grading environmental efforts
Report card for L.A.
BY PAMELA CORANTE
UCLA Today
Scientists at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment (IoE) have given
the Los Angeles region a poor grade for managing invasive plant species
and improving air quality, but found the area is doing better in terms
of “smart” urban planning and marine conservation.
The IoE released today its signature publication, the Southern California
Environmental Report Card, after studying and grading four areas of environmental
concern in the greater Los Angeles area.
In its sixth year, the IoE’s report card gave the region a “D”
for controlling existing invasive plant species and preventing new ones,
and a “C-minus” for the future of air quality. In addition,
the air quality study downgraded the overall assessment of past progress
from an “A” to an “A-minus.”
Southern California scored higher in the areas of “smart growth,”
which supports policies that help to reduce dependence on cars, preserve
open space and promote more environmentally sensitive design (B-minus),
and marine conservation (B-minus for present efforts, C-minus for past
efforts).
“It’s gratifying to see that there is some improvement in
key environmental measures designed to protect our open spaces and coastal
habitats,” said Arthur Winer, professor in the environmental science
and engineering program and editor of the report card. It was Winer who
predicted in the first report card in 1997 the current return of smog
to Los Angeles. “There is much work to be done to improve air quality
and prevent non-native invasive plant species from wreaking more havoc
in the environment,” he said.
“UCLA’s Institute of the Environment exists to build knowledge
that will lead to effective solutions of pressing environmental programs,”
said Richard P. Turco, IoE director. “It is my hope that policy
makers and members of the public take note of the issues raised in this
year’s report card and collaborate with the institute’s multidisciplinary
approach to conserving our environment.”
The IoE comprises four centers: the Coastal Marine Center, the Center
for Air Pollution and Exposure, the Center for Tropical Research and the
Center for Urban Sustainability and Predictability. To learn more about
IoE, go to www.ioe.ucla.edu. |
