Madera mayor: Climate change impacts are hurting the Valley. Lawmakers must act now
We in the central San Joaquin Valley know the climate crisis is real because we’re living it. We watch as devastating wildfires rage across our region and our state. We suffer under ever-intensifying heat and drought; thick smog that so often engulfs our air, blotting out the Sierra Nevada on the horizon.
And we are not alone. The impacts of a warming planet are occurring in many parts of the country. This is why President Biden’s Build Back Better Act and its ambitious investments in fighting the climate crisis are urgently needed. This proposal will make historic investments in clean energy production, pollution-free transportation, and sustainable infrastructure. These proposals would tackle the climate-fueled drought and wildfires, reduce air pollution and create good-paying jobs in the Valley.
Most of these investments to address climate change were excluded from the bipartisan infrastructure deal reached in Congress. This is why ensuring the passage of the Build Back Better Act is absolutely essential. It’s also why I am encouraging Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, to support this legislation. His backing is critical for those of us who live in the Central Valley. The alternative is dire, and there is no time to lose.
Fresno and Madera, two of the largest cities in Rep. Jim Costa’s 16th Congressional District, are among the top 10 most polluted cities in the nation for air pollution. They rank between second and fourth for 24-hour particle pollution, annual particle pollution and ozone pollution. While this air pollution comes from several sources, including vehicle emissions and dust, wildfires are increasingly a significant contributor.
As wildfires across the West grow more frequent and more severe, in part due to climate change, the smoke they emit has further degraded air quality far beyond the fires themselves. Recently we saw the air quality index hit hazardous levels, with widespread youth sports cancellations due to the smoke and ash from the KNP Complex and Windy fires in Sequoia-Kings Canyon national parks.
Extreme heat and drought are also becoming a more persistent and acute threat to the region, again in part due to climate change. Currently, California averages 35 extreme heat days per year. That number is expected to grow to almost 50 days per year by 2050. Overall, 2021 has already seen the hottest summer on record in California. In Fresno, there were 69 days with temperatures above 100, breaking the city’s record. Also by 2050, the severity of widespread summer drought is expected to nearly triple in California. This could seriously cripple our agricultural industry, which produces more than one-third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of all fruits and nuts.
Accelerating the production and manufacturing of clean energy and pollution-free transportation is imperative to meet this moment of crisis. This is how we ensure that we all breathe cleaner air and live in healthier communities. Realizing such outcomes should be a priority at any time, but especially during a global pandemic and economic crisis there should be no hesitation. If we don’t act, climate change will continue to threaten our way of life in the Valley.
I thank Congressman Costa for his leadership and encourage him and our entire federal delegation to support the Build Back Better Act. Our livelihoods, our futures, and our health depend on it.