Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board, will give a free public talk at UC Davis on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Her topics will include the state's progress on its carbon emissions targets.

Nichols is the keynote speaker in the John Muir Institute of the Environment's speaker series "Climate Change: Solutions and Implementation." One of California's first environmental lawyers, Nichols initiated precedent-setting test cases under the Federal Clean Air Act and California air quality laws while practicing law for the Center for Law in the Public Interest. Nichols returned to the air board as chair last year, 30 years after serving as a board member. The air board employs up to 1,200 engineers, scientists and attorneys, with an annual operating budget of more than $750 million.

Nichols' talk, "Climate Change and California: Solutions for a Global Challenge," is set for 4:10 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the University Club Lounge on Old Davis Road.

Other talks in the speaker series will be given on Wednesdays during the winter and spring quarters.

Full series schedule: http://johnmuir.ucdavis.edu/events/climatesolutions.html