The Salton Sea region anchors key California industries, including lithium. A proposed climate bond would help solidify its vital role.
a commentary forum aiming to broaden our understanding of the state and spotlight Californians directly impacted by policy or its absence. Learn moreSilvia Paz is the executive director of Alianza Coachella Valley, and served as the chair of California’s Lithium Valley Commission.
California is at a policy and fiscal crossroads. It must decide whether to rewrite the extraction business model to benefit impacted communities, or to continue with the traditional model that causes unmitigated environmental and economic injustices. , placing greater challenges on lower-income communities that already face significant disparities – yet contribute so much to the prosperity and quality-of-life of others. Without meaningful investment, these communities will fall further behind as their needs are sidelined in the This is a story all too real to the farm laborers and low-wage tourism workers who call this region home. Growing up in a small mobile home park near the Salton Sea, I saw the economic and health challenges my family and neighbors faced. I witnessed the perseverance of farmworkers toiling in the fields to produce food for other people’s families, and communities left I had a hard time grappling with the reality that these resilient workers came home to so little even though they provided so much. I’m not asking for a favor or charity. I’m asking that our communities receive their fair share because California’s future is inexorably tied to the Salton Sea’s future. That means investing in Salton Sea communities benefits the state – and not just gifts or one-time funding that can be taken away duringon the November ballot, which would give voters an opportunity to approve important environmental protections and clean energy projects. This bond can benefit all areas of the state, while also providing $400 million to the Salton Sea region and $15 million to establish a conservancy. While residents here continue to endure high poverty rates and health disparities, agricultural production has expanded and new economic opportunities have emerged. Both the Coachella and Imperial valleys rank among the state’s top agricultural areas, with production inand the Imperial Valley’s legal share is mandated to other areas, where is the commitment to address the impacts of decisions made in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.? strengthened water resiliency for coastal Southern California while reducing pressure on the Delta. California’s water supply from the Colorado River hinges on the Salton Sea, and that means its health must be a key statewide priority. – have reached as far as Los Angeles and Orange County, making the Salton Sea an air quality issue for all of Southern California., provide a mineral deemed critical for national security, and ensure a just transition to clean energy for workers in legacy industries. California has an opportunity to make long-awaited investments in the communities that feed and power not only this state, but the entire nation.“I am a CalMatters sustaining member because I want unbiased journalism that allows me to make up my own mind.”
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