We are delighted that Jim Blackburn has agreed to speak at our February, 2015 HCC meeting!

 

Jim has been a practicing attorney for 30 years. He devotes himself to environmental law and planning. He will give us an overview of environmental laws, issues and concepts useful for the future protection of the Texas coast.

 

He will also tell us about his work at Rice University. Jim teaches courses in sustainable development and environmental law there and serves as the Director of the Undergraduate Minor in Energy and Water Sustainability. He is a Faculty Associate for the Severe Storm Prediction, Education, and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center researching “Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike” and studying coastal resiliency and long-term sustainability. He has also been appointed a Baker Institute Faculty Scholar for Energy Studies.

 

Jim is a co-founder of Houston Wilderness, the Matagorda Bay Foundation and the Galveston Bay Foundation.

He was the recipient of The Barbara C. Jordan Community Advocate Award presented by Texas Southern University in 2007, the National Conservation Achievement Award in 2001 from the National Wildlife Federation and the Bob Eckhardt Lifetime Achievement Award for coastal preservation efforts from the General Land Office of the State of Texas in 1998.

In 2004, Texas A&M press published his manuscript titled The Book of Texas Bays, which focuses upon the environmental health of Texas bays and discusses various facts and issues. In 2009, Mr. Blackburn co-authored a compilation of art and poems titled Birds: A Collection of Verse and Vision. Blackburn received both a B.A. in History and a J.D. at the University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. in Environmental Science at Rice University.

We hope you will join us at Bayland Park, at 7 PM on February 11, 2015, for what is sure to be an interesting program!