Not so water election – Grist

hello. Welcome back to Emergency. My name is Jake Bittle. Today we’ll shift our focus from the storm-hit Southeast and take a look at one of the hottest battlegrounds in the country.

Election Day is just two weeks away, and the heated race for president has nearly all media attention. We’ll have a big package ready for Grist tomorrow, with the stakes of the election on all sides of the climate fight. Perhaps nowhere is the election more intense than in Arizona, a border state that has experienced soaring inflation rates and bitter debates over restrictive abortion bans. Not only is the state key to the Electoral College, but it is also the site of battles for the Senate and House of Representatives. There’s also a pivotal race for the state Legislature, where Republicans hold a one-seat majority in both chambers.

I visited the Grand Canyon State in early October on an unseasonably hot day. At the time, temperatures still soared into triple digits every afternoon. I find that the frenzy of national politics is taking attention away from perhaps the most important issue for Arizona’s future: water. A millennial-scale drought caused by climate change has caused the state to lose much of its water from the vital Colorado River, and groundwater aquifers in rural farm areas as well as large cities like Phoenix are depleting.

This fall’s elections will determine how our state responds to this crisis. If Democrats take control of the Legislature, they hope to ease the state’s water shortages by imposing strict rules on water use by farms and developers, even if it means increasing costs for agriculture and the real estate industry. Republicans will choose easier rules or no new rules at all. Many experts worry this could lead to more wells going dry in suburbs and rural areas near large farms.

The outcome of the race depends on just a few swing districts, most of which are suburban areas around big cities like Phoenix and Tucson, but if you visit these places, you might not know that water will be on the November ballot. That’s partly because the state’s water policy is a complex tangle of acronyms and agencies, and partly because water is an invisible problem until the moment the tap stops working. The wells in deep-red rural areas around the state have already run dry, but this kind of water crisis is still decades away for suburban voters who will decide control of the Legislature. They will go to the polls to make their voices heard on abortion, education and the economy. But their votes could have a big impact on the shrinking aquifers beneath their feet.

You can read the full report on Arizona’s hot swing districts here.

Big challenges facing the nation’s smallest state capital

When asked about her plans to address climate change on the debate stage this summer, Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris did not mention renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions or clean energy jobs. lean. She talked about housing. climate change, she saidWhat’s happening: “Ask the person affected what it means to lose their home and have nowhere to go.”

America’s housing crisis is one of our unique problems. Republicans and Democrats in Congress agree. It needs to be fixed quickly. The problem dates back to 2008. At the time, the Great Recession caused real estate developers to dramatically reduce the number of homes being built. The new home sales rate is I’ve been behind since thenAdditional deficit occurs 3.8 million households Nationwide as of 2020.

Now, extreme weather events are putting pressure on already limited housing options. 2.5 million Americans became refugeesTemporarily or permanently due to last year’s extreme weather. It appears that more people have been displaced by the hurricanes this year. So what can the country do about this problem? Last month, I visited Vermont’s small capital city to talk to people there about flooding, the most common and costly climate-related threat in the United States.

last year, 12 inches or more of rain “We thought we were in a climate change haven,” said one resident who moved to Vermont from California. “It doesn’t really exist.”

In Montpelier, city leaders, nonprofits, business associations and tourism boards are working to address the city’s housing and climate crises. Working with City Council, the Coalition is racing against time to make Montpelier more resilient before the next collision with climate change occurs. “Our federal, state and local governments must all be better equipped to help people navigate these difficult climate disasters, which we know will continue to increase,” said Montpelier City Council member. “We must do better.” You can read my full story here.

— Zoya Teirstein

What we’re reading

Updates on voting in North Carolina: The Guardian explores how candidates in western North Carolina – from candidates running for the smallest local office to presidential candidates – are struggling to reach voters in the wake of Hurricane Helen and a disaster that will not be resolved for months, even years. Check to see if it’s being done.
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Who helps the tribe after a disaster? Taylar Dawn Stagner, our colleague on Grist’s Native Affairs Desk, talks about why Native Americans are routinely left out of federal disaster relief and how tribes are stepping into the void to help other tribes recover from Hurricane Helen I have it.
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Chris Christie on the politicization of hurricanes: New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni speaks with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie about the lessons learned from the recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and Superstorm Sandy, and why he embraced former President Barack Obama in 2012, then I was scandalized. Today, Christie says:)
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What are FEMA funds used for? The Arizona Republic confirms rumored claims that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds are being used to house illegal immigrants. FEMA has a shelter and services program that works with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to help states house and organize the influx of migrants. But the money for that program and FEMA money for hurricane relief and recovery come from two completely separate areas.
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What happened to the progressive left? Four years ago, Democratic presidential candidates unveiled trillion-dollar climate plans, among other progressive policies. Now Vice President Kamala Harris, who brandished a $10 trillion climate plan during her 2019 White House run, has no climate platform to speak of. She appears more focused on persuading swing voters that she will not ban fracking. Andrew Prokop, Vox’s senior political correspondent, has taken a broad look at why the Democratic Party has shifted to the right over the past four years.
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