I've always thought I was being good to the environment. I take advantage of my town's recycling program, I use compact fluorescent light bulbs, and I take public transportation to work every day. But recently, I started to wonder if I was doing enough.

In January, my husband and I welcomed our first child–a very healthy (and very large) baby boy–into the world. The experience, no doubt, stands up to all the clich?s people rattled off to me the weeks and months before his birth–”having a baby will change your life,” “you never realized you could love something so much,” and “you'll never sleep again.” But no one told me that having a baby changes the way you see the world, literally.

As a new mom, I want to make sure my son grows up as happy and healthy as he can–and that means putting forth the extra effort to maintain a safe and robust planet.

The only way to truly make a difference is to stay educated. By staying up to date on the most recent environmental news and the latest technological advances, I understand my impact on the environment and learn new ways to reduce my carbon footprint.

While it may be easy to keep ourselves in the know on how climate change affects us individually, it's quite an undertaking to comprehend what it means to us as professionals. To educate in-house counsel on what environmental change means for your clients, this issue of InsideCounsel focuses entirely on the environmental concerns legal departments face.

This month's cover story, “Changing Climate,” examines some of the changes experts expect from the new administration as it tackles various environmental concerns. Additionally, each of our department pieces focuses on the environment. Flip to our Labor story, “Good Intentions,” and read about how employers mandating environmentally friendly policies may be at risk of litigation. Check out our Regulatory story, “At the Helm,” and get the inside scoop on Lisa Jackson, the new EPA administrator. And don't miss our Corporate Crime story, “Toxic Avengers,” which discusses how the Obama administration is making an effort to prosecute environmental crimes.

We at InsideCounsel hope this issue helps educate you on how environmental concerns are changing the way you do business.