Biography
Jim Blackburn is a professor in the practice of environmental law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University, teaching courses in sustainable development and environmental law. He is also a practicing environmental lawyer with the Blackburn & Carter law firm in Houston and a Rice faculty scholar at the Baker Institute. At Rice, he serves as the co-director of the Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center and as director of the undergraduate minor in energy and water sustainability. At the SSPEED Center, Blackburn has been responsible for the development of landscape-scale green space solutions for surge damage mitigation, including the Lone Star Coastal National Recreation Area, a web-based ecological services exchange and structural alternatives. He is the author of “The Book of Texas Bays” (Texas A&M University Press, 2004), which focuses on the environmental health of bays in Texas and efforts undertaken to protect them. He has received various public service awards, including the Barbara C. Jordan Community Advocate Award from Texas Southern University in 2007, the National Conservation Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Federation in 2001 and the Bob Eckhardt Lifetime Achievement Award for coastal preservation efforts from the Texas General Land Office in 1998. In 2003, he was awarded an honorary membership by the American Institute of Architects for legal work associated with urban quality of life issues in Houston. Blackburn received a B.A. in history and a J.D. from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.S. in environmental science from Rice University.
Contact at [email protected] or 713-348-4246.
Recent Publications
Hundreds of Abandoned Oil Wells Are Rotting Away in Texas Bays
Despite leaks from abandoned oil wells in Trinity Bay, which lies east of Houston, the assumption that the bay’s coastal life is destroyed “is not true,” Rice faculty scholar Jim Blackburn said. But it’s unclear how long its environmental health will last.
How Biden’s Environmental Justice Dilemma is Playing Out in Port Arthur
Pollution levels improved in the past two decades after lawsuits forced the petrochemical industry around Port Arthur to clean up, but companies are still looking to expand their operations, meaning more pollution, said Rice faculty scholar Jim Blackburn.
Houston Will Maintain the City’s Open Ditches Again
Houston will reverse a policy that made property owners responsible for maintaining open drainage ditches, following months of community organizing and a report from Rice faculty scholar Jim Blackburn that recommended the change.
Selected as a Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, Aug. 2, 2021.
External Publications
- “What We Need to Learn From Hurricane Beryl,” Houston Chronicle, July 12, 2024.
- “Texas Is Running Out of Near Misses,” The New York Times, August 28, 2020.
- “We Control Air Pollution From Cars, Let’s Control the Viral Pollution From Our Mouths,” July 2, 2020.
- “A Green New Deal for Red States [Opinion],” Houston Chronicle, April 27, 2019.
- “Human Use of River Water is Killing Whooping Cranes,” Houston Chronicle, May 5, 2009.
Presentations
- “Houston A Year After Harvey,” Baker Institute Research Presentation, August 30, 2018.