Although many people assume I am originally from New York, I actually grew up in Rhode Island. After graduating from Brown University in 1986, I thought I would get a Ph.D in American history and become a professor. But my environmental work in college led me to a research associate position in NRDC’s New York office from 1986 to 1989 and I decided to pursue a career in advocacy.
I then attended New York University School of Law, and continued to work part-time for NRDC. After law school, I clerked for a federal judge in Rhode Island and returned to NRDC in 1993 as a staff attorney in the New York Urban Program. And over the next 13 years, I focused on a wide variety of urban environmental issues, including drinking water, brownfields revitalization, recycling and protection of the Catskills region.
In early 2006, I moved with my family to Moscow, Russia where my wife was born and had an exciting work opportunity. While in Moscow, I continued to work for NRDC – and focused my work on energy efficiency, carbon-trading and climate change issues. (I also took the opportunity to begin studying Russian.)
We returned to the US in the summer of 2009, and I am now the Director of the New York Urban Program.
Posted April 3, 2012 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
Nearly seven years ago, the first hybrid yellow taxis rolled onto the streets of New York City as part of an effort to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. Today, about 5,000 of these cleaner, greener taxis—nearly 40 percent...continued→
Posted December 19, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Green Enterprise, Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming
You think buying gifts for one night is difficult? Try finding 8 gifts for each of the 8 nights of Hanukkah. If you have two children, like I do, that’s 16, plus all of the other family gifts...continued→
Posted December 2, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Green Enterprise, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
Each year, NRDC honors leaders in the sustainable food movement who have advanced ecologically integrated farming practices, climate stewardship, water stewardship, farmland preservation, and social responsibility from farm to fork. This leadership takes place in a variety of...continued→
Posted November 3, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
(kikoshouse.blogspot.com) Tomorrow a State judge in Tompkins County will hear arguments on a small town ordinance that is at the center of a big new issue in New York fracking world – municipal zoning. The crux of the case is...continued→
Posted October 24, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
Today is national food day. But instead of writing about my favorite recipe, I thought instead I would pass along one word of career advice for aspiring lawyers: You guessed it: food. For years, I’ve told law students –who have...continued→
Posted August 17, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Living Sustainably
While the latest poll numbers show popular support for Mayor Mike Bloomberg cooling off, the Mayor took action today on one the hottest issues in New York City – local food. Earlier today at City Hall, Bloomberg signed a package...continued→
Posted August 5, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Health and the Environment
The last thing the world needs is another blog about local food. But hold on. Today’s entry isn’t about the food itself. It’s about warehouse roofs, abandoned baseball fields, and people who looked at empty spaces and saw opportunities usually...continued→
Posted May 3, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Solving Global Warming
Earlier today, Mayor Bloomberg announced that New York City has chosen the Nissan NV200 as the winner of its Taxi of Tomorrow competition. The new vehicle – once the final contract is worked out and likely lawsuits are resolved –...continued→
Posted April 12, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, Moving Beyond Oil, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, Solving Global Warming
Yesterday, I traveled to Albany to join my NRDC colleagues Kate Sinding and Rich Schrader (and hundreds of statewide activists) to lobby on the controversial issue of natural gas fracking. Check out this short videoblog to see how the day...continued→
Posted April 8, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
Sometimes you simply need to go to court to protect the health and vitality of your community. Case in point: citizens now have a stricter, enforceable agreement for the clean up of chromium contamination in a densely populated area of...continued→
Posted March 28, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Later this morning at City Hall, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Jerry Nadler will announce new federal legislation that would allow New York City and cities across the country to require their taxi fleets to go “green.” The Green...continued→
Posted March 3, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
For those wondering if efforts to bring a Las Vegas-style casino to the Catskills in New York is still in the cards, the answer is unfortunately “yes” – depending on what comes next. By now, casino-watchers have learned that in...continued→
Posted March 1, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
New York City is known worldwide as “The Big Apple.” But we might have to start calling it “The Big Locally Grown Apple” if the City Council adopts important new legislation that would help bring more locally produced food into...continued→
Posted February 18, 2011 by Mark Izeman in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places, U.S. Law and Policy
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of traveling with actor Mark Ruffalo and “Gasland” director Josh Fox to Washington, D.C., to lobby on the issue of hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) – a highly controversial technique used to extract natural gas. Fracking...continued→
Posted December 23, 2010 by Mark Izeman in Living Sustainably, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The New York City Council held a hearing last week about Gov. Paterson’s surprise bid, on behalf of the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe of Wisconsin, to build a Las Vegas-style casino on the banks of the Neversink River – one of the...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
