Member Bio
Teresa Spezio’s research interests involve the historical relationship between humans and human-created industrial pollution. In her projects, she is engaged by humans’ reactions to the presence of industrial chemicals and oil in their communities. Her current research project explores the intersections of environmental risk, environmental contamination, and environmental justice. Specifically, she is interested in the practice of the remediation of uncontrolled hazardous waste sites in the United States. While at the Carson Center, she will be working on her new project tentatively titled “How Clean Is Clean?: Changing Ideas of Environmental Pollution in US Environmental Policy.” Additionally, she is interested in sustainability practices and education. Her first book, Slick Policy: Environmental and Science Policy in the Aftermath of the Santa Barbara Oil Spill, is forthcoming from the University of Pittsburgh Press. She teaches environmental analysis, policy, and history at Pitzer College in Claremont, California.