March 30, 2009 EPA Official to Discuss Global Approach to Environmental Challenges

The Law Library of Congress will host a lecture by Barry Hill, senior counsel for environmental governance in the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The lecture, titled “Addressing Human Environment Challenges: Domestic and International,” will take place at 1 p.m. on Monday, April 27 in the Whittall Pavilion, located on the ground floor of the Library’s Thomas Jefferson Building at 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. The event is free and open to the public; tickets are not required. Acting Law Librarian Donna Scheeder will introduce this distinguished public servant, author and academic, who in his present position is responsible for coordinating the EPA’s capacity-building initiatives for foreign governments in environmental law and policy. Additionally, he is responsible for enforcement and compliance assurance and helps to train foreign judges in environmental law. His recently released textbook, “Environmental Justice: Legal Theory and Practice” (March 2009), was published by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), a leading think tank in environmental law and policy. In his talk, Hill will define “human environment challenges” and discuss the relationship between the rule of law and government enforcement of protective environmental laws to address these challenges. Prior to his 11-year tenure at the EPA, Hill worked at the Department of the Interior as the associate solicitor in the division of Conservation and Wildlife. He also ran a private law practice and has taught environmental law at Vermont Law School. In 2001, Hill received the American Bar Association’s award for “Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy.” Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and exhibitions. Many of the Library’s rich resources can be accessed through its website at www.loc.gov and via interactive exhibitions on a new, personalized Web site at myLOC.gov. Founded in 1832, the Law Library makes its resources available to members of Congress, the Supreme Court, other branches of the U.S. government and the global legal community, and sustains and preserves a universal collection of law for future generations. With more than 2.6 million volumes, the Law Library contains the world’s largest collection of law books and other resources from all countries and provides online databases and guides to legal information worldwide through its website at www.loc/gov/law/.