I am the Executive Director of NRDC. The position is my second at NRDC. Beginning in 1994, I led the Clean Water Program for five years, before leaving in 1999 to serve as the head of the Environmental Protection Bureau for the Attorney General of the State of New York.
My first experience with NRDC dates back to 1980, when I worked on environmental issues in Washington, DC. President Reagan had just been elected and environmentalists needed to strengthen their efforts. After law school, I worked for the New York City Law Department. NRDC was working hard to protect the city's drinking water supply, so I joined forces with NRDC and, on behalf of the city, sued polluters. I also joined with NRDC in suing President Reagan's Department of Transportation for rolling back fuel economy standards. This was the very first lawsuit brought on the grounds of global warming. I knew then that NRDC was thinking big, and committed to solving complex problems over the long haul.
Cases like this underscore why I became an environmental lawyer in the first place: if you are right on the law, you can make tremendous progress. NRDC has distinguished itself by a history of groundbreaking environmental work. Through our lawyers, lobbyists, scientists and media experts, we're able not only to find solutions, but to do the hard work of putting them into place. This is part of why NRDC is, in my opinion, the leading environmental organization in the nation. And it's why I'm honored to be back.
Before I gained any of this professional experience, my dedication to protecting the environment began as I suspect it does for many people -- by spending a lot of time in the outdoors. I spent most of my youth mucking around in the woods near where I grew up, and then as I grew older I spent a lot of time hiking and climbing and canoeing and kayaking. I still try to get out every weekend and, when I do, I'm reminded of how quickly the planet is changing, and how much it needs our protection.
Posted May 22, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Living Sustainably
The evening was foggy, but the mood was upbeat at NRDC's fourth annual Growing Green Awards, held in San Francisco last week. It was inspiring for me not only to meet our winners in person, but to see how our...continued→
Posted May 16, 2012 by Peter Lehner in U.S. Law and Policy
House Republicans are preparing to make war on light bulbs once again, attempting to block efficiency standards that will save consumers $100 a year on energy bills and are already creating thousands of jobs across the country. If ideologues in...continued→
Posted May 11, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Solving Global Warming
In a recent PBS documentary, the mayor of Norfolk, Virginia, Paul Fraim, talks about how flooding has become a monthly occurrence in his town, and how global warming and sea level rise are as much a daily issue for...continued→
Posted May 10, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Moving Beyond Oil
Military experts understand that smart decisions are neither red, nor blue…nor even green, for green’s sake. Climate change and clean, efficient energy are a matter national security and economic vitality. According to Lt. General John Castellaw USMC (retired): Moving away...continued→
Posted May 2, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming
Last month, the U.S. Army announced the opening of a 30,000-square foot research facility in Michigan for developing fuel cells, hybrid systems, battery technologies and advanced alternative fuels for the next generation of vehicles. Under Secretary of the Army Joseph...continued→
Posted April 27, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution, Solving Global Warming
According to a recent survey, a large majority of small business owners support government investments in clean energy, and believe these investments can create jobs and boost the economy. The poll, released by the Small Business Majority, also revealed strong...continued→
Posted April 18, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Moving Beyond Oil, U.S. Law and Policy
Big Oil's supporters in Congress have yet to come up with a credible plan to help get America out of the gas price crunch. Their latest effort, the Gasoline Regulations Act, is no exception. The bill merely uses gas prices...continued→
Posted April 12, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Green Enterprise, U.S. Law and Policy
How would you judge a program that invested $9 billion over three years and generated $44 billion in economic output, while supporting 52,000 to 75,000 jobs in the process? And over the long term, is expected to support about 5,000...continued→
Posted March 29, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Moving Beyond Oil, U.S. Law and Policy
Big Oil's allies in the Senate once again blocked an attempt to revoke billions of dollars in subsidies for the oil industry. In a vote largely divided along party lines, the Senate's Republican leadership chose to support handouts for multi-billion-dollar...continued→
Posted March 28, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Reviving the World's Oceans
Scientists reported this week that they have positively identified oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill as the culprit behind the slow death of a deepwater coral community in the Gulf. The dead and dying corals--bare, slimy, and covered in brown...continued→
Posted March 23, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
Last night, a federal court ordered the Food and Drug Administration to take action on the practice of giving antibiotics to livestock through animal feed. This victory will help protect American families against superbugs and other drug-resistant bacteria. Right now,...continued→
Posted March 15, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
With a landmark announcement this week, New York City has officially joined a growing number of cities around the country in embracing a smarter--and paradigm-shifting--approach to reducing water pollution. Using a suite of techniques like strategically located street plantings, porous...continued→
Posted March 14, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Moving Beyond Oil
Every year when gas prices rise, politicians and pundits like to play the blame game. On Fox & Friends, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal blamed the Obama administration's "radical environmental ideology" for high gas prices. (The latest Bloomberg poll, however, showed...continued→
Posted March 9, 2012 by Peter Lehner in Moving Beyond Oil
Oil giant BP recently settled with a large group of plaintiffs in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, agreeing to pay an estimated $7.8 billion in health and other expenses for people and businesses hurt by the April 2010 spill. While the...continued→
Posted March 8, 2012 by Peter Lehner in The Media and the Environment
"The Lorax" opened last week in theaters. Back in 1972, one year after the book came out, a young law professor from USC named Christopher Stone wrote an influential article, called "Should Trees Have Standing?" Stone argued that trees and...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.
