Nature's Voice Fall 2023

NATURE ’ S VOICE

Members Rally for Bold Carbon Rules

As It Turns 50, Is the Endangered Species Act—Endangered?

NRDC India Debuts at Historic Moment

Home-DIY Giants Fail Boreal Forest in Canada

For the 3 million Members and online activists of the Natural Resources Defense Council

NRDC works to safeguard the earth—its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends.

Bottlenose dolphin

“EXPLOSIVE” TAP WATER WIN

Siding with NRDC, a federal appeals court has ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must regulate perchlorate in drinking water. The ruling marks the culmination of a more than 15-year battle to prevail on the agency to regulate the toxic chemical. Widely used in rocket fuel, munitions, fireworks, and other explosives, perchlorate has been linked to brain damage in fetuses and infants. The EPA has estimated that the chemical contaminates the drinking water of as many as 16 million people in the United States.

RESIDENTS TRIUMPH IN CHICAGO

A first-of-its-kind settlement now requires the city of Chicago to reform racist planning, zoning, and landuse practices after a federal investigation found the city discriminates by siting polluting businesses in low-income communities of color. The landmark settlement marks another victory for residents of the city’s Southeast Side. Last year, the mostly working-class Latine and Black community succeeded in blocking the relocation of a heavily polluting metal-shredding facility to their neighborhood from gentrified Lincoln Park, a battle that sparked the federal investigation.

NEW PUSH TO SAVE OLD TREES

It appears that the U.S. Forest Service may finally be ready to see the forest for the trees. Fresh on the heels of its first-ever inventory of mature and oldgrowth forests on public lands, the agency is considering putting forth new rules that would protect these magnificent woodlands rather than hand them over to logging interests. From their importance as wildlife habitat to their role in watershed health to their storing of massive amounts of carbon, these forests “are worth far more standing,” says NRDC Senior Attorney Garett Rose.

MEMBERS RALLY FOR BOLD CARBON RULES

In what could go down as a watershed moment in the fight to secure a livable climate, the Biden administration has proposed new rules that would tackle the two largest sources of climate pollution in the United States: transportation and power plants. The potentially game-changing proposals immediately set off an intense flurry of advocacy, with tens of thousands of Members and online activists joining NRDC to call on the administration to finalize the most ambitious carbon standards possible, and fast.

“This comes not a moment too soon,” says David Doniger, senior strategic director with NRDC’s Climate and Clean Energy Program. “We know we’re rapidly approaching a tipping point to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, and we can’t do that without reining in the biggest sources of carbon pollution.”

Together, transportation and electricity generation account for more than 50 percent of U.S.

greenhouse gas emissions. Yet until now, power plants have been allowed to cough up an unlimited amount of carbon pollution, with no restrictions. Meanwhile, more than 94 percent of emissions from the transportation sector come from petroleumbased sources. Whether generating electricity or fueling cars, burning fossil fuels is not only driving the climate crisis but unleashing a host of harmful air pollutants that have been linked to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and premature death, meaning that the proposed standards are expected to have immense public health benefits as well.

Even as climate advocates cheer the Biden administration’s move to crack down on the country’s two leading sources of climate pollution, the battle to stop the administration from handing over more of our public lands and coastal waters for oil and gas drilling continues. These efforts include NRDC’s ongoing court fight to block the Willow Project, which would extract 600 million barrels of

additional oil from the fragile Arctic. Says Doniger, “We’re fighting on every major front to bring the curtain down on the destructive era of fossil fuels.”

Neonics Driving 200+ Species Toward Extinction

A new assessment by the EPA predicts that three of the most commonly used insecticides in the United States likely jeopardize the continued existence of more than 200 species listed under the Endangered Species Act, including pollinators such as the rusty patched bumblebee, Hine’s emerald dragonfly, and the Karner blue butterfly. The findings follow the agency’s determination in 2021 that the pesticides— part of the class of neurotoxic agrochemicals known as neonics—likely harm upwards of 80 percent of all listed species. The EPA conducted the analyses after NRDC and our partners successfully sued the agency for approving

neonic products without first examining their impact on threatened and endangered species, in violation of the law.

“These findings add to the already damning evidence about the dangers that widespread overuse of neonics poses to the environment and our health,” says Dan Raichel, director of NRDC’s Pollinator Initiative. The EPA is currently in the middle of a safety review of neonics conducted once every 15 years, and tens of thousands of Members and online activists have joined NRDC in calling on the agency to ban the uses of the chemicals that are wiping out pollinators and threatening human health.

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Karner blue butterfly

New standards would cut carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants and other major sources.

AS IT TURNS 50, IS THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT—ENDANGERED?

Cities choking in smog. Rivers catching fire. By the mid-20th century, there was no shortage of evidence that 100 years of rampant industrialization had exacted a terrible environmental toll in America, yet perhaps none resonated as poignantly as the disappearance of the bald eagle. Devastated by the runaway use of the toxic pesticide DDT, habitat loss, and over-hunting, the population of the once-proud national symbol had plummeted in the continental United States to just 417 nesting pairs.

Congress took action, but it wasn’t enough. By the time President Richard Nixon called on lawmakers to pass legislation that would provide a more robust program for saving endangered wildlife— one that “would permit protective measures to be undertaken before a species is so depleted that regeneration is difficult or impossible”—Congress had already passed the landmark Clean Air Act, and it would soon pass the Clean Water Act as well. To these bedrock environmental laws, Congress added the Endangered Species Act. It passed the Senate unanimously and drew just four dissenting votes in the House. Nixon signed it into law on December 28, 1973.

“Just like the laws to protect our air and water, the Endangered Species Act has, for half a century now, enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan public support, and that’s because it works,” says Rebecca Riley, managing director of NRDC’s Nature Program. Of the more than 2,000 species that have been listed as endangered or threatened, 99 percent have been saved from extinction. These span the dazzlingly diverse spectrum of animal and plant life, from iconic species such as gray wolves, grizzly bears, humpback whales, and, of course, bald eagles to humbler but no less worthy species like the Kirtland’s warbler, Tennessee purple coneflower, and rusty patched bumblebee.

including 71,400 nesting pairs. Meanwhile, polls consistently show that 80 percent of Americans or more support the Endangered Species Act. So it would seem as if the law’s golden anniversary would be cause for universal celebration. Yet many of the same powerful special interests that have long sought to weaken or dismantle our clean air and clean water protections have also made no secret of their hostility to our country’s flagship wildlife conservation law.

“Central to the success of the Endangered Species Act is that it requires decisions about whether to list species to be grounded in science, not short-term economic factors,” says Riley.

“Needless to say, a lot of extractive industries don’t want to be told, ‘No, you can’t drill or mine or log here because this is critical habitat for an endangered species,’ and they’ve poured a lot of money and effort into trying to take down the law.”

Decades of attacks throughout various industry-cozy administrations reached a crescendo under President Donald Trump, whose interior secretary, David Bernhardt, vowed to make sweeping changes to relieve industry of what he called the law’s “unnecessary regulatory burden.” Soon the former oil and gas lobbyist delivered. “U.S. Significantly Weakens Endangered Species Act,” the New York Times declared, less than three months after a

bombshell report from the United Nations warned that as many as a million wildlife species around the world are at risk of extinction.

Among the nearly two dozen changes Trump’s Interior Department sought were those that would make it harder to list species and easier to delist them, and for the first time would allow economic factors to influence listing decisions. NRDC and our allies immediately filed suit, and the court sent the changes back to the Fish and Wildlife Service. While the agency under the Biden administration has repealed some of the changes, NRDC continues to press for the service to finish the job and fully reverse the Trump-era assault.

Still, the attacks continue. Since January alone, anti-environment lawmakers in Congress have introduced more than a dozen bills targeting endangered species, including a House bill that would require the consideration of economic factors in listing decisions. “The failure of the Trump administration’s assault on the Endangered Species Act hasn’t discouraged them at all,” says NRDC Legislative Advocate Katie Hobbs, who is closely tracking the bills. “We really can’t afford to let our guard down.”

Meanwhile, just as NRDC has for the entire 50year history of the Endangered Species Act, we continue to use the law for what Congress originally intended: to save our most vulnerable species. And

The bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007; today there are an estimated 316,700 individuals in the Lower 48 states, [ Continued on next page. ]

Clockwise from top left: The decline of the bald eagle was among the catalysts that led a near-unanimous Congress to pass the Endangered Species Act; the act’s success in saving 99 percent of listed species, such as gray wolves, hasn’t deterred industry attacks; NRDC continues to fight in court to secure protections for species like the rusty patched bumblebee; a new federal rule would prioritize protecting wildlife habitat across 245 million acres of public lands.

In the face of renewed attacks, “we really can’t afford to let our guard down.”

industry-funded propaganda aside, it’s worth remembering, as Staff Attorney Lucas Rhoads puts it, that “the Fish and Wildlife Service isn’t exactly doling out endangered species listings like Pez candy.” Take the case of the rusty patched bumblebee. Despite the fact that the once-prolific native pollinator has disappeared from more than 90 percent of its historical range, owing to habitat loss and the widespread use of neonic pesticides, it took three years—and two lawsuits—to compel the service to list the bee, and NRDC continues to fight in court to force the agency to uphold its legal duty to protect the bee’s critical habitat.

Indeed, the science over the past 50 years has only underscored the interconnectedness of native species and the health of natural ecosystems, which in turn has far-reaching implications for clean air and water, our food supply, and our climate. Thus, the fight to save imperiled wildlife extends beyond the landmark Endangered Species Act to the battle to protect our last wild places, including NRDC’s advocacy for the recently proposed Public Lands Rule, which would require the Bureau of Land Management to no longer prioritize resource extraction above the protection and restoration of our shared public wildlands. Says Riley, “Saving species means saving the wild places they need in order to survive.”

Home-DIY Giants Fail Boreal Forest in Canada

The country’s two largest home-improvement chains are showing no love for some of the world’s last intact primary forests. Home Depot and Lowe’s have been under escalating pressure to report on the impact of their wood sourcing on primary forests in the Canadian boreal and to come up with specific plans to mitigate the resulting effects on climate, biodiversity, and human rights. Yet a recent report by Lowe’s does little to change the status quo, and as for Home Depot—crickets. The company remains stubbornly silent even though nearly two-thirds of its shareholders passed a resolution last year demanding that it address its unsustainable wood-sourcing practices. “Lowe’s made a small effort but still has miles to go,” says Shelley Vinyard, NRDC boreal corporate campaign manager. “Home Depot hasn’t even bothered.”

NRDC India Debuts at Historic Moment

Just as India was on the cusp of becoming the world’s most populous nation last spring, NRDC celebrated the launch of a new affiliate, NRDC India. The debut of the independent organization marks the dawn of a new era in what has already been a fruitful 13-year campaign by NRDC to partner at the grassroots, state, and national levels as the booming country seeks to balance rapid growth with climate leadership.

“The rise of India is often portrayed as a ‘problem’ when it comes to the climate crisis,” says Amanda

Maxwell, managing director of NRDC’s International Program. “But the reality is, it offers an exciting chance to implement the latest climate solutions in real time, in a country that has made ambitious climate commitments.” With India projected to add 1 billion square meters of new commercial floor space by 2030, for example, building climate-smart from the start provides real opportunities to save energy, reduce emissions, and enhance prosperity. Resilience is also crucial. More than 20 states in India are vulnerable to ever-worsening heat waves, making it imperative to develop and implement lifesaving heat action plans for at-risk communities.

Justice, Dignity at Center of Alabama Fight

We all deserve to have our basic health needs met. That’s why NRDC and our allies have filed a federal civil rights complaint against Alabama, arguing that the state put discriminatory restrictions in place that prevent communities of color from accessing public funds to address failing or nonexistent wastewater infrastructure.

Across Alabama, many residents of color, particularly in the state’s lowest-income areas, live without access to central sewer systems. Those who can’t afford to install their own system at home are forced to rely on makeshift “straight pipes” that discharge raw sewage

outdoors. Due to the region’s notoriously claylike soil, this regularly causes sewage to back up into homes and yards, resulting in compounding civil rights, public health, and environmental crises. “Alabama is forcing its residents to endure unhealthy and unjust living conditions,” says NRDC Senior Attorney Aaron Colangelo, “and it’s a violation of the Civil Rights Act.” NRDC and our coalition partners are fighting for equitable access to public clean-water funds, particularly as millions of federal infrastructure dollars head to the state.

Home Depot’s current sourcing policy dates all the way back to 1999 and fails to prevent sourcing from some of the world’s most critical at-risk forest regions, including the old-growth forests of Canada’s boreal. Home to hundreds of Indigenous communities and providing habitat for scores of wildlife species, the boreal forest in Canada also stores twice as much carbon as the world’s oil reserves. “We’ll continue to ratchet up the pressure on companies like Home Depot and Lowe’s to take meaningful, measurable action to eliminate the destruction and degradation of these irreplaceable forests in their supply chains,” says Vinyard.

EPA Weighs Limits for Toxic “Forever Chemicals” in Drinking Water

In a historic move, the EPA has proposed to set limits on the amounts of six PFAS chemicals found in drinking water. Yet even as the proposal is being hailed by public health advocates as a critical first step in addressing the dangers posed by the proliferation of this notorious class of industrial chemicals, evidence continues to mount that far stronger action is necessary to protect communities from this toxic tide.

Used in everything from clothing to cookware to make products water, stain, or grease resistant, at least 14,000 PFAS chemicals are known to exist. They are virtually indestructible— hence their reputation as “forever chemicals”—and they can be toxic at extremely low levels. They’ve been linked to a long list of health effects including cancer, immune suppression, and developmental harms.

Two of the six PFAS chemicals

Court Sacks the Clean Water Act With Sackett

targeted by the EPA proposal would be regulated individually, and while NRDC Senior Scientist Anna Reade praised the agency for setting strict standards for those chemicals, she sees what she hopes is sign of a paradigm shift in its approach to the other four, which would be regulated as a mixture using a “hazard index.” “We cannot safeguard the public health until we get off this toxic treadmill of regulating one PFAS chemical at a time while thousands of others remain unregulated,” she says. “We must start managing PFAS as a class and stop its ongoing production.”

It’s a point dramatically underscored by a recent NRDC study. The peer-reviewed analysis found that nearly half of the PFAS chemicals detected in drinking water samples collected from communities across 16 states are not monitored by the EPA, and that some communities with the highest levels of PFAS would not be eligible for protections under the EPA proposal because that proposal aims to regulate just six PFAS chemicals.

“It’s imperative that the EPA finalize its proposed standards as soon as possible and then move quickly to issue a comprehensive drinking water standard for PFAS chemicals as a class,” says Reade.

By Jon Devine, director, Federal Water Policy

There’s no two ways about it: The decision by a narrow majority of the Supreme Court in the case of Sackett v. EPA has dealt a devastating blow that strikes at the heart of the Clean Water Act. It was an outcome cheered by some of the country’s most polluting industries, which have spent years not only trying to weaken our fundamental clean water protections but to undermine all the laws that form the basis for environmental protection in the United States. These anti-environment forces have been emboldened by the rightward tilt of the federal judiciary and, in particular, a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court that has demonstrated both an alarming ignorance of science

and a willingness to overturn long-established legal precedent. Both were fully on display in Sackett . In taking it upon themselves to decide which wetlands in our country deserve protection from pollution and destruction, the Court’s majority bucked decades of precedent holding that Congress empowered the EPA to make that expert judgment. In the process, they kicked science to the curb as well. Healthy wetlands are a vital part of the watersheds that provide drinking water to tens of millions of Americans. They dramatically lessen the impact of both floods and droughts. They are among the most productive ecosystems on earth, comparable to rainforests and coral reefs, providing habitat

for all manner of wildlife. And they do all this while storing massive amounts of carbon.

So what comes next? NRDC was prepared with a post-Sackett game plan in the event that the Court majority sacked the Clean Water Act. We’ll be fighting to ensure that the government enforces the remaining provisions of the law that protect the clean water we all rely on for drinking, swimming, fishing, irrigation, and more. We’ll also be advocating for states to quickly strengthen their own clean water laws and for Congress to take action to restore the protections that Sackett plundered. Our health—and the health of our planet—depends on it.