The consequences of climate change felt more immediate than ever in the San Joaquin Valley this summer. California’s unprecedented wildfire season blanketed communities in smoke for weeks on end. Temperatures in Stockton soared to 113° degrees in August, and in an area where agriculture is king, chronic water shortages from drought continued to put stress on drinking water and agriculture.
After a summer of climate-fueled disasters, residents in Stockton and the Western San Joaquin Valley are overwhelmingly making the connection between climate change and this year’s heat waves and wildfires, according to new polling commissioned by the California Environmental Voters Education Fund and the California Environmental Justice Alliance.
The results of the survey—which took place just weeks before election day—show that climate change has become a top concern for voters headed to the ballot box in western San Joaquin County, which encompasses Mountain House, Stockton, Thornton, and Tracy.
Sixty-five percent of residents in the Stockton-Tracy area say that climate change has played a strong role in driving this year’s wildfires and heat waves—and 51% say that climate change has played a very strong role. Candidates vying for election to represent the Stockton area should take note: Voters want solutions.
A majority of voters in Stockton-Tracy area support accelerating the transition to 100% clean energy, increasing regulations on the fossil fuel industry, and enacting buffer zones between fossil fuel operations and the places where Californians live, work and play.
And crucially, a majority of voters in the Stockton area support centering equity in the transition to clean energy by prioritizing low-income communities to ensure that those most impacted by fossil fuel pollution are first in line to receive the health and economic benefits stemming from a clean energy future.
This year’s wildfires and heat waves have made it clear that consequences of climate change are not felt equally. Communities of color, undocumented workers, and low-income communities disproportionately suffer the health impacts.
Agricultural workers, especially, are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Amidst the wildfires, blistering heat, and the COVID-19 pandemic, farmworkers in the San Joaquin Valley continued harvesting crops, performing arduous and dangerous work for insufficient wages. Their essential labor has fed California and the nation during this period of hardship despite devastating health consequences—they deserve greater protections to increase worker safety.
Stricter rules on pesticide use—a policy that nearly 70% of voters in the Stockton-Tracy area support—could go a long way toward reducing agricultural workers exposure to toxic chemicals. The EPA estimates that pesticide exposure poisons thousands of agricultural workers every year—injuries and deaths that are completely preventable with expanded protections for workers.
In addition to strengthening rules on pesticide use to reduce chemical exposure, a majority of voters in the Stockton area support centering the region’s water policy around ensuring all families have access to clean, sustainable drinking water. In a region where water policy is contentious—and where access to water can make or break agricultural production—policymakers should know that voters don’t want families to be left behind. All communities deserve access to clean drinking water at home.
Voters’ calls for a clean energy future will be heard when they head to the ballot box next week.
Andrew Escamilla the California Environmental Voters’ regional organizer for the Central Valley.
