Day 3: Sacramento + Capitol + EJWC

Our group began our first day in Sacramento by talking to the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. Amanda Ford welcomed us and gave us more insight into the social justice aspect of water issues in California. Our discussion began by considering the UN human right to water that was ratified by the UN in 2010 and introduced to California in 2012. Our discussion ranged from different water issues in California, such as bottling companies taking advantage of pure water at Mount Shasta, outdated laws with reservoirs, contaminants in water, and how these water issues will only continue despite the increased precipitation this year. Our discussion culminated in an exercise where each of us had to break into teams and put ourselves in the perspective of a disadvantaged community member, tribal member, EJ group, elected official, scientist/researcher, a state water board member, lawyer, and a farm owner. We had to reflect on the powers each of these groups have and what outcomes they would want from different situations. Through this exercises, we could better understand how these groups would interact and what kind of conflicts would arise.

We moved on to the Capitol building, where, with the gracious help of Mr. John Kingsbury, we met Assemblymember Frank Bigelow, Carolyn Angius from the Governor’s office, and Senator Jim Nielsen. Through these discussions with policy makers, we received a broadened perspective on agriculture and its relation to policy, as well as what policies were being put in place to help different communities, from urban to rural.

Reflections:

This day was a thought-provoking juxtaposition of differing perspectives on water rights. We got exposure to the social justice end of the spectrum, where Mrs. Ford gave us a perspective on people that were being taken advantage of as well as contaminants that can affect water quality. We also got exposure to the politics of the issue, and how even between different policy makers there were different views on climate change, water, and how water should be used.

One example of an interesting contrast included how Mrs. Ford stressed the UN human right to water, while Senator Jim Nielsen stressed how water for agricultural use should have priority because farmers feed the population of not just California, but the entirety of America as well. Some policy makers stressed how the drought was part of a cyclical pattern, while others stressed how climate change was permanently changing the landscape and sustainability of California’s communities. These differing viewpoints gave us a nuanced introduction to this complex issue.

Talking to Ms. Angius from the Governor’s office was also an eye-opening experience, because she gave us insight into how policymaker’s interact with rural communities that might be struggling with access to water. She also gave us valuable information about how proposition 1 spending was being invested in innovative water technologies. She also represented a real life interaction from our exercise at the EJCW; she confirmed a lot of the interactions we explored there between policy makers and communities and policy makers and EJ groups.