Spring Break
Californian environmental activist speaks at URI Honors Colloquium
Betsy Cohen
Issue date: 11/13/08 Section: News
11/13/08 - Last night, Mary Nichols, the chair of California's Air Resources Board, came to speak about current efforts California is taking to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The lecture was part of the fall semester Honors Colloquium.
As an "advocate for cleaning air," Nichols addressed a large crowd of predominantly graduate students in Edwards Auditorium.
During the last 100 years, California has observed a seven-inch rise in sea level, which threatens the infrastructure of urban areas and causes severe coastal damage. Reductions of the annual snowpack have also been more noticeable than in past years.
Scripps Institute of Oceanography was responsible for alerting California government officials of the decrease of water supplies in the Sierra water pack.
"Our water system is now ill-adapted," Nichols said.
Nichols, one of Los Angeles's leading environmental lawyers and a graduate of Yale Law School, also mentioned her state is very prone to deadly wildfires. A whopping total of more than one million acres burned this year. Nichols warned that in the near future, it has been speculated that California will experience a 75 percent loss of its annual snowpack cover and a 55 percent increase in the quantity of wildfires that will be "larger, wilder and more intense."
Nichols is also part of the Californian Action Registry, a "non-profit entity with the sole purpose of measuring carbon dioxide emissions from industries."
In 2002, California developed the AB 1493 Pavley Law, which requires the California Air Resources Board to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles in a cost-efficient manner. The purpose of this law is "to set emission standards for cars and light trucks," Nichols said.
During 2005, AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act, was developed. According to Nichols, California's goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. That is equivalent to a 30 percent decrease from today's current carbon dioxide levels.
The lecture was part of the fall semester Honors Colloquium.
As an "advocate for cleaning air," Nichols addressed a large crowd of predominantly graduate students in Edwards Auditorium.
During the last 100 years, California has observed a seven-inch rise in sea level, which threatens the infrastructure of urban areas and causes severe coastal damage. Reductions of the annual snowpack have also been more noticeable than in past years.
Scripps Institute of Oceanography was responsible for alerting California government officials of the decrease of water supplies in the Sierra water pack.
"Our water system is now ill-adapted," Nichols said.
Nichols, one of Los Angeles's leading environmental lawyers and a graduate of Yale Law School, also mentioned her state is very prone to deadly wildfires. A whopping total of more than one million acres burned this year. Nichols warned that in the near future, it has been speculated that California will experience a 75 percent loss of its annual snowpack cover and a 55 percent increase in the quantity of wildfires that will be "larger, wilder and more intense."
Nichols is also part of the Californian Action Registry, a "non-profit entity with the sole purpose of measuring carbon dioxide emissions from industries."
In 2002, California developed the AB 1493 Pavley Law, which requires the California Air Resources Board to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles in a cost-efficient manner. The purpose of this law is "to set emission standards for cars and light trucks," Nichols said.
During 2005, AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act, was developed. According to Nichols, California's goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. That is equivalent to a 30 percent decrease from today's current carbon dioxide levels.
