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Issues: U.S. Law & Policy

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E-law: What Started It All? It began with a court battle over a power plant slated for Storm King Mountain and matured with test cases modeled on tactics pioneered by the NAACP. History: Environmental public interest attorneys use America's environmental statutes and legal precedents to defend and advocate for wildlife and wild places and to protect public health. Environmental law has only been around since about the time of the first Earth Day in 1970. It began with a court battle over a power plant slated for an unspoiled area in the Hudson River valley, and matured with test cases modeled on tactics pioneered by the NAACP.

Dump Dirty Diesel Ridding the world of the smoke, smells and health risks of diesel exhaust. History: NRDC has been square in the middle of a national, grassroots effort to clean up diesel pollution. We have led the way on numerous fronts and through many fights on the diesel issue, and sticking to our guns on a few key principles has been important to our success.
The Leaded Gas Scare of the 1920s Corporate enthusiasm for this "super fuel" overcame public fears until scientific evidence proved its harmful effects. History: The invention of the additive tetraethyl lead for gasoline in the 1920s was a great technological advance, improving the performance of gasoline-fueled engines. But in 1924, reports began to appear of the harmful effects the substance had on humans. People working closely with tetraethyl lead had died suddenly and mysteriously. The reports were hushed up and leaded gas continued to power big American cars for another 50 years. Today we know that while lead is good for cars, it is bad for people. Although finally banned in the U.S. and other industrialized nations, leaded gasoline continues to be used in many developing countries where it is a continuing health risk.

For additional policy documents, see the NRDC Document Bank.