March National Call

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION:  THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES

When it comes to environmental rules, the country is in a time of unprecedented deregulatory activity.  Almost every one of the public health and climate change regulations adopted during the prior administration is in the process of being reconsidered, delayed or repealed.  In addition, the EPA is taking steps to undermine the very pillars of science- and reason-based decision making that have characterized EPA’s work under both Republican and Democratic administrations since the 1970s when the environmental movement began.  This talk will explore the biggest threats, the near and longer term implications for public health and public policy, and the reactions and responses from many perspectives.  It will also discuss the critical need for the public to continue participating in regulatory processes and sharing their views, expertise and experience with policy makers.

Janet McCabe is Professor of Practice at the Indiana University McKinney School of Law and Assistant Director for Policy and Implementation at IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute.  She is also a Senior Law Fellow with the Environmental Law and Policy Center.   From July 2013 through January 2017, Janet McCabe was the Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. She was nominated by President Barack Obama to be Assistant Administrator of that office. She joined EPA in November 2009, serving as the  Principal Deputy to the Assistant Administrator of OAR. Prior to joining EPA in November 2009, Janet McCabe was Executive Director of Improving Kids’ Environment, Inc., a children’s environmental health advocacy organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana and was an adjunct faculty member at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, and at the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.  From 1993 to 2005, Ms. McCabe held several leadership positions in the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Office of Air Quality and was the office’s Assistant Commissioner from 1998 to 2005. Before coming to Indiana in 1993, Ms. McCabe served as Assistant Attorney General for environmental protection for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Assistant Secretary for Environmental Impact Review. Ms. McCabe grew up in Washington, DC and graduated from Harvard College in 1980 and Harvard Law School in 1983.