UPDATE: Unfortunately Mr. Blumenfeld will not be speaking at Reclaiming the Sierra this year.
April 20, 2012 – The Sierra Fund is excited to announce that we are currently making arrangements with Mr. Blumenfeld’s staff for him to speak at Reclaiming the Sierra 2012 in the afternoon of Friday, May 4, 2012. This keynote will be a great transition from our full day of technical tours and films to our annual conference reception.
Mr. Blumenfeld has spent nearly two decades on the front-lines of protecting the environment both at home and internationally. His priorities at EPA include strong enforcement; environmental justice; protecting and restoring our air, land and waters; building strong federal, state, local and tribal partnerships; and taking action on climate change.
During his tenure at EPA Mr. Blumenfeld has taken a number of significant actions including: designating the Los Angeles River as “protected”under the Clean Water Act; stewarding a comprehensive judicial settlement to improve the water quality for Honolulu; protecting over 5,000 square miles of California’s coastal waters by proposing to ban discharge of sewage from cargo vessels and cruise ships; bringing together diverse stakeholders throughout the San Joaquin Valley to develop solutions to some of the nation’s worst air quality problems; and leading innovative efforts and building partnerships to support the economy, environmental justice communities and air quality in the Goods Movement sectors (ports, rail, truck).
Before becoming Regional Administrator, Mr. Blumenfeld was the Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment where he spent eight years as the primary environmental decision-maker for the city. He helped to initiate many landmark environmental laws that became part of the municipal Environment Code. These included San Francisco’s ban of plastic bags, a 2020 zero waste goal, LEED Gold building standards, and an overarching precautionary principle framework.
Mr. Blumenfeld’s environmental leadership includes, chairing the first United Nations World Environment Day hosted by the United States – Green Cities: Where the Future Lives (2005), overseeing the Treasure Island Redevelopment Authority, directing international initiatives to protect eight million acres of wildlife habitat and editing an annual report on international environmental case law at Cambridge University. He is a founder of the Business Council on Climate Change, an organization that unites businesses around the challenge of climate change. Mr. Blumenfeld has worked for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
The Region 9 offices include a talented and diverse team of more than 850 lawyers, engineers, scientists, inspectors, environmental specialists, analysts, and administrative support working to protect human health and the environment across eight time zones.
Mr. Blumenfeld received his law degrees at the University of London and the University of California, Berkeley.
