‘Deep disappointment’: Global climate envoy Newsom is alienating environmentalists at home – The Sacramento Bee 11/29/23
Gov. Gavin Newsom has been positioning himself as a global climate leader this year, evangelizing California environmentalism in China and at the United Nations. But at home, he is increasingly at loggerheads with leading environmentalists.
Environmental groups and tribes say the governor’s plan to protect water supply from climate change will exacerbate existing ecological devastation and irreversibly damage the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the central hub of the state’s water system…
Back in 2020, executive director of Restore the Delta Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla said she had plans to meet with Secretary Crowfoot but soon stopped hearing from the Newsom administration on issues impacting Delta farmers, residents and tribal communities.
“I have the deepest disappointment on water issues in Governor Newsom, probably more than with any other governor,” she said. “Governor Newsom and his team came in and promised one thing and have delivered something completely different. They have cut out the Delta community in every way, shape and form.”
She warned that moving ahead with the voluntary agreements, building Sites, and building the tunnel would mean loss of the Delta — the largest estuary on the North American west coast, one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the U.S. and a culturally significant place for indigenous Californians for thousands of years.
“I sit here and wonder, ‘Does he really think he has to deliver this bad plan so that he looks like he’s building infrastructure or problem solving for a presidential run?’” Barrigan-Parrilla said. “I find that deeply troublesome because I don’t know how much of it is really a commitment to the idea that this is the best path forward for water management.”