Environmental injustice is the theme of this year’s Public Interest Environmental Law Conference, a four-day affair beginning this afternoon.
The conference, officially titled “Environmental (in) Justice in the Global Village,” is an annual event in its 21st year. Hosted at the Knight Law Center by Land Air Water, the event will feature multiple speakers from all over the world, as well as a variety of panels, workshops and presentations throughout the weekend. Registration for the event begins at 2 p.m., with the first panel starting two hours later.
Derek Riman, one of four law students who organized the conference, said he expects at least 4,000 people to attend the event, which has been planned since mid-September.
Riman said this year’s conference aims to raise awareness of international issues involving social and environmental problems.
“This is an enlightening conference to expose environmental issues in the U.S. as well as abroad,” he said.
Jim DiPeso — the policy director of REP America, the national grassroots organization of Republicans for Environmental Protection — will be a keynote speaker Friday evening. He said he plans on giving a history lesson to those who attend his lecture, focusing on what Republicans have done in the past to protect the environment.
DiPeso added he is disappointed in the lack of interest the Republican Party is now showing toward environmental issues, pointing out past leaders such as former U.S. President Richard Nixon had a vested interest in protecting the environment.
“Many of our leaders have turned their backs on conservation (of the environment),” DiPeso said. “These are ecological services we all depend on.”
Along with DiPeso there will be keynote speakers including Krishna Iyer, a former justice on India’s Supreme Court, and the Reverend Al Sharpton, who is currently contending for the Democratic presidential nomination.
LAW outreach director Rachel Bredfeldt said it wasn’t feasible to look at environmental justice by just looking at national issues, which is the reason for the mixed group of speakers.
“We wanted to have an international focus and a diverse group,” she said.
Riman agreed with Bredfeldt, adding there would also be a large number of panels and workshops that will focus on multiple issues. Riman also said organizing the conference was rewarding to him because the event will bring together a variety of people.
“It’s a rejuvenation of environmental activists. … (We) spur each other on,” he said.