With the recent devastating heat wave that sent temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit in lots of parts of the state and the severe droughts and big wildfires of recent years still fresh within the minds of California voters, they’re strongly supporting a bill within the November ballot that might allocate $10 billion to combat climate change.
By a margin of 59% to 40%, likely voters said they might vote yes on Proposition 4.
The Opinion pollof the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan research center based in San Francisco, also found that Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank has a big lead in California's Senate race over Republican Steve Garvey, a former first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres.
Among likely voters, Schiff was leading at 64 percent to Garvey's 33 percent — an excellent larger lead than in the identical poll in April, when he led 61 percent to 37 percent within the race for former Sen. Dianne Feinstein's seat.
The survey of 1,648 adults in California was conducted from June 24 to July 2.
In particular, it was found that the state's residents say they’re increasingly uncomfortable and anxious about climate change, particularly because it affects their homes.
Overall, 81% of adults said they were “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” that home insurance would change into dearer as a result of the risks of climate change.
Last 12 months, several major insurance firms, including Allstate, State Farm and Farmers, reduced the number of recent policies they issued in California and other Western states as a result of the rising risk of wildfires, while others fired existing customers or raised their premiums by 1000’s of dollars a 12 months. Similar changes occurred in Florida, North Carolina and other Southern states as a result of the specter of hurricanes.
A staggering 24% of Californians said they’ve considered moving as a result of the impacts of climate change. Residents of the Central Valley (28%) were the probably to say they’ve considered moving, while residents of the Orange County-San Diego County region (16%) were the least more likely to say so. Among Bay Area residents, 23% said they’ve considered moving as a result of risks reminiscent of heat waves, wildfires, flooding or the chance of rising sea levels.
“The public is more aware of climate change and its associated risks based on their personal experiences in this state over the past few years,” said Mark Baldassare, PPIC’s statewide poll director.
“First it was the drought, then heavy rains and floods, and most recently the heatwave. All of this leads to the realization that something has changed.”
The poll also found that 67 percent of Californians oppose recent offshore oil drilling off the California coast, while 78 percent support the development of offshore wind turbines within the sea to generate renewable energy.
And by a 66% to 33% margin, Californians support existing state law that requires 100% of the state's electricity to come back from renewable or carbon-free energy, reminiscent of wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric or nuclear, slightly than coal and natural gas.
However, there are some areas where they disagree with the policies of Governor Gavin Newsom, his predecessor Jerry Brown or the Democrats who control the state legislature.
By a 60-39 percent margin, a majority of Californians oppose the state law signed by Newsom that may ban the sale of recent gasoline-powered passenger vehicles starting in 2035. Support for this first-in-the-nation law, which also applies in lots of European countries, has steadily declined in California; in July 2021, approval in the identical poll was 49-49 percent.
Even though many Californians support renewable energy, 56 percent say they might not be willing to pay more for it, while 44 percent said they might. Before the COVID pandemic caused global inflation to spike, and before PG&E rates saw their recent increases, those numbers were reversed. In the 2016 PPIC survey, for instance, 56 percent of Californians said they might be willing to pay more for renewable energy, while 40 percent said they might not.
For environmental groups, Wednesday's poll contained some excellent news.
It was the primary bipartisan statewide poll to gauge public support for Proposition 4, the $10 billion climate bond, since Democrats within the state legislature voted to place it on the ballot two weeks ago. More than 100 environmental groups, from the Sierra Club to Audubon California, pushed for passage of the measure all 12 months as a option to offset climate programs that were cut from this 12 months's budget to make up for a deficit. Taxpayer groups opposed the measure, saying California would should cut other programs to lift the cash.
“We are pleased,” said Mike Sweeney, California director of the Nature Conservancy. “This shows that we have created a bond that addresses the greatest concerns of voters.”
A majority of likely voters within the PPIC poll said they support the bond in every region of the state. Support was strongest amongst voters earning lower than $40,000 a 12 months (66%).
If approved by voters, Proposition 4 would supply $3.8 billion for water projects, including groundwater storage, recycled water, desalination and reservoirs; $1.5 billion for wildfire resilience, primarily through forest thinning and controlled fires; $1.2 billion for projects to deal with rising sea levels, including restoring beaches, wetlands and coastal bluffs; $1.2 billion for wildlife, from restoring salmon runs to constructing highway crossings for wildlife; $850 million for renewable energy and clean air programs; $700 million for parks; $450 million for mitigating extreme heat, reminiscent of by increasing green space in cities and schools; and $300 million for agricultural projects, reminiscent of water conservation and soil health programs.
At least 40 percent of the funds would should be spent in disadvantaged communities, which frequently have the fewest parks and green spaces and the very best levels of air pollution.
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