Lerner, Steve 1946-

views updated

LERNER, Steve 1946-

PERSONAL: Born February 9, 1946, in New York, NY; son of Max (a writer and columnist) and Edna (a psychologist; maiden name, Albers) Lerner; divorced; children: Benjamin W. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Harvard University, B.A. (cum laude), 1968.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Trust for Public Land, 116 New Montgomery, San Francisco, CA94105. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Village Voice, New York, NY, staff writer, 1968-69; worked at tool factory, pottery, and orchard, and as a carpenter in Vermont, 1971-75; Commonweal, research director, 1975—.

MEMBER: Society of Environmental Journalists.

WRITINGS:

The CYA Report: Conditions of Life at the California Youth Authority, Common Knowledge Press (San Francisco, CA), 1982.

Bodily Harm: The Pattern of Fear and Violence at the California Youth Authority, Common Knowledge Press (San Francisco, CA), 1986.

State-raised: Kids No One Wants: Acting-out Adolescents in New York City's Group Foster-Care Facilities, Foundation for Child Development (New York, NY), 1990.

The Good News about Juvenile Justice, Common Knowledge Press (San Francisco, CA), 1990.

The Geography of Foster Care: Keeping Children in the Neighborhood, Foundation for Child Development (New York, NY), 1990.

Earth Summit: Conversations with Architects of an Ecologically Sustainable Future, Common Knowledge Press (Bolinas, CA), 1991.

Beyond the Earth Summit: Conversations with Advocates of Sustainable Development, Common Knowledge Press (San Francisco, CA), 1992.

Eco-Pioneers: Practical Visionaries Solving Today's Environmental Problems, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 1997.

(With William Poole) The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space: How Land Conservation Helps Communities Grow Smart and Protect the Bottom Line, Trust for Public Land (San Francisco, CA), 1999.

Contributor to periodicals, including New Republic, Omni, Audubon, and Amicus Journal. Editor and publisher, Common Knowledge, 1976-83.

WORK IN PROGRESS: An environmental justice case study of an African-American community in Louisiana on the fence line with Shell Oil and Shell Chemical plants that successfully fought for relocation.

SIDELIGHTS: Steve Lerner once told CA: "My writing explores some of our most vexing environmental problems and describes some promising, practical solutions.

"I write about environmental issues because I want to warn the public about the hazards of accelerating environmental degradation and to alert readers about the positive steps some American are taking to protect our natural treasures."