Rohemir Ramirez: CLF's newest staff attorney brings a unique perspective to his work on climate change, clean energy, and clean water, having experienced one of 2017's record-breaking hurricanes firsthand.

PositionFIVE QUESTIONS FOR ... - Conservation Law Foundation of New England - Interview

1 What was your introduction to environmental law?

I went to law school in Puerto Rico, and, in my final year, I was placed in an environmental law clinic. It turned out to be a perfect fit. I worked on a case representing community members who were going to be impacted by a proposed natural gas pipeline. Puerto Rico is about 100 miles long, and the pipeline would have run along 90 miles of it, snaking through people's backyards and putting them in harm's way. I loved meeting the community and informing them of their rights. Together, we were able to stop the pipeline from being built.

2 How will you carry that community engagement into your work with CLF?

I'm excited to be at a nonprofit that represents the people of New England. There's a lot of work that happens outside of the courts and in the community. I believe my work must include communicating with New Englanders in an accessible way. I want to make sure that environmental issues--and how CLF is working on them --are understandable to the people who are impacted by them.

3 You were living in San Juan when Hurricane Maria hit. How did that experience shape your approach to climate change?

Living through Hurricane Maria and its aftermath made me realize that climate change is here now. Since Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," we've talked about what would happen if global temperatures rise. But we've already raised the temperature. The impacts are here now, and we are not prepared, period.

The conversation must shift from preparing for climate change to acting on climate change. The weather events are so much stronger now, and it takes much longer for life to go back to normal, if it ever does. I never thought I would have no electricity for three months. Because of a hurricane intensified by climate change, my entire daily life was upended for long after it was over. And my family was better...

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