Carolyn E. Raffensperger is an

environmental law Environmental law is a collective term encompassing aspects of the law that provide protection to the environment. A related but distinct set of regulatory regimes, now strongly influenced by environmental legal principles, focus on the manage ...

yer and the

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the Science & Environmental Health Network, as well as being a leading expert on the

Precautionary Principle The precautionary principle (or precautionary approach) is a broad epistemological, philosophical and legal approach to innovations with potential for causing harm when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. It emphasizes caut ...

. She has authored a number of papers and publications, as well as being featured in a number of notable magazines. Raffensperger was also a state field representative for the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

Early life

Raffensperger was raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and is the daughter of John G. Raffensperger, a paediatric surgeon. After gaining an interest in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

while at college, she went on to study a bachelor's degree at Wheaton College, before then completing her master's degree at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

. She then worked in

Dolores, Colorado The Town of Dolores is a Statutory Town located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 885 at the 2020 United States Census. Description Dolores (Spanish for "sorrows" and named for the river on which it is locat ...

, studying artifacts from the

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

people. She went on to work for the Sierra Club.

Career

Raffensperger joined the Science & Environmental Health Network (SEHN) in 1994 and became its executive director. Raffensperger has written on the Precautionary Principle. She has spoken in public on the issue and has appeared on

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

and EnviroVideo with

Karl Grossman Karl Grossman is an author, TV program host and full professor of journalism at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury. For 30 years, he has hosted the TV interview program ''Enviro Close-Up with Karl Grossman''. He is the autho ...

. In 1998, Raffensperger convened and attended the

Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle The Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle was a three-day academic conference where the precautionary principle was defined. The January 1998 meeting took place at Wingspread, headquarters of the Johnson Foundation in Racine, Wi ...

. The first use of the phrase "ecological medicine" is attributed to Raffensperger, in an article entitled "Our Planet, Our Selves" on the UTNE website. Ecological medicine refers to the way in which people and the environment interact, and how an individual's acts towards the environment can have a negative effect on health.

Publications

* Raffensperger, Jackson, Tickner (1999). ''Protecting Public Health and the Environment: Implementing The Precautionary Principle'',

Island Press Island Press is a nonprofit, environmental publisher based in Washington, D.C., United States, that specializes in natural history, ecology, conservation, and the built environment. Established in 1984, Island Press generates about half of its re ...

, 391 pages. * Raffensperger, Tickner, Myers (1999). ''The Precautionary Principle in Action: A Handbook''. * Raffensperger, Myers (2005). ''Precautionary Tools for Reshaping Environmental Policy''.

MIT Press The MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts (United States). It was established in 1962. History The MIT Press traces its origins back to 1926 when MIT publish ...

, 400 pages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raffensperger, Carolyn Living people American women lawyers American people of German descent Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni Northwestern University alumni Lawyers from Chicago Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women