Costa Rica is often applauded for its progressive environmental policies and peaceful democracy.  I know it as a Mecca of sustainable tourism and perfect surf breaks.  Yet the brutal, enormously profitable shark fin trade has prospered in Costa Rica’s waters and ports since the late-1990’s, making this tropical Central...

One city and county at a time, millions of Californians have taken a stand to help stop plastic bags from polluting our beaches, clogging our creeks, killing marine life and burdening tax payers and local governments.  Nearly one third of the state’s population of almost 38 million people live...

It’s been a big couple of months for sharks.  Last week -- in-part due to the hard work of NRDC's Chicago team -- a fifth U.S. state took a strong stand to protect sharks when Illinois governor Pat Quinn signed into law HB 4119, banning the sale, trade, distribution...

This OpEd, co-written with Jim Moriarity, was originally published in the San Diego Union-Tribune, June 21,2012

As more than a million tons of trash and debris from last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan float toward the West Coast, everyone’s worried about what it will mean for the...

What do mushrooms, tires and soda bottles have in common?  They are all being used, recycled or even upcycled through innovative programs that prevent waste from entering the environment.

Despite some disappointments in the formal negotiations process, the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development -- Rio+20...

At the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development, action happens on two tracks.  On the “inside track," representatives of governments meet over the course of many months to negotiate the official outcome document.  Today, after grueling negotiations that lasted until the wee hours of the mornings, delegates finished the text...

June 8 is World Oceans Day, and I’m thrilled to celebrate it from Rio de Janeiro, where I’ve just arrived for the U.N. Conference on Sustainable Development.  50,000 people are expected to visit in the coming two weeks for this global landmark event.  As my plane approached Brazil from...