The Hubbell Environmental Law Initiative (HELI) at the University of Iowa College of Law - together with campus, community, and academic partners - is partnering on events this fall semester that will explore industrial agriculture and rural communities, environmental justice, and the economic implications of climate change for both public and private institutions.
More information for each event is available at the links below. With questions, contact the HELI team at lawmail-HELI@uiowa.edu.
The Iowa Law Review's 2024 Symposium: "The Economic Implications of Climate Change"
September 19 - 20, 2024
HELI and the Classical Liberal Institute are co-sponsoring the Iowa Law Review's 2024 Symposium: “The Economic Impacts of Climate Change.” This event will gather scholars from across the country to discuss how public and private institutions can collectively address climate change on both national and international levels. Topics will span the ideological spectrum and include panel dialogue on:
- climate reparations
- green energy transition
- decarbonization
- green-to-gold initiatives
- business purpose in a climate-focused world
Set against the backdrop of growing concerns about the cost of climate change, this Symposium will bring together the minds at the forefront of these prominent issues. Written pieces accompanying this year’s Symposium will be published in Issue 5 of Vol. 110 of the Iowa Law Review.
More details, including how to register, are available on the symposium website: https://ilr.law.uiowa.edu/symposium-2024
Symposium Keynote:
Jill K. Sanchez, Vice President at Deere & Company
"Making It Make Business Sense: Aligning Climate Solutions with Customer Opportunity"
September 20, 2024 from 9:00 - 10:00 in 245 BLB and Zoom
Jill Sanchez is Vice President, Financial Reporting for Deere & Company, responsible for overseeing the preparation of the company's consolidated financial statements and providing accounting guidance and related counsel to company business units worldwide. Prior to this role, Sanchez was Director, Sustainability for the company, where she was responsible for leading the company’s sustainability strategy and execution, communicating the company’s ESG strategy and outcomes, and overseeing Deere’s sustainability reporting.
Sanchez joined Deere & Company in 2011 as Senior Tax Attorney and previously spent time in private practice at Latham & Watkins in Washington, D.C. and Fredrikson & Byron in Minneapolis, MN.
A native of Farmersburg, Iowa, Jill graduated in 2004 from the University of Iowa College of Business with a B.B.A. in Accounting and obtained her CPA license in 2006. She attended law school at the University of Iowa, earning her J.D. in 2007.
One Community, One Book
October 20, 2024
HELI is co-sponsoring the 2024 One Community, One Book program, which is an annual community-wide reading project led by the UI Center for Human Rights and the Iowa City Book Festival. The book chosen for the Fall 2024 event is "Wastelands: The True Story of Farm Country on Trial," by Corban Addison.
Wastelands is the true story of a rural North Carolina community that banded together against pollution from a large industrial conglomerate and advocated for their environment and their community.
Author Corban Addison will be in person in Iowa City giving a keynote talk about Wastelands on Sunday, October 20 from 3:00 - 4:15pm at Old Brick on the University of Iowa campus. This event is free and open to the public.
Panel series on Industrial Agriculture: Impacts, Advocacy, and Community
September 18 | October 16 | November 13
In coordination with the One Community, One Book collaboration, HELI is co-hosting a panel series exploring themes and topics in the Wastelands story. Together with the UI Center for Human Rights, the Fall 2024 Webinar Series will discuss Industrial Agriculture: Impacts, Advocacy, and Community.
The three panels in this series are listed here.
Industrial Animal Agriculture: Impacts on the Environment, Communities, and Health
September 18 from 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. CST at Zoom ID: 977 5557 6923
Join experts for a discussion about the history of industrial agriculture and confined animal feed operations in Iowa, including their impacts on our health and our communities.
The panel will include:
- Dean William (Bill) Hines, panelist and moderator, the Joseph F. Rosenfield Professor and Dean Emeritus at the University of Iowa College of Law
- Dr. Silvia Secchi, Professor in the Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences at the University of Iowa
- Sherri White-Williamson, Executive Director of the Environmental Justice Community Action Network (EJCAN) and formerly in the US EPA Office of Environmental Justice
More information is available here: https://events.uiowa.edu/88123
Legal Advocacy and Environmental Litigation: From North Carolina to Iowa
October 16 from Noon to 1 p.m. CST at Zoom ID: 977 5557 6923
Join environmental litigators and advocates in a discussion about how legal practitioners have litigated cases against industrial agriculture from North Carolina to Iowa.
The panel will include:
- Shannon Roesler, Charlotte and Frederick Hubbell Professor of Environmental and Natural Resources Law and HELI Faculty Director (moderator)
- Mona Lisa Wallace, founding Partner of the law firm of Wallace & Graham, P.A. and was the attorney representing the community featured in the Wastelands book
- John Lande, shareholder at the Dickinson Bradshaw Law Firm
- Michael Schmidt, Staff Attorney for the Iowa Environmental Council
More information is available here: https://events.uiowa.edu/88124
Agricultural Workers and Extreme Heat: OSHA’s Proposed Heat Safety Rule
November 13 from Noon to 1 p.m. CST at Zoom ID: 977 5557 6923
Join occupational safety, labor, and environmental experts for a discussion of the risks of extreme temperatures for outdoor workers in a changing climate and the recently proposed OSHA rule to protect workers from hazardous heat.
More details about this panel will be available soon on the UI Center for Human Rights website and here: https://events.uiowa.edu/88126
We hope you will join us for these events. With questions or concerns, please contact the HELI team at lawmail-HELI@uiowa.edu.