Why Is It So Hard To Protect the Environment?*
A Long-View Approach in a Short-Sighted Era

*Short Answer: (a) evolving science and technology, a moving target; (b) the laws under political pressure, also a moving target; and (c) shifting economic and ethical positions in regulated industries, including fraud and environmental crimes. 

Webinar Summary

Environmental protection has a place in U.S. public policy, from the earliest beginnings. I will highlight milestone events, from nineteenth-century set-asides of lands for "wilderness" value through twentieth-century development of natural resources and pollution management to today's politically fraught policy reversals playing out in the administrative and judicial branches of the federal government.

I'll cover analytical frameworks for policy discussions from science, economics, and the political will to make laws that set the government in motion to implement policy choices. Starting with a look at sources of environmental law from all three branches of government, I'll focus specifically on administrative law and "the Administrative State," currently under attack at the highest levels of each branch.

Finally, I will provide suggestions for reliable sources of news and information and how to keep current. I see some hopeful developments toward science-based public policy.

Webinar Speaker Profile

Margaret Louise Thompson, Esq., served as the Law and Policy specialist in Clemson University’s Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences from 1999 until her retirement as Senior Lecturer in the summer of 2025. Her signature undergraduate course, Studies in Environmental Science, Law, and Policy, was modeled after the University of Michigan’s interdisciplinary curriculum and attracted students from across the university. Thompson continues to mentor undergraduates pursuing graduate studies, law school, and careers in government and the private sector. A Harvard graduate with an A.B., cum laude, in Classics, she also holds a J.D. from the University of Michigan. Inspired by Professor Joe Sax’s pioneering environmental law courses, she shifted her academic focus from ancient languages to environmental law and policy.

Before joining Clemson, Thompson spent four years as a staff attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region II (New York City), handling CERCLA, RCRA, and TSCA matters during the Reagan Administration. Following a brief period in private practice in Manhattan, she relocated to South Carolina, where she began teaching in Clemson’s business school before joining the EEES faculty in 1999. She also taught Latin at Clemson and at the Clemson Montessori School. From 1993 until January 2020, Thompson served on the South Carolina DHEC “SUPERB” Advisory Committee, representing the Sierra Club on issues involving leaking underground storage tanks. Now residing in Pendleton, South Carolina, she enjoys gardening and exploring the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Webinar Format

This webinar will include a moderated Q and A session following the speaker’s presentation. The session is open to environmental engineering and science professionals across all sectors and career stages. Our objective is to offer special insights on leading edge solutions for graduate and undergraduate students as well as early to mid-career environmental professionals who are considering specialty certification.

AAEES Board Certified Individuals: Attend this event and earn 1.5 PDHs towards your PDH requirements for maintaining your specialty certification.

Click here to register for this event.