Report card evaluates environmental progress

Wednesday, November 4, 1998

Report card evaluates environmental progress

STUDY: Air quality gets highest grade, wetland protection
finishes last

By Teresa Jun

Daily Bruin Contributor

Inspired by the popularity of the UCLA Business School"s annual
"report card on the economy," the UCLA Institute of the Environment
recently published its first "Southern California Environmental
Report Card."

The authors of this 34-page report evaluated the status of four
major local environmental issues, and assigned a letter grade to
the recent progress and efforts made in each of these areas.

UCLA researchers involved in this project hope to stir up public
knowledge and action around Southern California"s air quality,
water conservation, wetlands preservation and wastewater
treatment.

The goal of the project is "to acquaint the public with
environmental issues," said Michael Stenstrom, interim director of
the Institute of the Environment.

"It"s to help people learn, so they"ll get involved and take
action ­ maybe vote more intelligently," he said.

"We hope legislators will see it and learn something from what
we"re saying," Stenstrom added, noting that in the last six years,
Congress has been less stringent in enacting environmental
laws.

Based on more than a year"s planning, research and analysis,
grades in the report card reflect the professional judgment of each
of the authors, as well as colleagues in their respective
fields.

Of the four issues analyzed in the report, air quality received
the highest mark for overall historical progress.

Arthur Winer, professor of environmental health sciences,
assigned a grade of "A" to public and agency efforts made in
enforcing federal standards for chemical emissions and dramatically
reducing ozone levels in recent years.

"The improvement in air quality in Southern California … is
remarkable when contrasted with the growth in population and
vehicles in Southern California," Winer wrote.

However, despite the high grade for achievement to date, Winer
warned that air pollution could grow worse if current policies are
not adapted in the future to accommodate population growth and
increased emission due to automobiles.

For the future outlook of air quality based on present policies,
Winer gave a "C".

Richard Berk, professor in the department of statistics and
sociology, offered similar criticisms about the progress of water
conservation in the Los Angeles area.

The demand for water in Los Angeles has remained relatively low
in the past decade.

"Water consumption in 1997 is about the same as water
consumption in 1970," despite the dramatic increase in population
over the last 17 years, Berk wrote.

However, even though "Los Angeles-area residents have used water
more efficiently … the transition to more water-efficient
technology is far from complete," Berk wrote.

For water conservation efforts, he gave the public a "C" and
water agencies a "B," noting that recent efforts have not
demonstrated long-lasting changes necessary for the future.

Wastewater treatment was analyzed by Stenstrom, who is also a
professor in the department of civil and environmental
engineering.

The operation of inland water reclamation, or "recycling",
plants received an "A", while coastal plants received a "C".

Stenstrom criticized the long delay in the construction and
enforcement of full secondary treatment facilities, which would
lead to reduced waste levels in the Pacific Ocean.

Before, with only primary treatment plants, pollution in our
wastewater fell 40 percent before draining into the ocean, he
said.

Full secondary treatment plants would ensure a 90 percent
pollutant removal rate before draining the water into the
ocean.

The report"s most dismal marks were given to the status and
efforts in the preservation of Southern California wetlands.

Richard Ambrose, associate professor in the department of
Environmental Health Sciences, and Johannes Feddema, assistant
professor in the department of geography, gave the current status
of southern California wetlands a "D-" and recent efforts at
restoration and protection a "C".

"California leads the nation in wetland losses ­ more than
90 percent … have already been destroyed," Ambrose wrote.

"We"ve pretty much messed them all up," he said, noting that in
the last 30 years alone, vast areas of wetland have been paved over
and filled in.

Optimistically, Ambrose noted the recent change in public
sentiment toward wetlands.

People are starting to realize that wetlands are "not just
smelly swamps good for breeding mosquitoes," he said.

They provide functions and values such as flood control, ground
water recharging, research tools, a habitat for some endangered
species, as well as scenery for nature walks.

By focusing on these four local issues, the authors hope to show
the public "how researchers at UCLA view what we"re doing with the
environment," Ambrose said.

While the status of wetlands will not change dramatically in one
year, other ecological issues will become more pressing, and thus
will appear as topics in future report cards.

Every year, the report card will focus on "different aspects, to
give people an idea of whether they live in a healthy or
non-healthy environment," Ambrose added.

Mark Gold, executive director of Heal the Bay and a
self-described fan of report cards, lauded the UCLA
publication.

Though Gold personally disagrees with some of the marks in the
report, he said its publication is a good thing.

"Getting the information out there and generating public debate
will lead to a change for the better in our local environment," he
said.

Jan Lee, campus organizer for CalPIRG, an environmental group,
agreed that the report card is a great way to promote issues about
the environment.

"Giving (an issue) a grade is a very easily accessible thing for
the public to grasp, because it"s not very jargon-y," Lee said.

But beyond just assigning a grade, Lee emphasized the need for
recommending and enforcing specific courses of action to protect
the environment.

Next year"s report card is due out next September, and planning
is already underway, according to researchers.

The Institute of the Environment is a relatively young
department at UCLA, founded a little over one year ago. It promotes
an interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental
problems.

Having been in the planning for about five years, the report
card was a "great idea," Ambrose said.

"We"re still grappling with how to do this in the future, but
I"m sure it will continue."

For a copy of the "Southern California Environmental Report
Card," please call the UCLA Institute of the Environment at (310)
825-5008.

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