Commentary

Climate Consultant

Laurie recently retired after 35 years as an attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Laurie and her husband Allan Zabel, also formerly with EPA, have written and spoken on climate policy. Her goals are to apply the skills she learned at EPA to address the climate crisis. She looks forward to collaborating with others to draft principles for national climate legislation and to help build public support for effective and fair climate legislation. Laurie and Allan’s prior climate work includes their 2008 Open Letter to Congress, their climate video (“The Huge Mistake”), a Washington Post op-ed (“Cap-and-Trade Mirage”), and work on a 2012 lawsuit challenging California’s offset protocols (Citizens Climate Lobby and Our Children’s Earth Foundation vs. CARB). Laurie has a B.A. from Yale, an M.S.W. from Smith College and a J.D. from UC Berkeley Law. She enjoys hiking, camping and spending time with family including her grandchildren and godchildren.

COMMENTARY | America’s Ailing Overgrazed Rangelands

by Chandra Rosenthal | July 17, 2024
The latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management paint a bleak picture of the ecological health of America’s public rangelands ...

COMMENTARY | Trump’s Enemies List: Dismantling the Civil Service

by Peter Jenkins | July 10, 2024
If elected, Donald Trump will likely pick up where he left off – going after the federal merit system founded more than 140 years ago ...

COMMENTARY | EPA’s Effort to Misrepresent Pesticide Tests Backfires

by Kyla Bennett | July 5, 2024
EPA’s Effort to Misrepresent Pesticide Tests Backfires This commentary was originally published in the Summer 2024 edition of PEEReview. In a misguided effort to protect its reputation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) knowingly issued false statements that pesticides it ...

COMMENTARY | Hubris Squared: What the End of Chevron Means

by Tim Whitehouse | July 1, 2024
The Supreme Court has limited government agencies’ ability to interpret and implement federal laws protecting public health and the environment ...

COMMENTARY | Science Integrity at NOAA: Run Silent, Run Deep

by Jeff Ruch | June 27, 2024
Most agencies sent their draft scientific integrity policies out for public comment, but not the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration ...

COMMENTARY | New White House Carbon Offsetting ‘Principles’ Lack Teeth

by Laurie Williams | June 10, 2024
The administration should find the courage to reverse course and acknowledge that carbon offsets are a dangerous and damaging distraction ...
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