It’s only been a couple of weeks and Mary Nichols has already started moving CARB (the California Air Resources Board) back in the right direction. Back in May, in a disappointing decision, CARB delayed voting on whether or not the construction industry needed to upgrade their machinery to reduce diesel emissions. Ultimately, the delay was a victory for the construction industry, but at the cost of public health.

Today, led by the new chair Mary Nichols, CARB voted to approve tougher emission regulations in an effort to reduce the overall amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by old construction machinery:

The air board’s new rules will slash diesel soot — also known as particulate matter — from construction equipment by 92% over 2000 levels. Smog-forming nitrogen oxides will be cut by more than a third. And greenhouse gases, a byproduct of fuel burning, also will drop as a result of a ban on idling equipment.

The decision today will go a long way in helping California improve air quality (the top concern of Californians according to the latest PPIC poll) and help California combat global warming. This is a good start of hopefully many more good things to come.