Over 5 million people in California voted “yes” on Proposition 4 this week.
Prop. 4 would use the state’s $10 billion in bonds to conserve natural resources — wildfire prevention, water conservation and climate change. The bonds will use funding from California’s taxpayers to support the proposition. It was the main reason people voted “no” to the proposition, worrying citizens’ debt would rise for California.
Allison Agsten, the inaugural director of USC Annenberg’s Climate Center, said she has done research on the prop and would like to help people better understand it.
“Proposition 4 is a bond measure that will change funding towards climate-related issues like combating wildfires, protecting the land, and ensuring that Californians have safe drinking water,” she said. “California is a major center of agricultural production. There are so many reasons why we need to keep California healthy and safe.”
Agsten believes that a proposition focused on climate change is more attainable than creating new systems to combat climate change.
“It’s often easier to pass legislation on climate, related to climate change, and let’s say infrastructure improvements,” she said. “It’s much harder to push through initiatives that are mitigating... but it’s harder to convince the public to think ahead and to be prepared.”
Over four million residents voted no to the proposition.
“They might say there are too many factors. There are too many issues being addressed in this one proposition ranging from water to fire. We might be better off parsing these in separate propositions. There are others who would say the last thing California needs is more debt,” Agsten said.
On the other hand, proponents of the measure see a different financial consequence, Agsten said.
“On the pro side, an analysis by the state suggests that we could save many, many millions of dollars by voting yes on this proposition because we will be safeguarding our future” she said. “And then there’s of course, a real potential public health benefits of ensuring that people have access to clean water and that people’s home[s] are safe from fire.”
Not all natural disasters are preventable. On November 6, a mountain fire burned over 20,000 acres in nearby Ventura County, leaving some people hospitalized and others forced to evacuate. High gust winds and low humidity caused the fire.
Agsten believes Prop. 4 will help mitigate the aftermath of wildfires in the future.
“This bond measure is intended to help California be prepared when wildfires do ignite,” she said. “We have to start thinking ahead. We know that this wildfire today is one of certainly many more that we will see before the end of the year alone, and we have to bring policies to the floor that will help protect us from wildfire and other disasters.”
Other students are happy that the proposition has passed.
Ines Bocanegra, a freshman studying politics, philosophy and law, is from Spain but now lives in California. She said if she could have participated in the election, she would have voted yes on Prop. 4.
“I think it’s very important and it’s central to all, to everybody,” she said. “It’s great that the government is being so proactive and is taking such initiatives to help the environment.”
She emphasized the harmful impacts global warming has on the world and environment.
“We’re really seeing the effects of that in a lot of places. We saw that in Florida, we’re seeing it in Valencia and Spain right now, so many extreme natural disasters and climate events,” Bocanegra said.
Chuanyu Ma, a sophomore studying economics and data science, believes the proposition is essential.
“I feel like this bill is good because I think protecting natural environment is important for everyone,” she said. “Maybe using the taxes is not the right way to do that but I think it’s from a good position.”
Ma is a California resident but not from the United States, so she could not participate in the election. Still, she said not having clean water has impacted her own personal experiences.
“Every time I go to Santa Monica, sometimes there’s a sign there that says the bacteria is pretty high and you cannot get into the water,” she said. “I think protecting the ocean water is good.”