I’m a mom to a toddler, daughter of immigrant parents, wife to an engineer, sister, runner, and lawyer for the environment. I went to college at U.C. Berkeley (Go Bears!) and moved to the East Coast for law school. I didn’t “always” know that I wanted to be a lawyer. It wasn’t until a couple years into college that I figured out that I wanted to pursue a career doing public interest work. With that said, I graduated law school with a job at a major, well-known corporate law firm. The hours were long and the stress was everything you hear about…times ten. But I learned a lot and grew some pretty thick skin. Oh, and I paid off my college debt! Flash forward ten years…I have a son and everything has changed. My priorities have shifted and the work I do has become even more relevant, even more pressing, and even more important. I’ve run a number of marathons (even qualified for Boston, yeah!) but it’s been hard to squeeze those in with a baby. Lately, if the choice is between sleeping in or hitting the pavement at 5 a.m., I usually choose sleep. A lot of people think long distance running is crazy, and maybe they are right. But there’s something quite beautiful that comes from pushing yourself to your outer limits.
Posted October 21, 2011 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
This week, NRDC and two of our environmental justice allies—East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice—filed a lawsuit against BNSF and Union Pacific, the two largest freight moving railroad companies in the country. ...continued→
Posted April 14, 2011 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
This week, two major shipping lines, Maersk and APL, announced that they will use low-sulfur fuel while in the Port of Singapore. These efforts constitute an extension of Maersk and APL’s clean fuel programs in North America, and go above...continued→
Posted March 28, 2011 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recognized California’s severe air pollution problem and gave the state the green light to protect its citizens from ship-related exhaust. In a unanimous decision, the Ninth Circuit ruled that California has the authority...continued→
Posted October 8, 2010 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
In an effort to push its projects through the environmental review process, BNSF has reached an all time low. BNSF is working overtime to dispute the scientific link between air pollution from its operations and cancer. And BNSF is urging...continued→
Posted February 2, 2010 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Yesterday, I blogged about the lawsuit NRDC filed that challenges the permit the United States Army Corps issued to Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (BNSF) to construct and operate a massive rail yard near Gardner, Kansas. The Kansas City...continued→
Posted February 1, 2010 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Gardner might have a shot at becoming one of the smoggiest cities in the country if a mega rail yard goes forward as planned. Today, NRDC joined local and state advocates in challenging a permit the US Army Corps of...continued→
Posted December 10, 2009 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
An important agreement was reached today. It’s an agreement that will protect the health of some of our most vulnerable populations. It’s also an agreement that demonstrates that with hard work, community groups, environmentalists, and government agencies can come together...continued→
Posted October 1, 2009 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
Today marks the 1-year anniversary of the Clean Truck Programs at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. These programs are measurably tackling the high rate of premature death, the heightened cancer and respiratory illness risk, and the 20...continued→
Posted August 10, 2009 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
I recently returned from a trip to Gardner, Kansas. Gardner is about 30 miles from Kansas City and home to roughly 17,000 people. Just outside of the town are rolling green hills and rural farmland as far as the eye...continued→
Posted July 20, 2009 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
I'm a mom. While pregnant, I, like every other mom I know, compiled a mental list of all the "to do's" and "not do's" in order to give my baby the best shot in life. I took folic acid supplements...continued→
Posted July 9, 2009 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Health and the Environment
The LA Times and the Cunningham Report recently reported that cargo projections at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are down--way down. The Times stated that at the Port of Long Beach, "trade volumes have been knocked back...continued→
Posted July 6, 2009 by Melissa Lin Perrella in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
I used to practice law at a major corporate law firm. Most cases ended with money exchanging hands--one corporation that breached a contract would pay monetary damages to another. Sure, sometimes the monetary damages were huge, causing a shift in...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.
