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Expert Environmentalist
Has Global Presence
China and Mexico on the national and local levels of government to devise pollution control programs and emissions standards. In China, Walsh has been busy helping to develop a retrofit program for diesel-fueled buses and trucks and responding to the pollution problems in Beijing, especially as it gears up to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Walsh, 62, has created quite a consulting career for himself in an area that, he admits, has not yet been flooded with competition.
At any given time, Michael P. Walsh ’66 could be found on a plane to Brazil, China or Mexico, where he meets with government officials to solve their pollution problems. Walsh is readily the go-to expert on air quality and vehicle emissions control. Recently named one of 25 recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, Walsh is an independent engineer and policy analyst who has committed his professional life to improving public health and the global environment. Responsible for shaping legislation that significantly reduced lead emissions in the United States, he has developed a reputation for finding effective and practical solutions to public policy problems. Because of his expertise in the area, government agencies around the world tap Walsh to improve the air quality in their countries. As a MacArthur Fellow, he will receive $500,000 from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in support of his work and research during the next five years. “This is a tremendous honor,” says Walsh, who just returned from a trip to Brazil at the time of this interview. He currently is working closely with Brazil,
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“There are a lot of consulting companies in the vehicle pollution area, but I don’t know anyone else who does what I do, which is advise governments,” he says. Although these days Walsh is typically advising foreign governments, he began his career on U.S. soil. He attended Manhattan College as a commuter student, spending several hours each day riding the subway to and from Queens and Van Cortlandt Park. Walsh, who worked on the weekends at his father’s candy store, was the first from his family to attend college. Reflecting back on his college days, Walsh says he received a solid engineering education at Manhattan but more importantly, “a set of core values that have been invaluable to me throughout my life.” “I have been blessed to be able to make a living and to raise three fine children while doing work that I consider important and valuable,” he adds. Walsh graduated from the College in 1966 with a mechanical engineering degree and immediately was drafted into the U.S. Army. Two years later, he accepted a job at an automotive research lab in New Jersey. Little did he know this would be his entry into a burgeoning career handling environmental issues.
“It was 1968…and at that time, the whole environmental movement was just beginning,” Walsh says. 1968, he says, also marks the first year the United States imposed stringent emissions requirements on cars. Walsh suddenly found himself in the midst of exciting change, and the issues surrounding the environment immediately captivated his interest. From there, his career blossomed. In 1970, the City of New York established a motor vehicle control laboratory, and Walsh, a native New Yorker, returned to the city to join its efforts, which became his introduction to the government. Four years later, Walsh joined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where he was instrumental in establishing the first diesel particulate standard — a major milestone in beginning the cleaning process of diesel-fueled vehicles. At the EPA, he worked closely with many developing countries to secure pollution control programs. There have been so many advances in vehicle pollution control, and Walsh says it is a great feeling to know that his involvement had something to do with the positive results. Since he left the EPA in 1981, Walsh has continued to advise governments on air quality issues and vehicle pollution matters. In addition to relationships with Brazil, China and Mexico, Walsh’s impressive clientele includes the American Lung Association, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the United Nations Environment Program, among others. His publication, Car Lines, is widely recognized by governments, manufacturers and research institutions as a vital resource for information on emissions control and trends in regulatory policies.