Environmental Policy & Law
Switzer Fellows work at all levels of government and in the private sector to help reduce the impacts of human activity through sensible and enforceable policies and laws. They touch almost every aspect of how we live today, including water rights, renewable energy installation, international climate change treaties, and much more.
Spotlight on Leadership
In October 2013, California's Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 711, making it illegal to use lead ammunition for hunting, a ban that will be phased in from 2015 to 2019.
For UC Santa Cruz environmental toxicologists Donald Smith and 1998 Switzer Fellow Myra Finkelstein, the bill represents the translation of years of scientific research into a new policy to protect people and wildlife from lead poisoning.
In November, I talked with Myra Finkelstein about lessons scientists can learn from her experience working with policymakers.
Switzer: Why is this law important?
Finkelstein: AB 711 requires the use of non-lead ammunition for hunting in California. It is an important law for both wildlife and human health in California because use of lead ammunition is the largest unregulated discharge of lead into the environment. It is the cause of chronic poisoning of condors released into the wild, and can...Read more >
Fellows in the News
Featured Fellows
Stay Connected