Distinguished Professor of Law
Director, Environmental Law Center
B.S., University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire
J.D., University of Michigan
E-mail:
jcdernbach@widener.edu Phone: 717.541.1933
John C. Dernbach is a Distinguished Professor of Law at Widener's Harrisburg campus, teaching administrative law, environmental law, property, international law, international environmental law, sustainability and the law, and climate change. His research concentrates on sustainable development, climate change, and environmental law. Professor Dernbach received a B.S. summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1975, and a J.D. cum laude from the University of Michigan in 1978, where he served as Legislative Notes Editor for the Michigan Journal of Law Reform.
He has served as director of the policy office at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The Policy Office is responsible for developing and coordinating policy and regulatory initiatives for DEP, including the integration of sustainable development concepts into DEP programs.
Immediately following graduation from Michigan Law School, Professor Dernbach taught legal writing at Wayne State University (1978-79), served as a staff attorney to the American Lung Association of Michigan (1979-80), and coauthored a widely-used and influential legal writing text, first published in 1981, that is now considered a classic in the field. A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Method (Wolters Kluwer, 4th edition 2010).
Over the next dozen years, Professor Dernbach worked on the development and implementation of nationally recognized programs for regulating coal and non-coal mining, municipal solid waste, and residual or industrial solid waste for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources. During this time he served as assistant counsel (1981-87), special assistant (1987-92), and Director of the Department's Advanced Science and Research Team (1992-93). He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and the U. S. Supreme Court.
Professor Dernbach joined the faculty at Widener in 1993 and was promoted to full professor in 2001. He has taught for Widener at the University of Nairobi in Kenya (1996), Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia (1999), the Institute for Graduate Studies in Geneva, Switzerland (2003) and Università Cá Foscari in Venice, Italy (2007).
He coauthored an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency on behalf of eighteen prominent climate scientists. The brief argued that EPA had mischaracterized or misrepresented the relevant science in deciding not to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. On April 2, 2007, the Court held that EPA erred by not controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The majority opinion reflects the science described in the brief, and the dissenting opinions do not contradict it. This decision is generally recognized as a landmark in environmental law.
Professor Dernbach has written widely on environmental law and sustainable development. He is the editor of Agenda for a Sustainable America (Environmental Law Institute Press, January 2009) and Stumbling Toward Sustainability (Environmental Law Institute Press 2002), comprehensive assessments of U.S. sustainable development activities that include recommendations for future efforts. The books each have more than 40 contributing authors from universities and law schools, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and state government. He is preparing a similar book to coincide with the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janiero in June 2012.
Professor Dernbach has written more than forty articles for law reviews and peer-reviewed journals, and has authored, coauthored, or contributed chapters to fourteen books. He has lectured to local, state, national, and international audiences on environmental law, climate change, and sustainable development. He received the President's Award for Outstanding Achievement from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Alumni Association in 2002. In 2008, he received the Douglas E. Ray Excellence in Faculty Scholarship Award. On April 22, 2010, he received an award for distinguished service to the profession from the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Environmental and Energy Law Section.
He is a former chair and a current vice-chair of the ABA Committee on Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Ecosystems, and Climate Change. Professor Dernbach is a past council member for the ABA Section on Environment, Energy, and Resources. He is also a member of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law. From 2005 to 2008, he served on the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability of the National Academy of Sciences. He is one of twelve members of the National Research Council Committee on Incorporating Sustainability in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is scheduled to issue its report later in 2011. He is a former Senior Warden and co-chair of the environmental stewardship committee at St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral in Harrisburg.
Selected Recent Publications and Briefs Articles and Briefs - Making the States Full Partners in the National Climate Change Effort: A Necessary Element for Sustainable Economic Development, 40 ENVTL. L. REP. (Envtl. L. Inst.) 10597 (2010) (with Thomas D. Peterson & Robert B. McKinstry, Jr.).
- The Ethical Responsibility to Reduce Energy Consumption, 37 Hofstra L. Rev. 985 (2009) (with Donald A. Brown).
- An Agenda for Sustainable Communities, 4 Houston Energy & Envtl. L. & PolIcy J. 170 (2009).
- Navigating the U.S. Transition to Sustainability: Matching National Governance Challenges with Appropriate Legal Tools, 44 Tulsa L. Rev. 93 (2008).
- Climate Change Law: An Introduction, 29 Energy L. J. 1 (2008) (with Seema Kakade).
- Achieving Early and Substantial Greenhouse Gas Reductions Under a Post-Kyoto Agreement, 20 Geo. Int’l Envtl. L. Rev. 573 (2008).
- Developing a Comprehensive Approach to Climate Change Policy in the United States: Integrating Levels of Government and Economic Sectors, 26 Va. Envtl. L. J. 227 (2008) (with Thomas D. Peterson & Robert B. McKinstry, Jr.).
- Harnessing Individual Behavior to Address Climate Change: Options for Congress, 26 Va. Envtl. L. J. 107 (2008).
Other
- & Richard V. Singleton II et al., A Practical Guide to Legal Writing and Legal Drafting, 4th ed. (Wolters Kluwer, 2010).
- Writing Essay Exams to Succeed in Law School (Not Just to Survive), 3rd ed. (Wolters Kluwer, 2009).
- Agenda for a Sustainable America (Environmental Law Institute Press, John C. Dernbach ed., Environmental Institute Press, 2009).