Environmental attorney to speak on climate change at Monday's Carson City Democratic tele-luncheon
The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic tele-luncheon will be environmental attorney Dan Galpern, who specializes in litigation to enforce compliance with laws, regulations and rulings related to climate change. Originally from New York City, Galpern is currently based out of his own public interest law firm in Eugene, Oregon.
Since 2011, Dan has served as principal legal and policy adviser to renowned climate scientist James E. Hansen, PhD, especially with respect to administrative, criminal and civil actions in state, federal and foreign jurisdictions. Hansen made news in 2013 when he retired as director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies after 46 years of government service, saying he wanted to take a more active role in political and legal efforts to limit greenhouse gases.
Prior to entering the practice of law, Dan worked for 20 years as a public interest analyst and advocate for human rights and global security, including income support and services for impoverished families. During this period, he also served as principal consultant to the California State Assembly on income inequality issues and staffed AB 60 (Chapter 154, Statutes of 1999), restoring daily overtime pay to non-supervisory workers in California.
Dan received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from San Francisco State, and in 2005, Dan earned a J.D. with a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from the University of Oregon School of Law. He served as a law clerk for Judge James A. Redden at the U.S. District Court of Oregon, 2004-05, and for Judge Robert D. Wollheim at the Oregon Court of Appeals, 2005-06.
Dan also served as a staff attorney for the Western Environmental Law Center, 2007-12, during which time he also served as co-director and principal lobbyist for the Campaign to End Field Burning in Oregon – culminating in SB 528 (2009 c. 692). His major cases have included a Clean Water Act enforcement action against Portland General Electric, 2016-21, in defense of the Lower Deschutes River in central Oregon. Dan serves as General Counsel and Executive Director of the CPR (Climate Protection and Restoration) Initiative.
On behalf of Dr. Hansen, Dan has initiated legal actions in California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Washington D.C., Colombia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. He recently participated in the Bonn, Katowice and Madrid conferences of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 2008 he authored Climate Change 101: Urgency and Response, and in 2015 he co-authored Atmospheric Recovery Litigation: Making the Fossil Fuel Industry Pay To Restore A Viable Climate System.
Sponsored by the Carson City Democratic Men's Committee, this event is scheduled for noon on Monday, May 31st, and will be held online via Zoom teleconference. Those wishing to be on distribution for these Zoom links should email Rich Dunn, Men's Committee Events Coordinator, at richdunn@aol.com.