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@nrdc.org

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Natural Resources Defense Council | The Earth's Best Defense

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NRDC @nrdc.org · Nov 21

Hi! If you’ve followed us from another platform, welcome! And if you’re new here, let us introduce ourselves—we’re NRDC, a group of lawyers, advocates, and policy experts working to defend the planet and its people from climate and public health crises.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 2h

The Trump administration moves to support coal mining near or directly adjacent to Zion, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef national parks, as well as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 2d

The Trump administration wants to open 13.1 million acres of public lands to coal mining—part of their broader attack on conservation safeguards. Tell the administration that public lands should be managed for people, wildlife, and future generations. https://on.nrdc.org/4mR4wOU

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 2d

New data centers built to power AI are exceeding available electricity, raising energy bills and risking blackouts. Major energy grid companies must require data centers in the region to supply the energy they need to operate, rather than shifting the burden onto families.

Building Data Centers Without Breaking PJM

Unless data centers are required to bring their own capacity, the region faces declining reliability and billions in excess costs.

www.nrdc.org

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 4d

More than a third of Americans don’t have reliable car access to get to work, school, or the grocery store. Our new transportation map can help policymakers better understand their communities and build a system that will benefit everyone.

Who Doesn’t Have a Car?

A new NRDC map shows car-free living and the factors affecting car usage in United States.

www.nrdc.org

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 5d

Leaders of the world’s biggest economies set new climate targets to help limit global temperatures to 1.5℃, but they need to do more to avoid the most severe effects of climate change.

Countries Announce Continued Action on 2035 Climate Plans

Nations must build on their NDCs by setting sectoral policies and plans, as well as scaling up investments to realize rapid, deep, equitable, and sustained emissions cuts.

www.nrdc.org

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 5d

These iconic fall leaf-peeping spots are in danger. If the Trump administration has its way, nearly 50 million acres of national forests will be vulnerable to disastrous logging and road building. We reject this destructive plan because our forests are not a piggy bank for the timber industry.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 6d

Our fight against Big Polluters is a fight for fenceline and frontline communities.

NRDC @nrdc.org · 6d

Both frontline and fenceline communities highlight the need for environmental justice. They are often low-income neighborhoods or communities of color, and many times, they contribute the least to the climate impacts they are experiencing.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 6d

Fenceline communities are a specific type of frontline community.

They are located next to polluting facilities like fossil fuel industrial parks, petrochemical plants, transportation hubs, or waste disposal sites. Air, noise, and water pollution affect these communities at a higher rate.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 6d

Frontline communities experience the most immediate and worst impacts of climate change. They are on the “frontlines” of the climate crisis.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 6d

When polluting industries move in right next door and directly put people’s lives at risk, we have to call for environmental justice because everyone has the right to clean air, clean water, and a healthy community. 🧵👇

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 7d

Companies that own power-hungry AI data centers need to fund clean energy production to meet skyrocketing electricity demands—not fossil fuels that risk blackouts and public health.

The AI Boom Is Stressing the Grid—but It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

There are ways we can avoid blackouts, sky-high energy bills, and climate backpedaling when powering AI data centers.

www.nrdc.org

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 7d

A bill in California would phase out PFAS—aka toxic “forever” chemicals—in cookware, food packaging, and other household items. It would help protect California’s nearly 40 million residents from exposure to harmful PFAS and inspire more states to follow suit.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 8d

The Trump administration is hell-bent on propping up one of America’s oldest, dirtiest, and most expensive power sources. They’re expanding coal mining on public lands by up to 31 times the current operations and delaying pollution safeguards while endangering communities and our planet.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 8d

We’re all paying the price of climate change. Polluters pay laws are gaining traction across the country and will help protect communities before the next disaster strikes to fend off some of the worst damage.

NRDC @nrdc.org · 8d

Vermont and New York are currently the only states with polluters pay laws in place—and they’re facing opposition, including lawsuits from the U.S. government, Republican-led states, and the fossil fuel industry. But they’re fighting back.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 8d

The funds collected from fossil fuel companies go into a state-managed fund to be used for a range of climate adaptation efforts, like protecting coastal wetlands that provide clean drinking water or upgrading older buildings to make them more sustainable.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 8d

Polluters pay laws aim to fix an imbalance where residents and local governments pay for the financial consequences of climate disasters—when it’s fossil fuel companies that bear significant responsibility.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 8d

Several states across the U.S. are working to pass polluters pay laws to hold large fossil fuel companies financially accountable for a share of the local costs of responding to the climate crisis.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 9d

The Trump administration continues its attack on science by proposing budget cuts to the U.S. Geological Survey, a key agency for monitoring ecosystems, water quality, and climate impacts—putting conservation and public health at risk.

The Attacks on Science Continue—This Time at the USGS

From sea level rise to bee populations, the agency’s wildlife and climate programs shed light on the world around us.

www.nrdc.org

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 11d

Climate change is reshaping autumn. Warmer-than-usual temperatures can delay when leaves change and reduce the vibrant colors we expect each fall.

How Is Climate Change Impacting Fall Foliage?

Here’s what to know about why leaves change color in the fall—and how the process is being impacted by climate change.

time.com

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 14d

Tech companies need more reliable and consistent clean energy sources to keep up with their data centers—and some are already showing what it might look like to get it right.

➡️ Google’s new geothermal power plant in Nevada will provide 24/7 clean energy for its data centers.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 14d

Without proper regulations, most large data centers currently run nonstop, increasing the risk of blackouts just when people need power the most, like during dangerous heat waves or storms.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 14d

Many AI data centers currently use a constant supply of energy that requires some utility companies to keep old, uneconomic coal plants open past their planned retirement to meet those skyrocketing energy demands—driving up electricity bills for consumers.

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NRDC @nrdc.org · 14d

Tech companies are racing to build supercomputer warehouses that could use 50 to 100 times the amount of electricity of a traditional data center.
➡️ OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, wants to build multiple massive data centers in the U.S. that each require as much electricity as an entire city.

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