Trump’s EPA is stacked with chemical industry insiders who used industry-funded studies to downplay science linking a toxic chemical to cancer. Now, they’re threatening to roll back protections against other cancer-causing chemicals, putting public health at greater risk.
This move is part of a larger Trump administration push to weaken or eliminate bedrock environmental and public health protections to prop up the coal industry. We will continue to fight for our right to breathe clean, safe air, even when the Trump administration refuses to.
The Trump administration announced that they are rolling back those updated mercury standards and repealing monitoring requirements for coal plants that inform the public just how much toxic pollution they’re spewing.
Coal plants are the largest U.S. mercury source, but the MATS rule has cut mercury pollution from this source by 90%. Newer standards further tightened mercury emission limits and required continuous monitoring to provide real-time data on what plants release.
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that can find its way into water, soil, and even our bodies. Exposure to mercury can damage brain function and is particularly dangerous for children and pregnant women.
In 2011, the EPA created the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)—a rule that limits mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants that endanger public health.
The Trump administration is continuing their assault on our right to breathe clean air. putting us all at greater risk of heart and lung disease, cancer, and premature death. 👇🧵
Investing in more foreign fossil fuel projects would lock us into a dirty energy future and raise costs for American families when we should be choosing clean, more affordable energy instead.
The Trump administration weakened vital mercury and toxic air standards for coal-fired power plants—threatening communities like the Northern Cheyenne Tribe with dangerous health effects.
As climate disasters worsen, the Trump administration is doubling down on fossil fuels while attacking affordable, renewable energy—trying to cancel offshore wind projects and wiping out nearly 40,000 good-paying jobs.
If we continue as is, AI data center growth can have a tremendous impact on our energy grid—and our wallets. Listen to Ben Schaefer, NRDC’s senior manager of strategic communications, lay it out for us in our latest explainer video.
The EPA says they want to address the threat of microplastics in drinking water, but words aren’t enough. Without issuing new standards, toxic particles will stay in the tap water of millions of Americans’ homes and threaten public health.
The Trump administration is abusing emergency powers to keep expensive, dangerous coal plants online—like the J.H. Campbell plant in Michigan—leaving families to foot the bill. We’re suing to stop this unlawful power grab and protect public health.
The Trump administration has convened a rarely invoked committee for the first time in 30 years to sell out wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico to Big Oil. Speak up to show you won’t stand for this: https://on.nrdc.org/47YsFyv
Health experts warn that the Trump administration’s agenda will leave communities facing more asthma attacks, lung disease, and premature deaths as they put polluter profits ahead of Americans’ right to breathe clean air.
A hundred years ago, narwhals largely inhabited the San Francisco Bay Area, but the decline of their main food source, driven by overfishing, led them to migrate to more suitable habitats. The species’ rare appearance in the bay reflects improved conditions that could signal a comeback.
Today, the Trump administration convened the rarely used “God Squad” and voted to give oil and gas companies sweeping exemptions in the gulf that will strip safeguards from wildlife like manatees, Rice’s whales, and sea turtles.
The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) were created to protect public health—decreasing risks of cancer and heart and lung disease. Updated in 2024, these standards were just rolled back by the Trump administration. We will see them in court for repealing these stronger standards.
Wildfire season is coming, and climate change is making fires longer and more intense. We need solutions that protect public health, strengthen forest resiliency, and cut the pollution that’s driving the crisis with strong climate and clean energy policies.
As costly pipeline upgrades drive up household gas bills, utilities could help families switch to clean, efficient electric appliances instead—saving millions, cutting climate pollution, and improving home health.
How we react to the AI boom at this moment is critical. Listen to Ben Schaefer, NRDC’s senior manager of strategic communications, walk us through how to take advantage of this opportunity in our latest explainer video.
The Trump administration wants to roll back ocean speed limits that protect Northern Atlantic right whales from deadly vessel strikes and replace these proven safeguards with untested technology—putting this endangered species at even greater risk.
The Trump administration is moving to open federal waters near U.S. Pacific territories to deep-sea mining, despite local opposition over the risks it poses to ocean ecosystems and the communities who depend on it.
After years of community opposition, Sempra has finally cancelled its proposed Vista Pacifico fossil fuel project in the Gulf of California—one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. But the fight isn't over as more projects threaten this irreplaceable ecosystem.
The Trump administration plans to open millions of acres of the Arctic to oil and gas drilling, worsening the climate crisis that is melting permafrost. Once this fragile ground is gone, it can never be restored. We must act now to stop it.
The Arctic’s vast wildlife—like grizzly bears, caribou, and Pacific salmon—depend on these ecosystems, but their homes are threatened by this newly found climate effect.
Warmer temperatures are thawing permafrost faster, releasing iron that turns rivers orange and toxic metals that endanger the region’s wildlife and communities. Alaska’s iconic Salmon River, known for its clear waters, is one of many in the region tainted by toxic metals.
The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the world, accelerating climate impacts like this one. 👇🧵
The Trump administration’s EPA is abandoning its core mission to protect human health and the environment, allowing some of the worst offenders to operate unchecked and open the floodgates to more toxic air pollution. We won’t stop fighting to safeguard our right to breathe clean, safe air.
