John H. Adams,
when you were honored in 2011 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the
nation’s highest civilian honor, you offered the advice “Stand up for nature,
believe that nature is important. Whatever job you’re in—whether it’s law,
science or business—make sure that you remember that nature is very important
to protect.”
You have lived a life in which you have done exactly that.
Growing up on a farm in the Catskills, you learned to love
the outdoors—the woods, streams and mountains. You attended and graduated from
Duke University’s School of Law, after which you moved to New York City where
you served as an assistant U.S. attorney. While in the city you observed, you
were outraged, that the air was unhealthy and that the Hudson River was filled
with sewage. Unwilling to have your children grow up in such an environment, you
dedicated yourself to changing how we use the natural world.
Having been trained in the law, you sought a way to use the
law to stand up for nature. Joining with other lawyers and law students, you
co-founded in 1970 the first public interest law firm, the Natural Resources
Defense Council, or NRDC. That was a momentous year for a nascent environmental
movement, a year that also saw the formation of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, passage of the Clean Air Act, and celebration of the first
Earth Day.
Your first order of business was to clean up the air and
water of New York. Your successes there set the stage for NRDC to become, under
your leadership for 36 years as executive director and then president, what The
New York Times calls “One of the nation’s most powerful environmental
groups,” and The National Journal “A credible and forceful advocate for
stringent environmental protection.”
NRDC is now 1.3 million members strong, and is using the law
and science to protect the planet’s wildlife and wild places. Causes that you
championed and moved forward with NRDC include curbing emissions that create
acid rain, protecting coasts and sensitive environments from oil drilling,
preserving wilderness areas, cleaning up the nation’s waters, and conserving
energy. These and other battles are recounted in A Force for Nature, a memoir you co-authored with your wife
Patricia. This first-hand history of the environmental movement has been
described as providing important lessons and a blueprint for ongoing conservation
efforts.
During your 40-plus year career, you have heard repeated
claims that environmental regulations impose unacceptable costs in lost jobs,
profits and economic growth. We are again hearing these claims, by those who
oppose action on climate change and by those who would roll back the gains from
widely supported environmental legislation such as the Clean Air and Clean
Water Acts. But the record, as you have written, is counter to these claims.
Environmental laws, laws that you helped enact and enforce, have prevented over
100,000 premature deaths and heart attacks, and 1.7 million asthma attacks,
EVERY YEAR. And all while the economy has grown dramatically.
Since leaving the Natural Resources Defense Council, you
have continued to stand up for nature, working to protect your beloved
Catskills from hydro-fracking for natural gas, and the planet from climate
change. But after four decades using the law to defend the environment in
courtrooms, political gridlock has led you to conclude that a different kind of
action is needed. One that “gets feet on the ground.”
On the eve of joining a protest against the Keystone XL
Pipeline, you wrote, “I want to be counted as a citizen. I want our elected
officials to know that I am one of millions of Americans who believe the future
of our nation lies in clean energy, green innovation, and sustainable growth .
. . I believe our era will be remembered
for what we did to address global warming.”
John, we count you as a citizen, and applaud your work and
achievements. We share your belief that our era will be remembered for what we
do to counter human-caused climate change, and we are committed to help
shoulder this burden by reducing our institution’s emissions of greenhouse
gases.
President Durden, for his commitment to the practice of law
in the public interest, his achievements in protecting the environment, and his
advocacy for combating climate change, it is my distinct honor to present to
you Mr. John H. Adams for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public Service.
*****************
John H. Adams, upon
the recommendation of the Faculty to the Board of Trustees, and by its
mandamus, I confer upon you the Degree of Doctor of Public Service, honoris
causa, with all the rights, privileges, and distinction thereunto appertaining,
in token of which I present you with this diploma and cause you to be invested
with the hood of Dickinson College appropriate to the degree.