Ep. 7: Environmental Justice for All

We’re back! After a break from sharing episodes, Stories of Kinship is returning with a timely conversation featuring WELC board member, Cliff Villa.As professor and tenured faculty member at the University of New Mexico School of Law, Cliff provides clinical training to students in the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Clinic. Before joining UNM, Cliff spent more than 20 years as legal counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he focused on laws that you probably like very much, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.He also provided policy direction for national programs, including Superfund cleanup efforts and emergency response. So, quite the resume, and a much needed perspective on the challenges America is facing right now.We’ll talk about his new book, Environmental Justice: Law, Policy and Regulation (4th edition), explore examples from Cliff’s career exemplifying why environmental justice is for everyone, and learn about different pathways to winning people-powered progress in our communities, from Superfund successes to negotiating community benefits.Final notes & resources:* Find Cliff’s new book, Environmental Justice: Law, Policy and Regulation, the 4th edition, at environmentaljusticebook.org, along with even more resources like GIS tools, teaching materials for sharing this with your classroom or maybe less climate inclined pals, info on EPA policies, and more.* To learn more about community benefits agreements, you can find the paper Cliff referenced by Dr. Seema Kakade, “A Contractual Relationship with Environmental Justice” 73 American U. Law Review 343 (2023), here.* Lastly, New Mexico friends! Connect with folks over art, law, and ecology at Cliff’s upcoming event, “Shared Terrain”, hosted at the University of New Mexico School of Law, on April 3rd. More details and RSVP here.Support the mission at Western Environmental Law Center and check out our latest cases and legislative wins at westernlaw.org. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storiesofkinship.substack.com