Environmental Justice Forum

Obama Administration Convenes Environmental Leaders At Historic White House Environmental Justice Forum Featuring Five Cabinet Secretaries

Washington, DC - 20 December 2010 - Five Cabinet secretaries and senior officials from a wide range of federal agencies and offices participated in the first White House Forum on Environmental Justice today, illustrating the Obama administration's commitment to ensuring all Americans have strong federal protection from environmental and health hazards.

More than 100 environmental justice leaders from across the country attended the day-long event, which featured White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.

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Panels focused on:

* How investments in the clean energy economy are expanding green job opportunities in environmental justice communities and beyond.
* How existing legal authorities are being used to more fully engage communities that have been left out and left behind.
* How the federal government is addressing environmental and health disparities in communities throughout the country.
* How low-income communities can work with federal, state and local governments to prepare for the environmental and health impacts of climate change. {continued}