J. Marc McGinnes (born September 27, 1941) is an environmental leader, lawyer, and educator. He became a public interest environmental lawyer and led the founding of the Community Environmental Council (1970) and the Environmental Defense Center (1977).

Education

McGinnes received his BA in History from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1963. He attended the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of California, Berkeley. The school was commonly referred to as "Boalt Hall" for many years, although it was ...

and received his law degree in 1966. In 1967, McGinnes received his post-JD degree from Nancy-Université France.

Teaching career

In 1971, McGinnes joined the faculty of the Environmental Studies Program of the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

, one of the first undergraduate programs of its kind in the United States. In 1983, he began full-time there, developing courses for both the Environmental Studies and Law and Society programs. He also served in various campus advisory and administrative positions. Since 2005, he has served in an emeritus capacity. In 2016, McGinnes donated his research papers, teaching and practice papers and materials to the UCSB Library. In 2017 he developed and convened a seminar titled Hope That Works.

Environmental Rights Work

After the 1969 Santa Barbara oil blowout and subsequent oil spill, Rep.

Pete McCloskey Paul Norton "Pete" McCloskey Jr. (September 29, 1927 – May 8, 2024) was an American politician who represented San Mateo County, California, as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1983. Born in Loma Linda, Californi ...

urged McGinnes, then practicing law in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, to go to Santa Barbara to assist in that community’s response. McGinnes served as chair of the national Environmental Rights Day conference in Santa Barbara following the oil spill. In 1970, McGinnes was the founding president of the Community Environmental Council, one of the nation’s first ecology center/

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

s. In 1977 he was the founding chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, one of the nation’s first regional public-interest environmental law firms.

Books

*In Love with Earth: Testimonies and Heartsongs of an Environmental Elder (Mercury Press International, 2018). *Principles of Environmental Law (Rainbow Bridge, 1980). *Rise Up! A Stilter’s Adventures in Higher Consciousness (Mercury Press International, 2017).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGinnes, Marc Living people American environmentalists University of California, Santa Barbara faculty UC Berkeley School of Law alumni 1941 births