Jim Blackburn

Jim Blackburn is an environmental lawyer and Professor in the Practice in Environmental Law in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Rice University.  At Rice, Blackburn is a Faculty Scholar at the Baker Institute and co-director of the Severe Storm Prevention, Education and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center and teaches courses in Sustainable Design.  He is currently CEO and Chairman of BCarbon, a carbon credit certification non-profit organization. Among other awards, he was designated a Rice University distinguished alumni laureate in 2018, was awarded the International Crane Foundation Good Egg Award in 2015, the Barbara C. Jordan Community Advocate Award from Texas Southern University in 2007, and the Robert C. Eckhardt Lifetime Coastal Achievement Award in 1998 from the Texas General Land Office.  In 2021, his new book on Earth-based spirituality called Earth Church was published with co-author Isabelle Scurry Chapman.   He has previously authored The Book of Texas Bays and A Texan Plan for the Texas Coast, both published by Texas A&M Press.