The time is Now! Renewable Energy and Planetary Health

The science is clear; climate change and other human disruptions of the earth's systems, threaten life on this planet. The World Health Organization calls climate change this century's greatest threat to human health. In 2018, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a dire warning that this decade is the time to take significant action if we are to avoid the most catastrophic impacts. However, the science is also clear that there are viable solutions if we act quickly and act together. The Minnesota Renewable Energy Society has a key role to play in helping preserve the health of Minnesotans for generations to come.

About the Speaker:

Teddie M. Potter, PhD, RN, FAAN

Clinical Professor/Coordinator

Director of Planetary Health

Executive Editor, Interdisciplinary Journal of Partnership Studies

Dr. Potter is deeply committed to climate change education including co-founding Health Professionals for a Healthy Planet, membership in the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and membership on the American Academy of Nursing Environment and Public Health Expert Panel. She is a member of the Coordinating Committee of Columbia University’s Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education and a Fellow in the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. She chairs Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the Planetary Health Alliance at Harvard.

At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Potter designed and co-teaches an interdisciplinary course titled “The Global Climate Challenge: Creating an Empowered Movement for Change”. In addition, she co-leads a Health Sciences initiative titled, “Climate Change and Health: An Interprofessional Response”. In 2019, Dr. Potter was appointed the first Director of Planetary Health for the School of Nursing.