Head of the EPA Speaks to Change.org: Let's Change the Face of Environmentalism

Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is part of Change.org's Changemakers network, comprised of leading voices for social change. Change.org asked Ms. Jackson to respond to questions to provide context for her work and the causes she supports.

Change.org: What cause or causes would you most like to promote as a Changemaker and why?

Broadening the way we think about environmentalism is critical. Environmentalism isn't a boutique issue that affects only a few. And environmentalists aren't professionals and specialists. Protecting our air, water and land is all of our jobs. I want to help people see the many ways that environmental issues affect their daily lives. Children's health is affected by chemicals in the products we buy and use in our home. Water and air pollution prevent businesses from investing and creating jobs in our communities. Environmental triggers send people to the hospital with asthma and other breathing problems. Environmentalism is about where we live, work, play and learn. Expanding that perception helps us address issues from climate change to environmental justice to long-standing concerns about air and water.

Change.org: If you could ask 1 million people to all do 1 thing to advance causes that matter to you, what would it be?

Last year, EPA's Energy Star program reached a milestone of one million Energy Star homes. One million American families now have a chance to save money on their energy bills and cut the pollution that threatens our health and causes climate change. These kinds of win-win ideas have a way of catching on and spreading. If I could ask one million people to make their homes more energy efficient or to put fuel efficiency first when buying their next car, we would have a very good start on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and saving money for all Americans.

Change.org: Tell us a bit about your personal story and how you came to care so much about these causes?

My story is the same as many ordinary people who came to environmentalism because of events in their own lives. I grew up in Pontchartrain Park, part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans (home of the Superbowl champions!) and studied chemical engineering in college and grad school. I graduated right around the time of the Love Canal incident -- when a neighborhood in New York found 20,000 tons of toxic waste illegally buried underneath people’s homes. I saw how the community was suffering from environmental challenges, and stepping in to help was the EPA. It’s no accident that my first EPA job was in the Superfund hazardous waste cleanup program.

My perspective is also shaped by being a mother. My youngest son has fought with asthma his entire life, and we have to be careful when it gets hot outside and ozone levels rise or when other environmental triggers are present. Parents of children with asthma or other illnesses can't help but care about the environment. In every action I take, I am acting not just as EPA Administrator but also as a mother, never losing sight of the fact that protecting children’s health is central to EPA’s mission. We’re taking aggressive steps when we see areas where our kids are vulnerable. We won’t leave long-term challenges like climate change for the next generation to solve. Being a parent affords me another important perspective as well: that of the active American consumer. The last thing I want to do is drive up the cost of the products we buy or position the EPA as an obstacle to my kids’ future prosperity.

My work took on another dimension when New Orleans was hit by Hurricane Katrina. My mother was still living in the 9th Ward when the storm came. I happened to be visiting for her birthday, and ended up driving her to safety. She lost everything in the storm. After Katrina, we learned that the devastation and flooding were exacerbated because the area’s natural defenses -- the marshes and wetlands -- had been destabilized and cut away for oil and gas lines. When I saw that the people hit hardest by this were often the poor and minority residents, the people who hadn't had a voice in the decisions to destroy the wetlands, I saw an urgent need to broaden the conversation on environmentalism.

African Americans die from asthma twice as often as whites, and have higher cancer mortality rates than any other group. Nearly 30 million Latinos live in places that don’t meet US air pollution standards. Native American homes lack clean water at almost 10 times the national rate. Yet, these are not the voices driving the environmental debate in our country. We have begun the process of changing the face of environmentalism, but we have to continue to make room for new and different kinds of environmentalists.

Change.org: Who are other Changemakers who you look to for inspiration?

The people on this list are here because they inspire, making it very hard to choose just one. Bill McKibben is an extraordinary advocate for environmental protection. Alice Waters and Bryant Terry are voices for common sense, sustainable approaches to food (and being from New Orleans means I love good food).

Photo credit: EPA.gov