Former EPA Administrator to address Climate Change at March 26 University Forum
Wed, 03/13/2019 - 11:50am | By: David Tisdale
Gina McCarthy, who as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) led President Obama's efforts to address climate change, will present “The Future of the Planet: Climate Change and Environmental Protection” as guest speaker for The University of Southern Mississippi's (USM) March 26 University Forum. This free event is set for 6:30 p.m. in Bennett Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus, and the public is invited; it is also available via IVN at USM's Gulf Park campus in Hardy Hall, room 316.
A leading advocate for common-sense strategies to protect public health and the environment,
McCarthy was EPA administrator from 2013 to 2017 after serving as assistant administrator
for its Office of Air and Radiation. During a 30-year career, she worked at both state
and local levels on critical environmental issues, and helped coordinate policies
on economic growth, energy, transportation and the environment.
McCarthy was instrumental in the passage of the Clean Power Plan in 2015, which established
national standards for reducing carbon emissions from power plants, and oversaw the
U.S.'s ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. Before coming to the
EPA in 2009, she worked for both Republican and Democratic administrations in Massachusetts,
and led the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. She now leads the
Center for Climate, Health and the Global Environment at Harvard University as its
founding director.
“Forum has never shied away from difficult conversations. As scientists warn that unprecedented sacrifices are needed to avert a climate catastrophe as early as 2050, many still deny there is an impending crisis,” said Dr. Andrew Haley, director of University Forum and an associate professor of history at USM. “An environmental time bomb is threatening our children's future, and Gina McCarthy is uniquely qualified to sound the alarm. This is a talk no one can afford to miss.”
University Forum is presented by the USM Honors College. For more information, email forumFREEMississippi or visit https://www.usm.edu/honors/about-university-forum.