Wendy Carol Jacobs (1956–2021) was an American climate lawyer who founded the Harvard Law School Environmental Law and Policy Clinic. She dedicated her career to environmental policy and legal education.
Wendy Carol Jacobs | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 |
| Died | 2021 (aged 64–65) |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Foley Hoag Harvard Law School |
Early life and education edit
Jacobs trained at Harvard Law School.[1] Whilst she had initially intended to specialize in international law, she became concerned about the impact of the environment on citizens' health. She was at law school when people living close to the Love Canal were exposed to chemical waste, which gave rise to birth defects and ill health amongst the community.[1] She documented the injustice in the Harvard Law Review. After graduating, Jacobs worked for a law firm in Seattle.[2]
Career edit
Jacobs spent most of her career at Foley Hoag, a law firm in Boston.[1] She focused on legal policy to tackle climate change, and worked as a litigator in the Land and Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.[3][2] She joined Harvard Law School in 2007, where she established an environmental law clinic. She focused on environmental protection policies and energy law.[1]
Jacobs created the Climate Solutions Living Lab, a research course that developed environmental legislature for American communities.[4][5] In the wake of Donald Trump's election as president, Jacobs wrote a manual on how to use citizen science data in litigation.[1] The manual outlined best practice and provided information on designing and delivering an environmentally focused climate change project.[6][third-party source needed] The manual provides information on the law governing citizen science in different American states. She provided Harvard students with opportunities to defend policies that protect the environment, such as Roderick Bremby's denial of an application for coal-fired power plants.[7][8]
Jacobs was made Chair of the Clean Air Task Force in 2018.[9]
In 2021, Jacobs fought against Trump's proposed Transparency Rule,[which?] a regulation that would have allowed the United States Environmental Protection Agency to require researchers to publish their raw data, meaning that medical information could not inform climate policy.[10][not verified in body]
Selected publications edit
- Elsie M Sunderland; Charles T Driscoll; James K Hammitt; et al. (5 February 2016). "Benefits of Regulating Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal and Oil-Fired Utilities in the United States". Environmental Science & Technology. 50 (5): 2117–2120. doi:10.1021/ACS.EST.6B00239. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 26848613. Wikidata Q35915385.
- Salas, Renee N.; Jacobs, Wendy; Perera, Frederica (2019-05-30). "The Case of Juliana v. U.S. — Children and the Health Burdens of Climate Change". New England Journal of Medicine. 380 (22): 2085–2087. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1905504. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 31141628. S2CID 205115062.
- Jacobs, Wendy; Craig, Michael (2019-03-01). "Carbon Capture and Sequestration". Rochester, NY. SSRN 3401895.
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Personal life edit
Jacobs was married in 1985,[11] and had two daughters. She died in 2021.[12]
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Perkins, Christine. "Wendy Jacobs: 1956–2021". Harvard Law School. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ a b Deakin, Michelle (July 1, 2008). ""Nontraditional, multifaceted and creative"". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "Malone and Jacobs appointed clinical professors of law". Harvard Law Today. May 13, 2008. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "Climate Solutions Living Lab Course and Research Project". Sustainability at Harvard. 2016-10-05. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ Correspondent, Colin Durrant Harvard (2017-11-14). "Living lab course works to find practical solutions to carbon emissions". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "A MANUAL FOR CITIZEN SCIENTISTS STARTING OR PARTICIPATING IN DATA COLLECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING PROJECTS" (PDF). 2019.
- ^ "Jacobs' Ladder". Harvard Law Today. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "Heron '12 presents oral argument in environmental law case". Harvard Law Today. October 25, 2011. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ andi_5ive (2021-02-10). "In Memoriam – CATF Board Chair Wendy Jacobs". Clean Air Task Force. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "EPA finalizes rule to limit science behind public health safeguards". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "WENDY C. JACOBS BECOMES BRIDE". The New York Times. 1985-04-21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
- ^ "About Wendy". Mysite. Retrieved 2023-01-26.