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THURSDAY: EPA to Celebrate 40th Anniversary of Earth Day on RTP campus with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Release Date: 04/20/2010
Contact Information: Emily Smith, 919-541-5556, 919-328-0490 (cell), smith.emily@epa.gov

(ATLANTA – April 20, 2010) On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day on its Research Triangle Park campus. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a visionary environmental business leader, author and advocate, will be the keynote speaker.

Kennedy serves as senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council and was named one of TIME magazine’s “Heroes for the Planet” for his success in helping Riverkeeper, a nonprofit environmental organization, lead the fight to restore the Hudson River. He is a clinical professor at Pace University School of Law’s Environmental Litigation Clinic. Among Kennedy’s published books are the New York Times bestseller Crimes Against Nature (2004) and The Riverkeepers (1997).

Other speakers at the celebration include Jim Turner, president and CEO of Duke Energy’s U.S. franchised electric and gas business. Turner will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new solar panels installed at EPA’s childcare center. The EPA has partnered with Duke Energy to install solar photovoltaic panels atop our child care center. These panels serve as a small power plant producing electricity which will be sent back to the electrical grid. Additional speakers at the Earth Day festivities include EPA Assistant Administrators for the agency’s Office of Research and Development; the Office of Administration and Resources Management; and Acting Regional Administrator for Region 4 of the EPA. More than 1,000 scientists and staff from EPA and the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), along with 36 students from local high schools, are expected to join the festivities.

WHO: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., environmental business leader, author and advocate;

Paul Anastas, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development;
Craig E. Hooks, EPA Assistant Administrator, Office of Administration and Resources Management;
Stan Meiburg, EPA Acting Regional Administrator, EPA Region 4;
Jim Turner, president and CEO of Duke Energy’s U.S. franchised electric and gas business; and
Students from Southern, Northern, Jordan and Hillside high schools in Durham

Triangle Park, N.C. Campus directions: www.epa.gov/rtp/campus/location/location.htm

*** Please note: Visitors will need to show a government I.D. (license) to receive a visitor’s parking pass at the front gate. If entering our buildings, visitors will need to go through a security check point, similar to those used at airports.