, in cans and other forms of packaging. In their ruling, the FDA determined that opponents of BPA, which has been used in epoxy linings for the...

WASHINGTON, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to respond by March 31 to a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to ban the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) from food-contact materials. Shatter-resistant polycarbonate plastic and durable epoxy resins, both made from BPA, are approved by the FDA and commonly used in reusable containers and food packaging. "We have and will continue to rely on the experts at...

Interactive Online Map Shows Potential Long-Term Climate Impact in Every State; Prompts Calls for Action NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 2011, there were at least 2,941 monthly weather records broken in communities throughout the U.S., as detailed in a new interactive extreme weather mapping tool and year-end review released today by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The powerful web-based tool allows Americans to draw the connections between climate change...

Environmental groups and government officials complained to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday, warning that U.S. negotiators at this week’s U.N. climate talks in Durban, South Africa, risk portraying the U.S. as an obstruction to fighting global warming due to its stalling on critical issues. In two separate appeals, the groups warned that the U.S. could derail progress at the 192-party talks if it blocks moves toward a climate change fund, worth up to $100 billion per...

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A typical U.S. household uses an average of 400 to 500 gallons of water per day- the same amount it takes to fill a Jacuzzi - and a vast amount considering there are more than 100 million households in the U.S. Despite the staggering statistics around water consumption, there is low consumer awareness around the severe levels of water depletion in the U.S., and many don't know that two-thirds of America's drinking water comes from rivers and lakes...

Researchers said on Monday that deaths and health problems from floods, drought and other U.S. disasters related to climate change cost $14 billion in the past decade. The study looked at the cost of human suffering and loss of life due to six disasters from 2000 through 2009. "When extreme weather hits, we hear about the property damage and insurance costs," Kim Knowlton, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council and a co-author of the study, said in a statement. "The...

In a move designed to help raise awareness about energy consumption, Facebook on Monday announced a new partnership with Opower, a developer of energy-efficiency software, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to create a new social energy application for the social network. According to CNET reporter Martin LaMonica, the app will be developed by Opower and distributed through Facebook's Green page starting in early 2012. It will allow users to compare their energy usage with...

Joint effort aims to motivate hundreds of millions of people to take action, become more energy efficient, and help protect the environment ARLINGTON, Va., PALO ALTO, Calif., and WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Facebook, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Opower today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership to use the power of social networking to raise consumer awareness about energy consumption through a joint development of a new social energy...

9 Battleground States Also Surveyed: Suburban Women in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Latino Women in California, Florida and New Mexico Disagree With Obama Decision; Health Also Trumps Polluters in Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia. WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- President Obama's decision to block new public health standards for ozone and smog pollution may have pleased big business, but it sorely disappointed key demographic groups, including Latinos and women...

Top 20 States for Consumer Benefits Listed: Texas, California and Florida Do Best for Total Pocketbook Savings; Impact of Higher MPG Standards Equal to Removing Emissions From 40 Million Vehicles for a Year. WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which are both members of the Go60MPG.org coalition, shows that new fuel economy standards announced by the Obama...