2018 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW SYMPOSIUM | March 9, 2018 | UC Davis School of Law "Humans & Their Environment: Protecting Our Planet and Its Inhabitants" The 2018 UC Davis Environmental Law Symposium will explore the growing intersection between humans and the world around them, and how the lines between the anthropocene and natural world become increasingly blurred. This event will examine the inherent challenges in ensuring equitable access to environmental resources and the undue burdens many communities face. In bringing together legal and policy authorities from the government, nonprofit, academia, community, and private sectors, the event will discuss the evolution and current state of environmental justice law and policy in California, along with solutions for the future. The day-long event will feature panels addressing: the disproportionate public health effects of climate change; the tragic impact of the 2017 wildfires on Northern California communities; the dichotomy between industry and community interests in the Central Valley; and the efforts dedicated to tribal sovereignty and Native American land restoration. Within this range of topics, panelists will discuss regulatory responses and enforcement actions, private litigation, academic and scientific discourse, and the activist movements that have shaped today’s environmental equality landscape. OPENING REMARKS, INTRODUCTION, AND KEYNOTE Opening Remarks Dr. Benjamin Houlton, Director, John Muir Institute of the Environment, UC Davis Professor Richard Frank, Director, California Environmental Law and Policy Center, UC Davis School of Law Introduction Symposium Organizers Bridget McDonald ’19, Ellen Simmons ’19, Coral Walker ’19 Keynote Presentation Deldi Reyes, Environmental Justice Coordinator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9