Carolyn Raffensperger, environmental lawyer and executive director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, will give a public address "Earth Guardians: Approaches to Building Sustainable and Resilient Communities" on April 10th at 7p.m. in Withey East Room. The event is free and open to the public.

In 1982, Raffensperger left a career as an archaeologist to join the environmental movement. She worked for the Sierra Club where she addressed a wide array of environmental issues including forest management, river protection, pesticide pollutants and disposal of radioactive waste. As an environmental lawyer she specializes in fundamental changes in law and policy necessary for the protection and restoration of public health and the environment.

She is co-editor of Precautionary Tools for Reshaping Environmental Policy published by M.I.T. Press and Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing the Precautionary Principle, published by Island Press. Together, these volumes are the most comprehensive exploration to date of the history, theory, and implementation of the "precautionary principle" (if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, the burden of truth that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action). Raffensperger also coined the term "ecological medicine" to encompass the broad notion that both health and healing are entwined with the natural world.

Feb 11, 2025, 7 PM

Feb 13, 2025, 4 to 5 PM

Feb 15, 2025, 5 to 6 PM