Cobley is an air pollution specialist for the California Air Resources Board.
科布利主修 生物学 和 买球平台 at Bowdoin before earning her PhD in ecology 和 evolutionary 生物学 from the University of Utah. 她目前在加州空气资源委员会工作, where she helps the state 清洁 its air through "strong regulations grounded in science,她说.
在她上学的两天里, Cobley first sat down with Sara Nelson ’22 to speak about her experiences as a graduate student, 老师, 气候政策分析师. Her interview served as the kick-off to a new College series, “Meet the Bowdoin Women of STEM.”
在讨论中, 科布利谈到了许多话题, 包括如何切入科学和环境政策, 社会经济学在城市生态学中的作用, 和 her personal experience navigating the science world as a Black woman.
她说她理解为什么有色人种, 女性, 而酷儿群体寻求同质群体的舒适和熟悉, 尤其是在学术界. 她还说，“寻找这些空间并没有错." At the University of Utah, for instance, she worked in an all-female laboratory.
随着她事业的展开, 然而, she said the issue of homogeneity in science has felt more nuanced to her because of her experience as a Black woman.
“I will say that some of my biggest allies 和 biggest supporters have been white men, 和 I will say some of my biggest adversaries 和 people who I have had to jump through hoops to prove myself were also white men,科布利说。. “我认为这是一种范围界定.”
巴里·洛根 买球平台的 撒母耳年代. 屠夫，自然科学教授, 在她读本科的时候，他是她工作的重要支持者吗. 他建议她“聪明又酷”的荣誉论文(洛根的话), 科布利利用基因特征找到了内生真菌, 或寄生, 植物位于寄主的树枝内.
Cobley said her Brooklyn upbringing—during which she had limited access to the natural world—as well as being raised with the Rastafarian principle of respecting nature, 塑造了她保护环境和保持环境健康的愿望, 清洁, 每个人都可以访问.
这一年，她在犹他州教七年级的科学, she was reminded of how easy it is for people to feel disconnected from the outdoors. “It was interesting to me that these lower-income students were surrounded by mountains, 然而，山脉并不是他们存在的一部分."
她继续说道:“当人们能感受到与自然的联系时, 随之而来的还有一种保护感, 以及对这个空间的所有权. 当我们想到气候变化时, 我认为越多的人能感受到与自然的联系, 更好的.”
"A Tale of Two Sources: Responses of Urban Vegetation to Vehicle Emissions 和 Fertilizer Application"
第二天, Cobley was invited to give a seminar talk hosted by the 生物学 department for scientists from outside Bowdoin. 在她的演讲中, she made a case both for studying urban ecology 和 for recognizing the role that class 和 income play in ecological studies.
"A lot of times ecologists study pristine environments or do controlled studies in greenhouses,她开始说. 但是世界上一半以上的人口生活在拥挤的地方, 被污染的城市, 这个数字只会继续增长. 许多人搬到干旱或半干旱的城市, 比如盐湖城和洛杉矶, 科布利就是在那里进行研究的.
她还提出了研究植物的理由. "They tell us about the environment, 和 reflect what is happening over space 和 time. 每棵树都能给我讲一个故事。. 事实上, plants are a much more "cost-effective way to do research on air quality" than expensive gadgets 和 monitors.
科布利的博士研究, which had her driving a "nerd mobile" equipped with loads of instruments through the streets of Salt Lake City, 看看树叶中氮的含量. 氮是维持生命的元素, 但是数量很大, 它会对生物体产生有害影响.
Her mission was to find the major sources of nitrogen—such as tailpipe emissions of fertilizer applied to the ground—for vegetation in Salt Lake City 和 Los Angeles. 另外, she wanted to see whether tree leaves would reveal varying nitrogen levels in low-income 和 high-income neighborhoods.
After her measurements indicated trees in low-income neighborhoods had different leaf nitrogen characteristics than trees in high-income neighborhoods, she determined that the busy interlocking streets of lower-income areas were the biggest culprit of nitrogen pollution. "You can't just look at one road 和 how trees are affected on that road,她说. “它是你周围的道路网络."
Scientific studies like hers that consider social factors as well as empirical data are important, 她继续说道. Air pollutants, for instance, can have a big impact on disadvantaged neighborhoods. “作为生态学家, 你必须考虑收入和社会经济因素, 你必须考虑到人类对环境的影响,她说.
Policymakers, too, have to consider both science 和 sociology in their decision making. “等我戴上保险单的帽子, 我说, ‘嘿, 当我们考虑低收入社区的污染问题时, 我们不能只考虑高速公路, we have to also think about people in the inner city" 和 others living in congested areas.
