California’s air quality has improved substantially, but there is still room for progress, Robert Sawyer, chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB), told a group comprised mostly of faculty and alumni on Friday.

An emeritus professor of energy at UC-Berkeley, Sawyer ‘57 outlined the steps CARB has taken to improve air quality in California since 1940, including reducing the presence of particulates and smog in the atmosphere. He also voiced his excitement at California’s landmark program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Air quality is improving in California,” Sawyer said. “There’s no question about it.”

CARB is responsible for regulating motor vehicle emissions, consumer product air pollution and toxic air contaminants. Sawyer, who has been its chair since 2005, said the regulatory board’s focus on combining government policy with actual science has produced significant results.

“We, as an agency, need to keep up with the science,” he said. “Our understanding of science is constantly changing, and our regulations must reflect this change.”

During the hour-long lecture, which was sponsored by the Mechanical Engineering Department and the Global Climate and Energy Project (GCEP), Sawyer cited ozone and particulate matter as the biggest air quality problems, specifically in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley. He attributed the increased air pollution in those regions to population expansions.

Sawyer also cited increases in particulate matter in the atmosphere as a direct cause of the heightened incidence of a number of health disorders.

“More people are dying from cardiovascular disease, probably because of exposure to particles,” he said.

Yet in the face of population growth, Sawyer insisted that CARB has improved air quality on the whole. The agency, he said, has installed a “stringent” smog check program. In 1998, the board amended the state’s Low-Emission Vehicle (LEV) regulations, effectively tightening the fleet average standards and requiring automakers to reduce emission levels each year through 2010.

A registered Democrat, Sawyer praised California’s Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his dedication to environmentalism and for appointing him to serve on CARB.

“After a career as a university professor working on air quality problems, it was an unexpected and unique opportunity,” he said.

Schwarzenegger recently called on CARB to regulate and enforce the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which creates a state-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“The magnitude and responsibility of this new undertaking is a real challenge,” Sawyer said. “It’s a lot more for us to do here at the agency.”

Calling global warming “the 800-pound gorilla that has been attacking [his] agency,” Sawyer warned that California may suffer from the effects of global warming more than any other state. Over the last 100 years, the average temperature in California has increased 1.3 degrees Fahrenheit and the surrounding ocean level has risen seven inches, he said.

Sawyer projected that global warming’s effects on California would most immediately be felt through water loss.

“California’s water supply is snow pack, and we depend on its gradual release of water between April and July,” he said. “Further decreases in the water runoff will not be good for the state of California.”

Sawyer expressed hope that global health and the threat of destroying the planet for future generations would compel politicians to address the crisis.

“It’s a grandchildren thing,” he said. “We don’t know what the consequences of global warming will be, but it could be catastrophic. So I worry about this, especially for my grandchildren.”

Afterwards, those who attended the lecture praised Sawyer for his actions as chair of CARB. One audience member commended Sawyer’s attempt to establish higher environmental quality standards in China, drawing applause from the rest of the crowd.

Evan Hughes, an energy consultant with Menlo Park-based Biomass Energy Research Association, touted Sawyer’s contributions to the state of California.

“I am very impressed with what Sawyer has done in science and regulations,” Hughes said, “including his dedication on the greenhouse gas issue.”