Carolyn E. Raffensperger is an

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

yer and the executive director 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 cautio ...

. 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 American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

Early life

Raffensperger was raised in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. She then worked in

Dolores, Colorado 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 located) is lo ...

, studying artifacts from the

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southea ...

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 and EnviroVideo with Karl Grossman. In 1998, Raffensperger convened and attended the Wingspread Conference on the Precautionary Principle. 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 1978, Island Press generates about half of its ...

, 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 the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

, 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