I was born in Granite City, Illinois, a steel town where the coke plant sits on property once farmed by my Great-Great Grandfather. Other family members came to work in the steel mill, drawn both by the jobs as a way out of mining coal, and by the strong union culture of the community. Nonetheless, the jobs were hard and the environment polluted. Now, most of those jobs are gone, but the legacy of pollution remains. I think the experience of growing up in that community has been the basis for my interest in law and the environment: providing a focus and training to address public policies, institutions and priorities that affect the health, safety and sustainability of people and their communities.
Prior to joining NRDC, I served as Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois, the founding Commissioner of Environment for the City of Chicago, and as a principal in an environmental and public policy consulting firm. I have also taught environmental law and policy at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Posted January 31, 2012 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
No big decision is made overnight. And many of the biggest take years to come together… before finally, at a critical moment, all of the necessary pieces fall into place. That is what is happening in the discussion around...continued→
Posted January 26, 2012 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
Good news for human health and a clean energy economy out of Ohio today: an announcement that FirstEnergy is closing units at six of the nastiest coal plants in the nation. Four of the plants sit on the shores of...continued→
Posted January 21, 2012 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil
I was surprised to see Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady had been scheduled to take part in a big Keystone XL pipeline rally this week in the Quad Cities. Given the decision to deny the ill-conceived project’s permit this week,...continued→
Posted January 13, 2012 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
I was truly pleased to see President Obama visit with the beleaguered staff at the Environmental Protection Agency this week. Given the withering and unfair attacks launched at the EPA from some in Congress who would undo the protections...continued→
Posted November 9, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
The We Energy spill last week is not the only coal ash mess testing the Great Lakes. The Chicago Tribune ran a great story this week about the region's last coal-powered steamship, The Badger, which dumps four tons of...continued→
Posted November 6, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
In case you missed it, an aging pile of toxic coal ash adjacent to a Wisconsin coal plant collapsed into Lake Michigan early Monday morning. Yeah, that’s the beloved lake that is a source of recreation and drinking water...continued→
Posted November 2, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution, Living Sustainably
This week sees the release of a very important book by visionary architect Jeanne Gang, Reverse Effect: Renewing Chicago’s Waterways. The book sprouts from the collaboration between Jeanne Gang, her excellent colleagues at Studio Gang, very smart students at Harvard’sGraduate School of...continued→
Posted September 29, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
I was recently asked to submit an OpEd on the Keystone XL pipeline for the Illinois Business Journal in the MetroEast area of the state where I grew up. It is an interesting place for the project to be debated,...continued→
Posted September 28, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
Chicago is filled with remnants of days gone by, buildings and infrastructure created to serve people and the economy, some still in service, some no longer used, and some serving a new purpose of helping us remember and focus...continued→
Posted August 12, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming
Illinois Senator Mark Kirk released the first of what is promised to be an annual “Report Card for Lake Michigan” this week. Senator Kirk is a long-time Great Lakes advocate, having targeted sewage management, beach water quality, industrial pollution...continued→
Posted July 28, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
It’s official. Saturday was the rainiest day in Chicago’s history. And after big storms last night, it has been the rainiest month on record for this town. That’s why a little story in the Chicago Tribune caught my eye...continued→
Posted July 27, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
At this time last year, I was a very unhappy man. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil were speeding down the Kalamazoo River towards the Great Lakes from southwest Michigan after a pipeline burst in the wee hours...continued→
Posted June 7, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
When NRDC decided to open an office in Chicago, one of the first issues that we tackled was the sorry state of the waterway system that runs through the glittering city’s heart. I am pleased to report that as...continued→
Posted May 31, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
In recent weeks a couple of high profile boat rides have been used to highlight giant problems facing this region. The first, a cruise taken by Illinois Senators Durbin and Kirk to see dilapidated water infrastructure that threatens public health...continued→
Posted May 18, 2011 by Henry Henderson in Curbing Pollution
This week, I cannot help but think back to one of the most infamous water pollution stories in Chicago’s history---the Dave Mathews Band. You may remember that their tour bus emptied its toilet tanks into the Chicago River while passing...continued→
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