{"id":197928,"date":"2025-04-22T04:10:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T04:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/legal\/what-we-do-matters-uclas-charging-ahead-symposium\/"},"modified":"2025-04-22T04:10:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T04:10:29","slug":"what-we-do-matters-uclas-charging-ahead-symposium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=197928","title":{"rendered":"“What We Do Matters:” UCLA\u2019s Charging Ahead Symposium"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\u201cWhat We Do Matters:\u201d UCLA\u2019s Charging Ahead Symposium<\/h3>\n

States and cities have a lot of tools to cut vehicle pollution. It\u2019s time to break them out.<\/h2>\n

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Trump is a bump. A nasty one, but a bump nonetheless, because the world is on the road to zero-emission fuels and vehicles no matter what. That was one takeaway from \u201cCharging Ahead,\u201d the UCLA Emmett Institute\u2019s annual symposium held on April 9 \u2014 devoted this year to cutting vehicle pollution during the next four years and beyond. Another overarching idea: states like California and cities like Los Angeles have a lot of tools \u2014 it\u2019s time to break them out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 175 people turned out for the all-day symposium at UCLA Law, co-hosted by the California Lawyers Association\u2019s Environmental Law Section<\/strong>\u00a0and co-sponsored by LA Climate Week<\/strong> and the UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy.<\/strong>\u00a0 The event featured a keynote address by California Attorney General <\/span>Rob Bonta<\/strong>, three expert panels on a variety of transportation themes, and some inspiring plenary remarks<\/a> from Emmett Institute Faculty Director <\/span>Ann Carlson<\/strong> based on a forthcoming book about how Los Angeles cleaned up its air.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done hard things, and we can do them again, she told the crowd.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cIn the 1970s, the average kid in Southern California \u2014 that would include me \u2014 had blood levels that were 1000 percent higher than the levels that were found in kids in Flint, Michigan<\/em> after the problems with the water system in Flint,\u201d Carlson said. \u201cLead concentrations in the air were 50 times higher than they are today,<\/em> and we were all breathing that in. Southern California has not violated the standard for lead since 1993. That\u2019s pretty extraordinary.\u201d Carlson told the story of those who helped topple LA\u2019s smog, ending with, \u201cIndividuals matter, government leaders, scientists, lawyers, activists, reporters \u2014 what we do matters in an extraordinarily difficult time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Attorney General Rob Bonta echoed that sentiment <\/a>and focused on protecting California\u2019s policies, values, and authorities. \u201cWe will be able to continue to defend California\u2019s progress against the targeting of our climate action by the Trump administration,\u201d he said, calling out the state\u2019s greenhouse gas reduction goals, cap-and-trade law, and clean vehicle waivers as ones he expects to successfully defend.\u00a0 <\/span>Below are more key takeaways and videos of each of the panels.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI started making a list of threats and it went on and on and on.\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n