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This report from EDF provides an overview of the dual water stressors of too little and too much water, the current and potential future impacts these might have on agriculture, and to highlight emerging adaptation strategies to enhance resilience.

Media Statement by: David Kelly, North Carolina State Director, Environmental Defense Fund

In 2022, Rosa applied for the Water Leadership Institute. Her motivation? To actively address severe water challenges impacting her family in El Nido in Merced County. Located in California’s breadbasket, Merced County is a scene of abundance with lush fields, orchards, and prospering dairy farms. Yet, beneath this scene lies a harsh reality. Rosa’s family …

Statement on EPA and DOE announcement of funding for methane mitigation

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is encouraged that EPA final fee rule will bring in an estimated $36.7 million in resources each year to help EPA implement TSCA.

What does it mean for hydrogen to be clean? And will the emerging hydrogen economy be able to deliver the meaningful climate benefits it promises? The U.S Treasury is about to make a series of decisions that will determine the answer to these questions for the U.S region, and potentially others around the world who …

For generations, people have been playing hockey outdoors in the winter. Rising temperatures from climate change are threatening pond hockey's future, but some players are fighting back. 

Study provides a roadmap for the transformation of Puerto Rico's electrical system with energy justice and resilience to climate change.

What’s New Earlier this week EDF submitted comments that urged EPA to finalize the strongest possible improvements to the Lead and Copper Rule (LCRI). An estimated 9.2 million lead service lines (LSLs) are still connected to homes and buildings throughout the country. EPA’s proposal is a critical step to protect Americans from the harmful of …

Climate change-driven events—like heat waves, droughts, floods, and fires—cause damage to communities’ and individuals’ health and safety. But these events also threaten the financial well-being of communities across the U.S. through their impact on markets and local economies. These risks are increasingly visible in the housing and mortgage markets. In this three-part series, we’ll be …

The Environmental Protection Agency today announced an updated, stronger national health standard for particulate matter – a potentially deadly air pollutant more commonly known as soot.

By Adam Peltz and Meg Coleman New Mexico’s legislators have a remarkable opportunity in the coming days to protect New Mexico families, businesses and the environment by revising the antiquated Oil and Gas Act with House Bill 133.  What’s currently at stake is who will pay for the billions of dollars-worth of well plugging and …

By Liora Fiksel, Project Manager, Healthy Communities, and Lisa Lefferts, Environmental Health Consultant What’s Happening? On December 21, 2023, FDA filed a food-additive petition and a color-additive petition submitted by EDF and partners that asks FDA to revoke its approval for four carcinogenic chemicals approved for use in food. There is broad agreement that benzene,

Climate change-driven events—like heat waves, droughts, floods, and fires—cause damage to communities’ and individuals’ health and safety. But these events also threaten the financial well-being of communities across the U.S. through their impact on markets and local economies. Nowhere is this more visible recently than in the property insurance market.  In this three-part series, we’ll …

One year after the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the EPA is considering phasing out vinyl chloride, a toxic chemical the train was carrying.

EDF Statement from Will Scott, Southeast Climate & Clean Energy Director at EDF

Statement of EDF President Fred Krupp

Embarking on a field trip can often feel like stepping into a storybook, especially when the narrative and scenery revolve around transforming landscapes. This feeling was palpable last November when the Environmental Defense Fund organized a trip to Merced and Stanislaus Counties in California. The journey wasn’t just a tour; it was a vivid illustration …

New Mexico lawmakers’ unanimous support for proposed investments in water supply and science signal the Legislature is making water a priority this session and shoring up the state against increasing stressors to its finite water supplies.

Environmental Defense Fund, Cornell University, and Kansas State University studied how severe weather financially impacts Kansas farms and how management choices and government programs mitigate the negative impacts. The study used a 40-year Kansas farm financial dataset and historic weather data to measure the impacts of extreme heat on gross and net farm income.

By Maricel Maffini, PhD, Consultant, and Tom Neltner, JD What Happened In December 2023, FDA’s scientists published a new study showing that when pregnant rats ingest a form of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substance (PFAS) called 6:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (6:2 FTOH) their bodies break it down into other PFAS that reach the fetuses and biopersist …

Last week, EPA proposed details for how it will administer Congress’s methane waste emissions charge for excessive oil and gas pollution, passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Methane Emissions Reduction Program in 2022.   The waste charge is a fee on excessive methane pollution that applies to the largest polluting facilities in the oil …

In leading climate states, you’ll find trailblazing projects that are benefiting people’s lives and cutting costly pollution right now. In Washington, young people ride the ferry across Puget sound and buses around the state for free. In California, low-income residents get money-saving home energy efficiency upgrades at no cost. And in New York, businesses and …

66% of WEF Global Risk Perception Survey respondents identified extreme weather as “most likely to present a material crisis on a global scale in 2024.”

Billion-dollar natural disasters now happen every 3 weeks on average, vs. every 4 months in 1980s. Climate change could cost the global economy $5 trillion over a 5-year period.