Our work
Explore the work made possible by your support and activism.
-
REPORT
Leveraging carbon markets for equitable climate outcomes
Addressing the climate crisis requires crafting policies that can simultaneously enhance ambition, promote just and sustainable development, and support vulnerable communities. EDF believes that with careful design and an understanding of social and historical contexts, carbon markets are one tool that can advance lasting, equitable climate solutions.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Water Leadership Institute celebrates graduation of new cohort of water equity advocates
Amid music, laughter and a few tears, the latest cohort in EDF and Rural Community Assistance Corporation’s Water Leadership Institute graduated Saturday, enthusiastically committing to put their learnings into practice and tackle significant water challenges in their communities.More on:
-
PODCAST
Building a Black community for green jobseekers
The good news: Climate action offers a huge job opportunity. The bad news: The environmental workforce remains overwhelmingly white. But not if Wes Gobar can help it. EDF's Degrees podcast talks with him about his journey and why the planet needs us to diversify the green workforce.More on:
-
PODCAST
Sustainable investment leader Taeun Kwon on women money and saving the planet
Taeun Kwon, 32, is so passionate about replacing finance’s power structure of “pale, male and stale” with women’s leadership that she founded a global organization to help women transform the status quo. Kwon and EDF's Degrees host Yesh Pavlik Slenk have a lively conversation about the connection between climate change, power, gender and money.More on:
-
-
REPORT
Embedding Equity into Energy Regulatory Decisions
Report prepared by Applied Economics Clinic on behalf of EDF finds that robust community engagement and changes in the decision-making processes of government agencies would result in more reliable and equitable energy systems that better meet the needs of all Americans.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Taking a big leap to solve California water problems: How uncommon partners are finding common ground on the water
A “Finding Common Water” rafting excursion developed by EDF and UC Merced was designed to get participants with a stake in California water off our desk chairs and onto rafts, out of the ordinary and into an extraordinary setting — a hot, highly regulated, wild and scenic river — to push everyone out of their comfort zone and get to work on addressing real water problems.More on:
-
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Find the communities at greatest risk from low-producing oil and gas wells
A new EDF map is making it easier to access information about the communities across the country who are impacted by pollution from small oil and gas wells with leak-prone equipment.More on:
-
-
ARTICLE
What would save lives and fight injustice? Stronger limits on fine particle pollution
In a new report released by EDF, scientists found that fine particle pollution, primarily generated by burning fossil fuels, is especially rampant — and deadly — in Black, Hispanic, and low-income communities. But there is a way for all of us to breathe easier. The Environmental Protection Agency could tighten its standard.More on:
-
BLOG POST
The scoop on the Scoping Plan: California’s draft plan misses the opportunity for greater climate ambition (Part 1)
This EDF blog series unpacks several key aspects of California's draft 2022 Climate Change Scoping Plan and evaluates whether they raise California’s climate ambition to the levels needed to protect communities from the worst climate impacts.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Leadership in focus — building to a more sustainable future for small-scale fisheries
By Bavidra Mohan, Director of Acumen Academy, and Jeff Young, Senior Manager, Global Capacity Development, Environmental Defense Fund The small-scale fisheries sector is a powerful example of our interconnectedness. Small-scale fisheries employ 90% of all fishworkers globally, supplying nearly half of the world’s fish catch each year. In addition to feeding coastal communities, seafood harvested […]More on:
-
SOLUTIONS
Clean Beauty Justice Retailer Roadmap
These steps from EDF – focused on addressing environmental racism in beauty and personal care products – guide companies to develop and implement their chemical policies with equity at the forefront.More on:
-
BLOG POST
Creating data to support communities on the front lines of oil and gas production in the U.S.
This week EDF published a new study that combines locations of active oil and gas wells with census tract data in a way that helps us better understand the characteristics of the communities living near them.More on:
-
ARTICLE
Powering through the storm in Puerto Rico
Photo essay featuring residents of Culebra, Puerto Rico, who are teaming up with EDF to install rooftop solar and battery systems for clean, resilient power.More on:
-
ANALYSIS
The demographic characteristics of populations living near oil and gas wells in the USA
This study published in Population and Environment documents the prevalence of historically marginalized populations (across age, income, education, race-ethnicity, and language) living near active oil and gas wells throughout the USA, at both local and aggregated scales.More on:
-
ARTICLE
The unequal burden of air pollution
Truck pollution causes asthma in young children. Community groups like South Ward Environmental Action in Newark, New Jersey, are fighting for clean air and clean economic development. EDF is supporting their efforts.More on:
-
REPORT
Analysis of PM2.5-Related Health Burdens Under Current and Alternative NAAQS
Black Americans 65 and older are three times more likely to die from exposure to fine particle air pollution than white Americans over 65, according to a report prepared by Industrial Economics, Inc. for EDF.More on:
-
INTERACTIVE TOOL
Air tracker shows path pollution takes through neighborhoods
EDF and partners have combined a newly created online mapping tool — run on real-time, trusted scientific models — with air pollution and weather forecasting data to help users learn more about the air they’re breathing and allow them to see where it's coming from.More on:
-
ANALYSIS
Full lead service line replacement: A case study of equity in environmental remediation
EDF co-authored a peer-reviewed case study highlighting the environmental justice issues that arise when water utilities require property owners to pay when they replace lead service lines (LSLs) that connect homes to the water main under the street.More on:
-
PODCAST
Jason Swann s life turned upside down Now he s saving wild places
EDF's Degrees podcast talks with Jason Swann about how an encounter with the police, a divorce, and job loss led him to a new life as an advocate for racial equity in the outdoors and to a dramatic career change from finance to sustainability.More on:
-
PODCAST
How an energy entrepreneur is helping to light up the world
In developing countries, as much as half the population has no reliable source of electricity. EDF's Degrees podcast talks with Dan Schnitzer, founder of the company SparkMeter, about his quest to solve this huge problem.More on:
-
PODCAST
What drove a former USA swim team member to tackle the diesel problem
BJ Johnson transformed himself from athlete to an eco-entrepreneur working to transform the dirty fossil-fuel-based trucking industry. In this episode, he tells EDF's Degrees podcast why entrepreneurship is a viable planet-saving career and the challenges of being one of the few Black men in his field.More on:
-
PODCAST
The godmother of the environmental justice movement speaks out
Thirty-five years ago, Peggy Shepard was arrested when her organization stopped traffic to protest pollution that was plaguing Harlem. It was one of the first initiatives to call the placing of toxic industry in minority communities what it is: environmental racism. EDF welcomes Peggy to our Degrees podcast.More on:
-
PODCAST
Why environmental justice is crucial for today s climate careers
As national director of Green For All, Michelle Romero is bringing together unlikely coalitions to find new solutions for reducing poverty while building a clean-energy economy. Our conversation with her is Part I of a two-part series from EDF's Degrees podcast on environmental justice.More on: