For many Californians, climate change is not a distant threat; it’s a force that is felt daily and has real, life-altering impacts.
In rural communities like Allensworth—located about 150 miles northwest of Los Angeles—decades of water scarcity, pollution, and underinvestment have collided with intensifying climate impacts like extreme heat and drought. Yet, residents in Allensworth are amidst a momentous transformation towards becoming a thriving, self-sufficient community while leading some of the most innovative efforts to redefine climate resilience from the ground up.
To understand how Allensworth is building resilience that will ultimately allow it to withstand and recover from hazardous climate-related events we interviewed, California resident, Dr. Ranyee Chiang, an expert in environmental policy and director of UCS’s Western States Program.
AAS: California is on the front lines of climate change, with extreme weather intensified by fossil fuel use and weather whiplash causing frequent drought conditions. How can science and scientists support rural California communities, like Allensworth, incorporating resilience into their planning to protect long-term livability?
RANYEE CHIANG: We need to use science to help communities to build resilience, minimize the harmful impacts of climate change, and strengthen themselves. Specifically, UCS has supported communities in California’s Central Valley with data and analyses to inform and support their vision of repurposing the surrounding agricultural land. One example of this type of partnership is with the town of Allensworth, which for decades has advocated for a systemic transformation of their community into a new paradigm that works for everyone.
Like the rest of the Central Valley, water issues are front and center in Allensworth. That’s because water shortages are increasing, and California will have to transition a significant amount of irrigated cropland into less water-intensive uses. This rethinking is an opportunity for communities to shape their futures—with sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and nature-based solutions to manage droughts and floods and increase ecological resilience, all while reducing pollution, addressing food and energy security, offering new economic opportunities, and achieving environmental justice. So there’s a natural nexus between rural communities and UCS because California’s water challenges have been a major focus of our science advocacy for years.
At UCS, we are working towards making California a place where families and communities can thrive.
AAS: Can you tell us more about nature-based solutions to climate change?
RANYEE CHIANG: Nature-based solutions offer a powerful approach to address these challenges by working with natural systems to increase climate resilience, create economic opportunities, improve water sustainability, and enhance public health. Some examples include capturing flood water to replenish groundwater, which reduces flood risk for communities. A second example is creating buffer zones, essentially pesticide-free areas that improve air quality and provide safe recreation spaces for the people who live in what were former agricultural areas. Another is the use of ecovoltaics which combines solar energy with native habitat restoration, generating clean electricity while supporting pollinators and wildlife. These solutions are typically less extractive and promote resilience to our changing climate as well as providing economic, public health, and environmental benefits.
AAS: For readers unfamiliar with this part of the country, what unique challenges have Allensworth and other rural California communities faced? What makes Allensworth’s transformation a model for communities around the country?
RANYEE CHIANG: Low-income, rural communities in California’s Central Valley, like Allensworth, are challenged by a host of compounding problems. Political underrepresentation, underinvestment, and social and economic inequities, rooted in a legacy of systemic oppression, have plagued community members for generations. Added to those burdens are the changing climate and the environmental issues caused by intensive industrial monoculture—a practice where single crop species are grown to maximize yield and efficiency. Decades of overuse have depleted groundwater, left residents with an unreliable drinking water supply, and worsened air quality. Economic gains from land use were not equitably shared with the community. A lack of fundamental infrastructure left residents particularly vulnerable to climate change.
In Allensworth, restoring native habitats; a transition to a farming system that is healthy, economically viable, and ecologically sustainable; and meaningful involvement from community members have helped the community chart a path towards increased food security, energy, and water sovereignty, and create a more enjoyable and healthier place where residents can thrive.
Because of the transformative future that community members of Allensworth are building, the town will be a model for other communities in the US facing similar challenges. A key part of this vision is agroecology.
AAS: What is agroecology?
RANYEE CHIANG: Agroecology is an approach to farming that promotes farmworker well-being, biodiversity, soil health, wildlife protection, climate resilience, and food independence. Thinking about how energy use intersects with farming is part of this approach. Allensworth plans to pursue energy independence through agrivoltaics, a practice where the land is used to grow food and generate solar power. This is especially critical since an unreliable, inconsistent energy supply currently threatens water access and vulnerable residents during extreme heat events that cause temperatures to soar above 110°F.
AAS: Zooming out from Allensworth and looking at the whole state, where does UCS see the greatest opportunities to make an impact in California?
RANYEE CHIANG: There are so many important issues that are deservedly getting a lot of attention, especially in a year when we have a governor’s race in California. Housing, jobs, affordability, public transportation, clean transportation, wildfires, AI, data centers. How can we address so many different massive issues without getting overwhelmed?
A good example of this is UCS’s efforts to sponsor and pass legislation to address gas prices and help low-income families access clean transportation options, while continuing the longer-term transition away from fossil fuels.
Another example is empowering other communities with analyses, tools, and funding to scale successful solutions, such as the ones implemented in Allensworth. This is where UCS brings the most value: using our scientific analyses to address complex problems systematically and holistically.