Concerns about crime
The primaries held in June 2022 are indicative of the prevailing climate in California: they show the extent to which citizens' anxiety about public safety has increased. According to a poll conducted by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, 75% of voters felt that the number of crimes had significantly increased statewide since 2020, while 83% felt that the problem of homelessness had worsened. Moreover, even in cities where the situation had actually improved, voters had filled out their ballots with concerns in mind. San Francisco has seen a considerable drop in property crime - in other words, theft, fencing, destruction and damage, among other things - since the 40-year-old took office in January 2020.
The problem: an increase in homicides, as well as a wave of burglaries - up 47% - and vehicle thefts - up 36%. On the other hand, the homeless crisis is very real. While the number of homeless individuals admitted to shelters - the only data available to date - fell by 8% nationally between 2020 and 2021, it rose by 7% in the Golden State. At the heart of the concerns: disabled people who have been homeless for at least 12 months - whose presence in shelters has risen by 49% in one year - and the explosion in fentanyl overdoses among the homeless in San Francisco - and, on a wider scale, in the state. 50 times stronger than heroin, this opioid has claimed more than 1,300 lives in the city between April 2020 and 2022. Although the mayor, London Breed, declared an official state of emergency December 17, 2021, the situation continues to worsen in 2023, with already 473 deaths between January and July.
Climate change, a major issue
After insecurity, drought is one of Californians' biggest concerns. In 2018, they suffered the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in their history, Camp Fire, which claimed 85 lives, decimated 62,053 hectares and ravaged the town of Paradise - 140 km north of Sacramento. More recently, the Dixie Fire will destroy more than 389,837 hectares in the north of the state between July 13 and October 25, 2021. To date, it occupies second place on the sad podium of the biggest fires in the Golden State's recent history. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. In June 2022, experts considered California to be facing its worst drought episode: as a result, some 6 million residents will be affected by water consumption restrictions for a year. This is yet another blow, all the more so as the measures taken in the Golden State over the last twenty years have been exemplary, to say the least.
These advances began in 2003, with the election of Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger as Governor of California. Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol - although not ratified by the United States - passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act in 2006: the star of Terminator was renowned for his commitment to the environment. His successor, Jerry Brown, will continue this commitment from 2011 to 2019. Currently in power, Gavin Newsom has taken up the torch: in addition to his frequent appeals to the population to reduce its water consumption, he has proposed allocating an additional $2 billion to the fight against drought in 2022. More recently, on September 15, 2023, California launched a lawsuit against five oil giants: Exxon Mobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Chevron. At issue: their role in global warming. "For over fifty years, Big Oil has lied to us, hiding the fact that they have known for a long time how dangerous the fossil fuels they produce are for our planet," the politician charged. His objective: to obtain the creation of a fund to deal with future damage.
Arizona, a state in danger
The Golden State isn't the only one suffering from the ravages of climate change. In addition to seeing one of its main reservoirs empty - Lake Mead, a man-made lake that feeds its population, as well as that of Nevada and Southern California - Arizona suffers from unbearable heat waves, particularly in Phoenix, considered the hottest city in the country: here, temperatures quickly become dangerous. Since 2018, the number of heat-related deaths in the state has been rising steadily: 251 then, compared with 579 in 2023. In 2020, the average annual temperature in Maricopa County - headquartered in Phoenix - was 3.4°C higher than in 1895, compared with a rise of almost 1°C globally. As a result, summers are hotter, longer and drier.
In addition to local and global greenhouse gas emissions, the problem is Phoenix's rapid urbanization and development in recent decades, which has made it a victim of the "urban heat island" effect. In other words, the imposing glass buildings, industrial activity and vast expanses of concrete and asphalt absorb and amplify the sun's heat. In short, tall buildings create canyons in which it remains trapped close to the ground. Conversely, vegetation, plants and trees - even those in the desert - are at the origin of an indispensable process: evapotranspiration, enabling the environment to cool down. In fact, by paving over the desert, the builders of Phoenix have caused it to lose its cooling capacity.
The absence of any real environmental policy has exacerbated the situation: apart from a regional climate initiative taken over a decade ago - and quickly abandoned - Arizona was not part of any state-level climate plan... At least, until the arrival of Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. She took office on January 2, 2023, and brought her state into the US Climate Alliance in July of that year. At her side are Democratic Mayor Kate Gallego and Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari, who were Phoenix's only hope before the arrival of politics. Present at the Glasgow conference in November 2021, they had already helped create the country's first dedicated heat response office. As a result, Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson and Tempe have climate action plans in place. More than anywhere else, Arizona is at a turning point in its history, and the coming years promise to be decisive.
