Protecting Our Air & Water:
Origins and Lessons for Today from EPA Practitioners
Course Description. This course addresses the history of environmental protection in the US, with a focus on air and, to a lesser degree, water pollution. The intent is to provide a better understanding where we are and how to address the future. For example, what does US success in addressing major air and water pollution of the ‘60s and ’70s suggest about our ability to address climate change? How should we address recent rollbacks of air pollution and wetland protection? We’ll outline how industrial and energy transformations of the 19th and 20th centuries produced mounting problems that came to a head in the 1960s, leading to the first Earth Day, the birth of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the landmark Clean Air Act in 1970, and new water resource protections. We will trace the rapid development of expertise at all levels of government, industry, and science. We will focus on the importance of accountability in public policy and assess the successes and failures of the last 50 years in efforts to reduce air and water pollution, and show the importance of scientific research and monitoring in developing policy. Finally, we’ll touch on the potential interactions between air and water policy and programs to address climate change. We will also look for and discuss any major initiatives for air or climate that may arise during the Course. Online lectures via Zoom will be recorded and we will make time to raise and respond to questions.
Guest speaker: Bob Wayland—the director of the EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, 1991-2003; the deputy assistant administrator for water, 1989-91; and an EPA Alumni Association board member—will present a session on the history, technical issues, progress, and remaining challenges in managing US water quality for lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters.
Guest speaker: Bob Wayland—the director of the EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, 1991-2003; the deputy assistant administrator for water, 1989-91; and an EPA Alumni Association board member—will present a session on the history, technical issues, progress, and remaining challenges in managing US water quality for lakes, rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters.
Instructor: John Bachmann joined EPA in 1974, rising to the position of Associate Director for Science/Policy and New Programs in EPA’s Office of Air Quality in RTP before retiring in 2007. His work helped define approaches to research planning and regulations on air quality management. Since retiring, John consulted for public and private sponsors on air and climate issues, and led an EPA Alumni education program promoting the history and challenges of U.S. environmental programs. He studied at the University of Notre Dame, earning a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, a master’s in teaching chemistry, and a master’s in environmental health engineering. His favorite leisure activities are music, running, biking, kayaking and wind, body, and web surfing