Environmental Law Society Leads Campus in Climate Change Awareness
Al Gore's Oscar-winning documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," helped make
global warming a mainstream issue. Second-year law student Jay Heeter wanted
to make ripples locally.
"It is so important for law students and lawyers to get involved in the community on issues they are passionate about. In many ways, lawyers are expected to take the lead on public issues," he said.
Now national co-chair of the National Association of Environmental Law Societies and president of Indiana Law's Environmental Law Society, Heeter is at the helm of an effort to encourage Indiana Law students to confront environmental legal issues right here in Bloomington, Ind. This summer, he took that focus to NAELS headquarters in Washington, D.C., planning 10 regional "Campus Climate Neutral" events that seek to mobilize efforts on other campuses.
Environmental Law in Action
Heeter brings years of grassroots experience with Green Corps and the Alaska
Coalition to ELS. This new perspective adds a new dynamic to the Indiana Law chapter.
This spring, the ELS hosted a campus-wide Inconvenient Truth event with the Indiana Public Interest Research Group and the Indiana Memorial Union Board. The group also formed a legislative action committee and brought more students to the 2007 NAELS spring conference than most any other school, second only to Vermont, the number-one ranked environmental law school in the country.
Visit the NAELS blog to read more about Indiana Law's chapter.