Commentary

Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

COMMENTARY | Preventing Future Zoonotic Pandemics

by Peter Jenkins | May 18, 2022
Four policy steps to reduce zoonotic disease risks and prevent future pandemics that stem from human interaction with wildlife ...

COMMENTARY | Colorado PFAS Prevention Act Passes

by Chandra Rosenthal | May 17, 2022
On May 11, 2022, the Colorado Legislature tackled the PFAS contamination crisis by passing one of the most comprehensive state bills restricting PFAS ...

COMMENTARY | Fighting Government Secrecy

by Tim Whitehouse | May 12, 2022
Government agencies are coming up short in their stewardship of environmental information, and that is having real world consequences ...

COMMENTARY | EPA’s Myth of Scientific Integrity

by Tim Whitehouse | May 4, 2022
The EPA keeps paying lip service to scientific integrity but reality, and the experiences of scientists at EPA, is a completely different story ...

STATEMENT | Earth Day 2022: A Vital Rallying Point

by Tim Whitehouse | April 20, 2022
PEER contributes to Earth Day year-round by supporting whistleblowers and working for the ethical management of our natural resources and strong environmental policies. Earth Day 2022 ...