As two decades of severe drought intensify the impacts of climate change across the Southwest, causing shortages on the Colorado River, increasing the frequency and magnitude of wildfires, and endangering wildlife and human health, the Sierra Clubs and other environmental advocates are lobbying state leaders. Take bold action before it’s too late.
42 Climate, Faith and Community Groups Signing Sierra Club 2023 environmental priority list asked the Arizona Legislature and Governor to address what the group calls areas of environmental importance to Arizona, including the climate crisis, water resources, environmental injustice and racism, and the protection of land and wildlife habitat. I am asking you to deal with it.
“By putting water sustainability, climate resilience, and environmental justice on the back burner, previous governors and Congress have damaged our communities, hurt them economically, and impacted our health and well-being. said Sandy Barr, director of the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter. in a press release.
“This year, we have an opportunity to turn that around and make these issues a priority at every level of government,” she said. Guaranteed to provide a strong future. ”
This is the second year the Sierra Club has published its environmental priorities for Congress. The group spent several months developing its environmental priorities for 2022, which was endorsed by about 20 groups. This year, that number has more than doubled as support for leadership on climate change grows.
“This will help inform our actions on Environment Day at the Capitol. So what we do in each of these priority areas is have some legislation that we advocate. “There was an argument that the legislature and the governor should really ask for what they thought was necessary, rather than compromise on what they were willing to do.”
The Sierra Club and other supporters will meet for annual Environment Day at the State Capitol on Tuesday. The goal is to give interested residents the opportunity to meet with lawmakers on important issues such as climate change, water, democracy and funding parks.
Water supply and conservation are top priorities
Water is one of the key priorities on the list.
In 2021, the federal government declared a water shortage for the Colorado River, and additional cuts were imposed in 2023. According to the Sierra Club, water shortages are disproportionately affecting Arizona. Droughts are becoming more frequent, longer lasting and more severe due to decreased precipitation, warmer temperatures, increased evapotranspiration from soils and plants, and changes in the timing of runoff into rivers.
Water has been debated in Western Congress for decades, but the Sierra Club wants more as both the state’s social and physical climate evolves. The group would like to see new measures to limit groundwater pumping throughout Arizona, especially in areas where groundwater is unregulated or where river flow is affected.
“We definitely accept strengthening groundwater management laws,” said Barr. “The Water Resources Authority could consider establishing more areas to limit groundwater withdrawal.”
In her inaugural address, Governor Katie Hobbs said water conservation will be one of her top priorities as governor. She promised to amend the state’s groundwater management law. This was her 1980 measure that identified areas of the state with high reliance on groundwater and placed limits on groundwater withdrawals.
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Since that landmark bill was passed, the state’s population has grown by 4.7 million, increasing its reliance on groundwater for new developments outside urban areas, boosting demand in the agricultural sector.
Last year, some residents of Cochise County voted to create a new actively managed area in the Douglas Basin, placing limits on groundwater withdrawals. Due to overpumping from large scale agricultural and dairy operations, the basin began to deplete. The Sierra Club says it hopes more areas of the state will receive similar protection.
Barr said leaders should examine the state’s current patterns of growth and development and the sustainability of current agricultural practices to identify opportunities for deeper conservation, such as water reclamation and treatment of wastewater streams, to maximize He said it should be used as much as possible.
Congress lags behind in responding to climate change
Even with Democratic governors who want to change the state from past policies on water and climate, the House and Senate are still barely controlled by Republicans. The state’s Republican-led Congress has historically favored a restrictive approach to environmental regulation.
“Arizona is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but there is no denying the fact that the state we love is the zero point of the climate crisis,” said Arizona House of Representatives Majority Leader Andrés Cano, D. -Tucson) said. Natural Resources, Energy and Water Commission. “There should be no partisanship about taking real and effective steps to protect water, land and air for the people here now and for future generations. ”
Of the 275 bills passed in the last Congress, only one directly related to climate change policy. SB-1376 Introduced by House Majority Leader Rick Gray, it accelerated the phasing out of hydrofluorocarbons by limiting the ability of local governments to ban alternative HFCs. This means simply changing building codes in some areas to allow alternative refrigerants. HFCs are primarily associated with causing climate change and have significantly more global warming potential than carbon dioxide.
“It is not gratifying to see water conservation ideas and other responsible environmental policies shattered because they were advocated by Democrats,” Kano said. “Our caucuses have ideas and bills to address this crisis more directly, but Republicans now prefer a different view. How much more time do we need to make a difference?” I don’t know, so that should bother everyone.”
The Sierra Club also calls on Congress to “restore and protect land habitats and wildlife statewide.” Most notably, the group wants to fully fund the State Park Heritage Fund.
Passed by a 2-1 margin as the 1990 ballot initiative, the fund will donate up to $10 million annually from Arizona lottery proceeds to the Arizona Games and Fish for the conservation and protection of the state’s wildlife and natural areas. Offered to departments. The legacy fund protect endangered species acquire habitat for the benefit of sensitive species, provide access to outdoor recreation areas, and educate the public about wildlife.
However, in recent years the state has not allocated its full budget to the fund. Last June, former Gov. Doug Ducey signed the 2023 state budget, and out of his $10 million that voters could have approved, he gave only $2.5 million to the budget.
Arizona has approximately 28 million acres of federal public land, including four national parks and six national forests. From the bend of the Colorado River through Horseshoe Bend to the cool alpine forests of the White Mountains, natural spaces not only offer a wide range of recreational opportunities, but also provide important habitats for thousands of flora and fauna. world.
Public lands also contribute significantly to Arizona’s more than $20 billion tourism and outdoor recreation industries. According to the National Park Service, more than 6.3 million recreational visitors to Grand Canyon National Park in 2018 spent a total of $947 million in communities near the park, supporting 12,558 jobs and boosting the local economy. Delivered a cumulative profit of $1.2 billion.
The Sierra Club is calling on Congress and Governors to strongly protect federal, state and local public lands. America the Beautiful Challenge tribal states, other state agencies, and the federal government to prioritize the restoration of tribal homelands.
Group calls for action on environmental justice
The Western Watersheds Project is one of 47 groups signed to the top of this year’s environmental priority list.
“WWP believes that protecting federally managed public land habitats is a key priority for elected officials in Arizona because we rely on them to survive. Because much of what we have comes from these lands: clean air, water, game and fish, native plants and places to rest. Cindy Tuell, Director of Western Watershed said. “We are calling on Arizona officials to uphold sound land management decisions of federal agencies and to work with land managers to protect wildlife and native plants.”
The Priority List also seeks to establish state-level endangered species programs that actively protect species not covered by the federal Endangered Species Act.
The Sierra Club also calls on state leaders to address environmental injustice and racism.
“We know there is serious environmental injustice and racism,” Barr said. “I think it’s important to recognize that people of color are disproportionately affected by air pollution, water scarcity, water pollution and extreme heat.”
Native American communities disproportionately lack access to safe water and wastewater treatment. Water pollution occurs more frequently in Native American water systems. Overall, tribal public water systems are twice as likely to violate health-based water quality regulations as non-tribal systems. According to the 2018 Journal of the Water Resources Council at Arizona State University.
The ASU study found that the Southwest region is a hotspot of physical climate change and social vulnerability, with a clear “climate divide” between the rich and the poor. Low-income areas tend to have higher pollution levels because they tend to be closer to highways and factories.
“We’re looking at the impact and actually doing something about it,” Barr said. “We don’t just want to document what’s already happening, we want to really limit the impact.”
The Sierra Club commits to adopting and implementing environmental justice policies in all state agencies, boards, commissions, and other public agencies involved in decisions that may affect environmental quality. wants to provide meaningful opportunities for all people to get involved regardless of race, color, ethnicity or religion. , income or education level.
Jake Frederico is responsible for environmental affairs for the Republic of Arizona and As Central.Submit a tip or question jake.frederico@arizonarepublic.com .
Environmental coverage at azcentral.com and in the Republic of Arizona was supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow the Republic’s Environmental Reporting Team. environment.azcentral.com Follow @azcenvironment on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
