Robert F. Kennedy Jr., staunch environmental activist and law school professor, challenged members of the trucking industry on Monday, Sept. 29, to make environmental stewardship among their top priorities.
As the keynote speaker in Boston at the 64th annual meeting of NationaLease — a full-service truck leasing organization representing 185 North American member companies — Kennedy spoke of national and global environmental issues, including the need for strengthening the national energy policy.
To an industry whose very lifeblood is fuel, this topic is of crucial importance, said Doug Clark, president and chief executive officer of NationaLease. “As an organization made up of independent truck rental and leasing companies from the United States and Canada, we understand that making every effort to cut back on our energy use is what we must do to stay successful and competitive in the future,” Clark said.
Among the issues addressed during Kennedy’s presentation was the need for the transportation and power industries to transition off of oil and fossil fuels as much as possible. He also discussed steps the next president needs to take to make this a reality.
Kennedy’s reputation as a defender of the environment stems in part from his fight to restore the Hudson River. He is also a clinical professor and supervising attorney at Pace University School of Law. A published author, he is a graduate of Harvard University, attended London School of Economics, and received his law degree from the University of Virginia Law School.
