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.

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 ...

What the FCC Must Do to Comply with New NEPA Rules

To date, the Federal Communications Commission has had neither the personnel nor resources to comply with NEPA ...

Plastics Pollution – Setbacks and Solutions

by Colleen Zimmerman | June 7, 2024
With plastics production on course to triple over the coming decades, immediate efforts are needed to tackle the plastics crisis ...

It’s Not Easy Being a BLM Range Conservationist

by Guest Contributor | May 21, 2024
Former Bureau of Land Management employee Kathy Voth shares her perspective on the agency's management of federal rangelands ...

Countdown for PEER’s Regulatory Petitions

by Peter Jenkins | May 9, 2024
Read the latest updates on eleven of the regulatory petitions we've worked on this year. With an election just around the corner, now is the time to ramp up action to get our requests granted, especially in case there is a new administration in 2025 ...

New Integrity Policies Exhibit Old Problems

by Jeff Ruch | May 2, 2024
Biden directed all federal agencies to strengthen their scientific integrity policies. Three years later, no new policies have been ratified ...