The EPA @ 40: Protecting the Environment and Our Communities

In commemoration of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 40th anniversary, Harvard Law School hosted a major conference sponsored jointly with the Harvard University Center for the Environment, the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard School of Public Health. The Dec. 3 conference, “The EPA @ 40: Protecting the Environment and Our Communities,” featured panel discussions between leading environmental experts, government officials and scholars, including EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, Presidential Science Adviser John Holdren, Founding EPA Administrator William D. Ruckelshaus ’60 and White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley.

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow opened the conference with a welcome address, and HLS Professor Jody Freeman LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’95, who most recently served as White House counselor for energy and climate change, served as a panelist and moderator. Panelists highlighted the EPA’s past achievements and analyzed its future environmental, economic and political challenges.

Former Vice President Al Gore, who spoke during the conference’s luncheon, celebrated the EPA’s accomplishments, discussed the global climate crisis our world is facing and emphasized the need for U.S. policymakers to step up as global environmental leaders.