Marjorie J. ("Maggie") Clarke, Ph.D., is an environmental scientist who specializes in recycling participation, waste prevention methods, waste-to-energy/incinerator emissions controls, environmental impacts of the World Trade Center fires and collapse, and community botanical gardening. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks she has focused on increasing participation in New York City's waste prevention and recycling programs.
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Born in 1953 and raised in Florida, a 1975 graduate of Smith College, she has degrees in geology- Smith B.A., environmental sciences - Johns Hopkins University M.A., energy technology - New York University, M.S., and a Ph.D. in earth & environmental sciences—City University of New York.
Clarke was the Department of Sanitation's specialist on emissions from incinerators from 1984 to 1988, the author of a book[1] and a number of publications on the subject of minimizing emissions. She also served on a National Academy of Sciences committee on Health Effects of Waste Incineration, co-authoring the NRC publication by that name. Clarke also served on the New Jersey Standard-Setting Task Force on Mercury emissions from incinerators in the early 1990s.
From 2002-2004, she was a Scientist-in-Residence and adjunct assistant professor at Lehman College, and an adjunct professor at Hunter College, City University of New York from 1996 - 2005.
Dr. Clarke has documented technical issues relating to environmental toxicity and waste management and prevention.[2] She is a consultant in the fields of zero waste, emissions reduction technology and related topics, and has taught courses on these topics.[3]
Best known as a persistent questioner of United States Environmental Protection Agency's claims about the safety of the World Trade Center site,[4] Dr. Clarke has underscored the importance of understanding toxicity, synergy of chemicals acting together, and the precautionary principle, and has provided testimony to many government committees and panels, including the U.S. Senate down to the New York City Council, and has been a guest speaker in academic settings, conferences, down to local eldercare centers. Dr. Clarke laid the groundwork for the later work of such area politicians as Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Senator Hillary Clinton.
She also conceived and garnered support for a New York City local law to eliminate 2200 apartment building incinerators which was signed into law in 1989.
Clarke has been chair or vice chair of the Manhattan Citizens' Solid Waste Advisory Board for 8 of the years since its inception in 1990, a steering committee member of the New York City Recycling Advisory Board since its inception in 1990, and was a founding member of the NYC Waste Prevention Coalition. These are connected to efforts to clean up lower Manhattan from the effects of 9/11 and others to solid waste prevention and recycling. She has chaired and currently vice chairs the Municipal and Medical Waste Division of the Air & Waste Management Association. She co-founded and has been president of the Riverside-Inwood Neighborhood Garden (RING),[5] a volunteer botanical garden in Upper Manhattan, since 1984.