In her role as Deputy Director, Climate and Health, Betsy Lawton works on a variety of public health law issues, bringing a community lawyering perspective to her work on climate change, health equity, broadband access, and rural public health. Before joining the Network, Betsy spent over a decade working to improve water quality and represented a broad range of individuals and communities facing water pollution problems. Betsy received her J.D., and a Certificate of Environmental Law, from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2004 and her Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.
Solar energy production can reduce public health risks caused by climate change. This Quick Reference resource provides an overview of the legal strategies that have been implemented by communities to promote renewable energy and equitable public health outcomes.
When natural disasters occur, entire electrical grid systems (including those powered by solar energy) can shut down. Solar energy stored in batteries, which operate independent of the grid, have become an increasingly important, reliable back-up system for maintaining the health and safety of communities in emergencies. Solar batteries also help reduce public health harms caused by climate change and the use of fossil fuels.
There are distinct differences in how U.S. laws do (or don’t) protect individuals from drinking water contamination. While a landmark federal law, the Safe Drinking Water Act, generally protects individuals who use a public water supply from exposure to unsafe levels of regulated contaminants, there is no similar protection for the approximately 45 million U.S. residents who rely on private wells for water. This gap in regulatory oversight increasingly burdens rural households, where the risk of exposure to nitrate contaminates is highest.
