James Gustave Speth / About the Author
James Gustave Speth is one of America’s foremost environmental activists. He has helped shape environmentalism through his active roles in several environmental institutions, as an advisor to U.S. and world leaders and in academic circles.
In 1970, Speth co-founded the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental lobbyist group. As chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, Speth helped develop President Jimmy Carter’s environmental policies. In 1982, he founded the World Resources Institute, an environmental think tank. He served as an advisor on natural resources, energy and the environment to President Bill Clinton’s transition team. From 1993 to 1999, Speth administered the United Nations Development Programme, which works to reduce poverty, build infrastructure and establish democracy in the world’s least developed countries. In addition to these positions, Speth has also been a member of several task forces, committees, advising boards and other organizations aimed at protecting our natural resources.
A distinguished graduate from Yale Law School and a Rhodes Scholar, Speth taught environmental and constitutional law at Georgetown law school and served as the dean of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies until his retirement in 2009. In 2010, he joined the faculty of Vermont Law School.
Speth’s activism has earned him several awards and honors, including the Resources Defense Award from the Natural Wildlife Federation, the Barbara Swain Award of Honor from the Natural Resources Council of America, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Environmental Law Institute.
In addition to “The Bridge at the Edge of the World”, Speth has also authored “Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment and Global Environmental Governance”with Peter M. Haas. Speth also edited “Worlds Apart: Globalization and the Environment.”
Speth currently resides in Strafford, Vermont, with his wife, Cameron.