California must provide more funds to address climate change
Californians are reeling from the impacts of climate change. The extreme heat, devastating drought, catastrophic wildfires, severe flooding, coastal erosion and landslides have been biblical, like the 10 plagues of Exodus. Nobody has escaped untouched. The destruction has been immense: loss of life, damage to infrastructure and disruption to local economies. Alas, this is the new normal.
Climate change presents one of the most profound, and existential, threats of our time. In recent years, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature passed historic laws advancing conservation efforts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (the source of climate change) and promoting mitigation efforts that enhance the climate resilience of our communities and landscapes. They also approved a multiyear $54 billion package to support conservation and protect public lands, state parks, and our coastline — all of which are part of the green infrastructure essential to building climate resilience. We applaud their vision, leadership and innovation.
A shortfall in this year's state budget is now testing that commitment. The governor's budget proposal cuts critical climate investments, including a reduction of $1.3 billion for coastal protection and community resilience, nature-based solutions and extreme heat resilience. This is shortsighted. As temperatures and sea level continue to rise and the weather grows more extreme, the costs of climate disaster recovery will swallow up an everincreasing share of taxpayer dollars. With a $1 billion price tag from the wind, rain and floods that pummeled the state in January and a $1 trillion flooding event predicted in the next 40 years, we should be doubling down on our prevention efforts, not stepping away from them.
These preventive measures vary regionally just like the impacts of climate change. Many are associated with the protection and restoration of natural landscapes — or green infrastructure — that are able to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change better than expensive human-built solutions. In the Santa Cruz Mountains where I work, these efforts involve protection of the state's coast redwoods. These iconic trees sequester more carbon per volume than any other tree species in the world. So, a thousand-year old redwood is not just a delight for tourists, it is an enormous carbon sink keeping harmful greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. The National Park Service reports that redwoods drink up to 160 gallons of water per day, helping maintain healthy river systems and associated fisheries while mitigating the effects of drought.
In extreme flooding, redwoods reduce the speed at which water runs off the land by as much as 80%, slowing its devastating impacts and protecting people and resources downstream. Healthy redwood forests are also critical to protecting our communities from the risk of catastrophic wildfire.
Redwood forests are but one example where natural habitats are essential bulwarks in our collective fight against climate change. Similar stories of nature's benefits can be found across the state. That is why Newsom's “30x30 Initiative,” which aims to protect 30% of California's natural lands and waterways by the year 2030, is so important.
We just took a pounding from atmospheric rivers. In a few months, wildfires will again fill our headlines. Amid the current tragedies, we must also focus on the prevention and mitigation of future climate disasters. Sen. Josh Becker of San Mateo — an environmental champion — has a leadership role to play in the Budget Committee where he can push to sustain, if not increase, our investment in climate measures.
We urge his legislative colleagues and Newsom to join him. The people of California simply cannot afford the alternative.