Luke Cole

Luke Winthrop Cole (July 15, 1962 – June 6, 2009) was an American environmental lawyer and the co-founder of the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment, in San Francisco, California. He was a pioneer in the environmental justice movement.

Education and personal life

Luke Winthrop Cole was born on July 15, 1962, in North Adams, Massachusetts, to Herbert Cole and Alexandra Chappell Cole. Cole was raised with his three siblings, Peter, Thomas, and Sarah in Manhattan, and Nigeria then moved to Santa Barbara in 1968 as a result of his fathers career. In the 1972–1973 school year Cole spent the year split between Ghana and Kenya. While at Stanford University Cole was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. While at Harvard Law School Cole developed a reputation for his student activism.

Cole died while on a sabbatical with his wife Nancy Shelby, who sustained an eye injury on June 6, 2009, in a car crash in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. Cole also co-founded and edited the journal, Race, Poverty & the Environment with Carl Anthony.

From 1996 to 2000 Cole served on the United States Environmental Protection Agency's, National Environmental and Justice Advisory Council.

Cole taught courses in environmental justice at UC Berkeley, UC Hastings and Stanford Law.

South Camden Citizens v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (2001) On behalf of the citizens of South Camden New Jersey, Luke Cole and the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment (CRPE) sued the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on the basis of a disparate adverse impact of zoning, and air permits granted to St. Lawrence Cement Co. (SLC). Cole and the CRPE alleged violations of title VI section 601, of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by the NJDEP. The Citizens of South Camden argued that due to the direct impact of trucking routes through residential communities (200 Cement trucks a day), and the exposure to articulate matter, mercury, lead, manganese, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, and volatile organic compounds emitted by the SLC's granulated blast furnace slag grinding facility, they unreasonably interfere with the enjoyment of their homes, and caused harm and is a nuissance. With witness testimony from a Dr.Hazen a scientist for the NJDEP, discovering the fact the NJDEP created a pollution screening test to find areas that are exposed to pollutants on the basis of geographic area and ethnic race, finding they were exposed to "above average" level of pollutants. With Dr. Hazen even saying "African Americans and Hispanic Americans… had more than average exposure to air toxics". The United States District Court in New Jersey ruled in favor of the South Camden Citizens, Cole, and the CRPE in 2001. This has been overturned (2006) due to a precedent set after that individuals did not have the right to bring a claim of anti-discrimination regulations, only the federal government. The case was dismissed from the U.S. District court, but was settled out of court and Teck Cominco Alaska Inc was called upon to stop depositing mining tailings into the Kivalina river and must build a pipeline to the ocean 50 miles away. Cole passed away while defending Kivalina in other related environmental cases.

Cole co-founded the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment as an 501(c)(3) Public Charity meaning its non-profit and for a specific charitable cause. The IRS NTEE codes used to classify the organization are, (R20) meaning "Civil Rights, Advocacy for specific groups", and (R01) meaning "Alliance/Advocacy organization".

Publications

. Cole, Luke; Glover, Steven; Terrill, Scott; Rogers, Michael (2005). Middle Pacific Coast, North American Birds. Colorado Springs: Volume 59, Issue 1.

Awards

Environmental Leadership Award (1997) – UC Berkeley's Ecology Law Quarterly. Award for Excellence in Environmental, Energy, and Resources Stewardship (2009) – American Bar Association