Jacob Scherr's Blog
About
- Bio:
Over the course of my career with NRDC, I have had the opportunity to address the full gamut of global environmental challenges from nuclear winter and global warming to saving whales and tropical forests. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish.
In the 1970s, we stopped the shipment of banned pesticides to unknowing customers abroad. In the 1980s, we halted the production in the U.S. of plutonium for nuclear weapons and compelled the cleanup of our massive nuclear weapons complex – the largest environmental remediation effort in history. In the 1990s, we stimulated the phase out of leaded gasoline in more than 50 countries. We also initiated NRDC’s efforts to combat global warming – now one of our highest priorities. In 2000, we succeeded in saving Laguna San Ignacio, the last pristine breeding ground of the gray whale. This victory was the impetus for our BioGems Initiative, which I co-direct.
When I am not trying to save the planet, I enjoy life in Washington with my family and friends. My wife Carole and I have an empty nest now. My daughter is working in Chicago with the goal of eventually getting back to Italy where she spent her junior year abroad. My son is a senior at the University of Vermont and happily interning with Native Energy. I like to bike and ski and do photography.
- Roots in:
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Favorite place:
- Our BioGems Initiative is all about saving special natural places in the Americas that are threatened. Right now my focus is on saving Patagonia Chile from electrocution! .
- Why "environmentalism" matters:
- It matters because we matter. I am always amused when people talk about the environment as though it exists separate and distant from us. It is infact where we live. If it is destroyed or degraded so is our health and well-being. For a long time, I have been concerned about what kind of world I was leaving to my children. Like so many other parents, I have done everything I could to make sure that they got the same and more opportunities that I had – including to rely upon and enjoy a safe and bountiful natural environment. I am hopeful that we will succeed in protecting our planetary home.
Recent Blog Posts
- Reviving Rainforests: Your Help is Needed (November 21, 2009)
- News on India Climate Change and Energy (November 17, 2009)
- News on India Climate Change and Energy (November 10, 2009)
- India Acts on Climate Change (October 24, 2009)
- Climate Change and BioGems: Taking a Stand with NRDC for the International Day of Climate Action on October 24 (October 23, 2009)
- Head over Heels for the Heart of the Boreal Forest? Take Action on Climate Change on October 24th! (October 20, 2009)
- Crazy about Costa Rica? Take Climate Action on October 24th. (October 20, 2009)
- Totally into the Tongass National Forest? Take Action on Climate Change on October 24th (October 18, 2009)
- Passionate about the Peace-Athabasca Delta? Take Action on Climate Change on Ocotber 24th (October 16, 2009)
- Blown Away by Bristol Bay? Take Action on Climate Change on October 24th (October 16, 2009)
Read more in Jacob Scherr's Archives→
- Jacob Scherr
- Director, International Program
- Washington, DC