Commentary by Bridget Fithian and Sharon Weaver
With each passing year, we see how a changing climate affects our lives. For most Californians, two issues stand out – bigger and more destructive wildfires along with prolonged drought threatening our water supply.
There are proven solutions to these challenges. We urge Californians to vote YES on Proposition 4 to deploy them at scale across California.
By making smart investments now, we can prevent suffering in the years ahead and protect the California we love for our kids. The longer we wait, the greater the costs and consequences on our health, lives, and jobs.
To prevent wildfires and smoke, Proposition 4 provides $1.5 billion to create fire breaks near communities, improve forest health to reduce wildfire intensity, support specialized firefighting equipment, and deploy early detection and response systems. These resources will also help provide vocational training for careers in fire prevention through the Local Conservation Corps in Fresno and across the state, which have long contributed to community safety and readiness.
To protect safe drinking water supplies, Proposition 4 provides $3.8 billion to treat groundwater contaminants, recharge aquifers, rebuild crumbling water infrastructure, and restore watersheds.
Skeptics say we cannot afford Proposition 4 but ask yourself: how can we afford to oppose it?
Communities are at risk. A quarter of Californians live under very high or extreme fire threat. California’s largest wildfire this year provides a lesson in prevention. The Park Fire burned an area more than five times the City of Fresno and four times the City of Bakersfield. Yet, a $10,000 prescribed burn would have helped firefighters stop it from burning out of control, destroying hundreds of homes, and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in costs.
Air quality is at risk. As climate change takes hold, communities in the Central Valley already have the nation’s dirtiest air. Migrating wildfire smoke is reversing air quality gains, which was most visible when the Creek Fire turned Valley skies orange back in 2020. We should take this seriously because exposure to wildfire smoke killed more than 50,000 Californians and caused over $400 billion in damages between 2008-2018.
Clean drinking water is at risk. Over 3 million Californians live without clean drinking water or where water systems can fail, and most are clustered in the Valley. By taking action now, we can prevent these conditions from spreading. Over the next 20 years, state water officials warned climate change could cause nearly a quarter reduction in deliveries through the State Water Project – straining water supplies for 27 million Californians, countless businesses, and 750,000 acres of farmland.
With such high stakes, it would be foolish not to take action now, protect communities, and keep costs down for taxpayers and families.
In providing $1.2 billion to protect natural lands and $700 million to create parks and green spaces, Proposition 4 will also help preserve our way of life. Getting outside is a big part of our identity because California is blessed with iconic landscapes, watersheds, and wildlife. Millions travel from around the world to experience them but they are our responsibility to protect.
These funds are a huge opportunity for Valley communities, considering a comparison of parks systems within the nation’s largest 100 cities ranks Stockton 85th, Bakersfield 89th, and Fresno 98th.
Proposition 4 is critical to consolidate a greenway along the San Joaquin River in our rapidly urbanizing region by providing resources for conserving land, enhancing wildlife habitat, and improving public access. It will also help us continue saving gems like Waltz-Turner Ranch, spanning Valley wetlands and grasslands through oak woodlands and streams of the foothills, that will soon pass onto its fourth generation.
Climate change is here and we must confront it. By voting Yes on Proposition 4, we can protect ourselves and what makes California special.
Bridget Fithian is the Executive Director of the Sierra Foothill Conservancy. Sharon Weaver is Executive Director of the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust.
