Also see Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund (nonprofit)

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is one of the nation’s largest environmentalist groups. The group has more than $462 million in net assets, annual revenue of over $190 million, and expenditures of over $225 million as of the tax year ending June 2023. ¹  The group has been accused of “using baseless scare campaigns to drum up press and funding.” ² NRDC opposes nuclear energy and has repeatedly supported the shutdown of zero-carbon nuclear power ^{3 4 5 6}

NRDC was formed in 1970 by a small group of environmentalist law students and attorneys. NRDC endorses left-of-center principles of intersectionality, asserting that “overlapping issues such as racism and sexism can create layers of systemic and constant oppression.” ⁷

Focus Areas

The Natural Resources Defense Council has four focus areas: climate change, equity and justice, human health, and nature and wildlife. ⁸

As part of its climate change work, NRDC works with the United States, China, and India to cut carbon emissions, promote climate change adaptation projects, support investments in weather-dependent energy initiatives, and decarbonize the economy. NRDC also supports removing cars from city streets using congestion pricing and by increasing public transportation. ⁹

As part of its equity and justice initiative, NRDC claims that “the environmental challenges we face today” are the results of decisions “steeped in racism, colonialism, and other injustices.” The organization also says that environmental issues “affect people intersectionally” and that “overlapping issues such as racism and sexism can create layers of systemic and constant oppression.” ⁷

As part of its human health initiative, NRDC is focused on building a “grassroots environmental justice movement” focused on how “communities of color are disproportionately targeted within our social systems.” NRDC also targets smog and air pollution, promotes safe drinking water, and advocates for the removal of allegedly toxic materials from household products and drinking materials. ¹⁰

As part of its natural and wildlife initiative, NRDC advocates protecting forests, expanding the reach of the Endangered Species Act and conserving oceans and other bodies of water. ¹¹

Notable Campaigns

Swordfish

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) helped back a campaign by SeaWeb in the late 1990s called “Give Swordfish a Break,” claiming that the species was being overfished.¹² But Rebecca Lent, director of the Highly Migratory Species Division at the National Marine Fisheries Service, said that was an exaggeration. “Swordfish are not considered endangered,” she said. “I think [the campaign] will end up having a detrimental effect on our fishermen. I know a lot…who have lost their jobs already.”¹²

“Sue and Settle”

A Washington Examiner investigation discovered at least nine examples of NRDC participating in a “sue and settle” process with the Environmental Protection Agency during the first term of the Obama administration. ¹³ In this process, a group sues the EPA in federal court to get the agency to issue new regulations by a certain date. The EPA and the plaintiff then meet behind closed doors and agree on a deal. Finally, a judge issues a consent decree making that agreement the law.¹³

Opposition to Trump Administration

NRDC criticized then-President Donald Trump following his inauguration in 2017, specifically on his lack of support for President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan and his moves to authorize the Keystone XL pipeline. NRDC urged its followers to “tell Congress to stand up to Trump’s anti-environment agenda.”¹⁴

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

NRDC has repeatedly supported the shutdown of nuclear power plants. Environmental Progress accused NRDC of “hypocrisy” because NRDC advocated for taxpayer subsidies for wind and solar energy but opposed similar assistance for nuclear energy. ¹⁵

In a June 2021 blog post, NRDC senior scientist Mohit Chhabra stated his nonprofit had “been working for years to retire the aging Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant” in California. ³ During 2017 and 2018 NRDC staffers also argued for shutting down nuclear energy facilities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. ^{4 5}

In April 2021, the NRDC celebrated the closing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York. ⁶ NRDC cited concerns about plant safety due to a series of incidents including a transformer fire, radioactive spills, and failed accident drills. After Indian Point was built in the 1960s, researchers found out that it was located in a seismic zone and that seismic activity “could exceed the earthquake design for the facility,” according to a Nuclear Regulatory Commission panel on the issue. ¹⁶ NRDC claimed that New York’s weather-dependent energy sources will be able to make up for the loss of power provided by Indian Point with solar and wind energy. ⁶ However, the New York Times reported that more conventional fuels were burned in New York to make up for the closure of Indian Point and that Indian Point had been producing more power than all of the wind turbines and solar panels in New York combined. ¹⁷

Food and Farming

The Natural Resources Defense Council released a report in September of 2017 detailing its new goal to stop restaurants from purchasing meat from farmers who utilize antibiotics in their animal care. ¹⁸¹⁹

NRDC joined the Pesticide Action Network in April 2017 in suing the EPA over its decision against banning chlorpyrifos, a pesticide some have linked to nervous system and brain disorders. The pesticide is heavily used by farmers, who opposed a ban. NRDC had originally sued the EPA during the Obama administration to pressure the agency to propose a ban.²⁰

The NRDC was the main promoter of a hoax in that led to the “Great Apples Scare” of 1989. The group claimed that apples sprayed with the chemical Alar—a plant-growth regulating powder used to prevent the pre-harvest rotting of apples—could give people cancer. The NRDC claimed that “the average pre-schooler’s exposure was estimated to result in a cancer risk 240 times greater than the cancer risk considered acceptable by [the Environmental Protection Agency] following a full lifetime of exposure.”

Environmentalists—most notably actress Meryl Streep—falsely claimed that children would develop cancer by eating apples treated with Alar, causing the apple industry to take a major hit as parents stopped buying the fruit for their children and schools stopped purchasing it as well.²¹

While the NRDC was the main promoter of the hoax, it used the Tides Foundation as a go-between to pay the fees for Fenton Communications, which promoted the story in the media. ^22 23 The campaign eventually resulted in the Environmental Protection Agency banning Alar in 1989. A lab study conducted by the American Council on Science and Health in 1999 showed that a consumer would need to consume over 5,000 gallons of Alar-laced apple juice per day to reach the NRDC’s cancer risk claims. Dr. Richard Adamson, director of the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer Etiology, later said, “The risk of eating an apple treated with Alar is less than the risk of eating a peanut butter sandwich or a well-done hamburger.”^{24 25}

Controversies

Ties to the Biden White House

From January 2021 through September 2022, former Natural Resources Defense Council president Gina McCarthy was the White House Climate Czar under the Biden administration. According to Fox News Digital, visitor logs show that NRDC president Manish Bapna visited the White House at least twice through September 2022. In addition, the right-of-center advocacy group Protect the Public’s Trust shared that the group, “regularly communicates with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry’s office.”  ²⁶

Connections to the Chinese Communist Party

On its website, NRDC discusses how it has worked with, “Chinese and international partners” to advocate for policies within China to “fortify” its own “environmental regulations.” ²⁶ The Chinese language version of the NRDC’s website further states that the firm’s office in Beijing is, “registered under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and supervised by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China.” ²⁶ The NRDC’s managing director of its international program, Amanda Maxwell, released a statement to Fox News Digital claiming:

We advise our sponsor, the Chinese National Forestry and Grassland Administration, of our work plan for in-country activities involving any Chinese entity, government or private…we provide the agency with an annual report assessing the outcome of our work, which centers on providing independent analysis and policy recommendations to the government of China…In China, as elsewhere, the NRDC operates in accordance with the law. ²⁶

In addition to work within the country, members of staff within the NRDC’s Beijing office have either previously worked within the Chinese Communist Party or left the NRDC for a government position. For example, the director of NRDC’s China program, Jieqing Zhang, previously worked as the deputy director-general of China’s International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.  NRDC’s strategic advisor for its Beijing office, JingJing Qian, previously worked in a position within China’s Ministry of Science and Technology Local project manager for the NRDC’s climate and energy project in Beijing, Hui Huang, previously worked for state-owned electric company China Datang Corporation ²⁶ The NRDC has also released blog posts praising China for, “doing a lot to address its problems at home and to help fight climate change.” ²⁶

During an interview with Fox News Digital in September 2022, H. Sterling Burnett, director of the right-of-center think tank Heartland Institute’s Center on Climate and Environmental Policy, commented on the NRDC’s lack of criticism of the Chinese government. “First off, they know that China can just kick them out. Secondly, it’s hard to bite the hand that feeds you. If you’re being paid not to criticize somebody, then you don’t need to criticize them.” ²⁶

In addition, a 2018 letter sent by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and former Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) to NRDC leadership alleged, “The NRDC’s relationship with China has many of the criteria identified by U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement as putting an entity at risk of being influenced or coerced by foreign interests.” ²⁶

Leadership

President & CEO

Manish Bapna is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the NRDC. Bapna was previously the executive vice president and managing director of the World Resources Institute (WRI). Prior to this, he was the executive director of nonprofit Bank Information Center (BIC), which oversees environmental standards of financial institutions, and the World Bank beforehand. In addition, he had previously worked with consulting firm McKinsey & Company in 1986.²⁷

Rhea Suh was the previous president of the NRDC from January 2015 until August 2021, when Bapna took the position as president and CEO. ²⁸ “She previously worked as assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget at the U.S. Department of the Interior under President Barack Obama. Before that, she developed environmental programs at the left-of-center leaning David and Lucile Packard Foundation and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ²⁹

Kathleen A. Welch is the chair of the board of trustees for the NRDC. She is also the founder and principal of the environmentalist consulting firm Corridor Partners. ^{30 31}

Other board members include Hollywood actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert Redford, singer James Taylor, 501 Development Corporation founder Peter Morton, and environmental activist Tom Roush. ³²

Financials

According to tax filings, in 2022 the Natural Resources Defense Council reported $186,185,838 in revenue, $211,994,021 in expenses, and $602,252,452 in assets. ³³

Of its revenue, $135,713,206 came from contributions, gifts, and grants and $42,460,795 came from membership dues. ³³

Of its expenses, NRDC directed $76,330,970 to international activities, including $53,513,563 in endowment investments in central America and the Caribbean, $5,000,000 in endowment investments in Europe, $7,787,836 in program services for clean energy advocacy in east Asia and the Pacific, and $6,158,089 for grantmaking in east Asia and the Pacific. ³³

That year, NRDC also provided grants to other left-of-center and environmental advocacy organizations, including a $172,800 grant to Alliance for a Just Society, $200,000 to Black Sustainability Inc., $100,000 to Bluegreen Alliance Foundation, $548,324 to Coming Clean Inc, $250,000 to Environmental Defense DC, and $728,750 to Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs. ³³

Energy Foundation is a major funder of NRDC, having given nearly $3 million in 2011, for example. The nonprofit opposes fossil fuels and is heavily backed by environmental activist and billionaire Tom Steyer.³⁴ Steyer has made substantial profits from investments in oil and gas, particularly with Farallon Capital, which Steyer founded in 1986.³⁵

According to Discover the Networks, other major funders of NRDC include the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Heinz Family Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, George Soros’s Open Society Institute, Pew Charitable Trust, the Tides Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ³⁶

In 2010, Forbes reported that NRDC received $620,000 from the Open Society Foundations and the Tides Foundation. ³⁷

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