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| Release: | Immediate |
| Media Contact: | Lynne Van Buskirk |
| Phone: | 312/988-6136 |
| Email: | vanbuskl@staff.abanet.org |
| Online: | www.abanews.org |
Obama Environmental Policies and Climate Change
Post Copenhagen Top Issues for Legal Conference
ABA holds annual environmental gathering in Salt Lake City for first time
CHICAGO, March 2, 2010 – The latest developments since the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference, civil and criminal enforcement priorities, Toxic Substances Control Act reform, as well as other important issues related to international environmental law are on the agenda for the American Bar Association 39th Annual Conference on Environmental Law in Salt Lake City at the Grand America Hotel, March 18 – 21.
Sponsored by the ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, the annual conference will kick off for the first time in Salt Lake City on Thursday, March 18 with introductions from Utah Lt. Gov. Greg Bell; Section Chair John C. Cruden, deputy assistant attorney general, environment and natural resources division, U.S. Department of Justice; and Program Chair David M. Friedland of Washington, D.C.
Joining them on Thursday, veteran journalist Andrew C. Revkin will present a keynote address, “The Hot Seat: A Journalist's Journey Tracking Two Decades of Greenhouse Diplomacy -- and Rising Greenhouse Emissions” at 2:15 p.m. After 15 years at the New York Times, Revkin recently left his staff position to become the senior fellow for environmental understanding at Pace University's Academy for Applied Environmental Studies.
On Friday afternoon, Scott Fulton, general counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will present a keynote address, “The Obama EPA Agenda: Priorities and Perspective” from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker will speak at the section dinner at 8 p.m., followed by Apa Sherpa, the only man in history to reach the summit of Mount Everest 19 times. Sherpa will share his experiences in a special presentation, “The Top of the World.”
On Saturday, special guests from the All-China Lawyer’s Association Environmental and Resources Law Committee will discuss “Environmental and Energy Law Practice in China” at 10:30 a.m. China's emerging environmental bar is playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping environmental policies and advising corporate and government clients on China's growing body of environmental laws and regulations.
Other conference highlights include:
Thursday, March 18
- Plenary Session – “Climate Change: Report From Copenhagen and Beyond” - 3:30 – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, March 19
- “The New Grid: How to Build and Pay for It” - 8:10 – 10 a.m.
- “The Supreme Court: Will Ecosystem Restoration Inflame the Debate Over Property ‘Takings’?” - 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Scott Fulton, general counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, presents keynote address, “The Obama EPA Agenda: Priorities and Perspective” - 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
- Plenary Session – “A Year's Full Measure: Enforcement in the Obama Administration” - 1:30 – 3 p.m.
- “Preparing for Emerging Developments in International Treaties and Cross Border Regulation” - 3:30 – 5 p.m.
- “Public Lands – Hot Topics Involving ESA, NEPA and Wilderness Protection: Have We Seen the End of New Natural Resources Projects in the West?” - 3:30 – 5 p.m.
Saturday, March 20
- Plenary Session – “The Obama Clean Air Act Agenda at Year One” - 8:10 – 10 a.m.
- “Developments in Environmental Justice—From the Courts to the Obama Administration to Indian Country” - 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- “Why Build Green and How to Do It Properly” - 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- “Environmental and Energy Law Practice in China” - 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
As part of the ABA’s One Million Trees Project, the section is partnering with TreeUtah to plant trees in South Jordan City to support the Great Salt Lake Audubon Society’s Jordan River Migratory Bird Habitat Restoration Project on March 20 from 1 – 4 p.m.
More information on the 39th Annual Conference on Environmental Law, including a full conference schedule with speakers, is available on the section’s Web site at http://www.abanet.org/environ/programs/envlaw/2010/home.shtml.
The ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources is the premier forum for strategies and information for environmental, energy and resource lawyers. Representing more than 11,000 members with a wide range of professional interests, the section keeps its members abreast of development trends, current court decisions, legislative initiatives and statutes concerning environmental, natural resources and energy law.
With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.
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Editor’s note: Reporters are invited to cover any or all sessions of the conference for free. Credentials may be obtained by contacting Lynne Van Buskirk in the ABA Division for Media Relations and Communication Services at 312/988-6136 or vanbuskl@staff.abanet.org. Credentials will also be available on site at the section’s registration desk at the Grand America beginning at 8 a.m. March 18.
