Try GOLD - Free
STATE OF EMERGENCY
Mother Jones
|July/August 2023
Our crises require more than a never-ending series of duct-tape fixes.
IN EARLY 2023, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a "state of emergency" after multiple "atmospheric river systems" slammed the state. The storms flooded highways, caused mudslides, and toppled trees. Newsom's declaration expedited the response. Police evacuated some senior citizens from parts of the East Bay. Counties and cities distributed sandbags. Crews erected walls to prevent flooding.
While this disruption to everyday life certainly looked like an emergency, such catastrophes are now commonplace, especially in California. Annual wildfire season is peaking earlier and ending later. Winter storms packed the Sierra Nevada with three times the usual snow. Somehow, everything is a crisis but also the crises never stop; in fact, the consistency of calamity exacerbates each disaster.
As we face a future warped by climate change, it's worth asking: What does it mean if we're in a constant "state of emergency"?
This story is from the July/August 2023 edition of Mother Jones.
Subscribe to Magzter GOLD to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 10,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
MORE STORIES FROM Mother Jones
Mother Jones
Camp Fear
Florida's troubled tent city has inspired copycats across the country.
1 min
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
Minority Report
ICE is arresting more people, in more places, and with more problematic tech than ever before.
3 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
ROAD MAP
Texas Rep. Greg Casar has a plan for a progressive comeback. Step one: Survive the present.
17 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
CULTURE WARS
Did MAGA conspiracy theories doom the lab-grown burger?
3 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
SOFT SECESSION
Redistricting is a start, but California must lead an economic uprising.
8 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
DONALD TRUMP IS CRACKING DOWN ON CLEAN POWER.ERIC TRUMP IS TURNING IT INTO BITCOINS.
Donald Trump rolled down the 18th fairway at his Turnberry golf resort in July, he was troubled by a deathly vision, slowly spinning in the Scottish distance: wind turbines.
11 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
SECRET SERVICE
How unnamed federal workers are defending the work of government, one meme at a time
6 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
DOGE and Taxes The IRS is the biggest employer in the MAGA town of Ogden, Utah.What happens when Elon & Co. start slashing?
If you've ever lived west of the Mississippi, you've probably mailed a tax return to the IRS service center in Ogden, Utah.
21 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
Lobbying for Annexation
How Yossi Dagan is building support for Israeli extremists in Washington
6 mins
November/December 2025
Mother Jones
MIXED MEDIA
Online platforms are transforming the marketplace for Native artists. But will counterfeits pose an existential threat to their work?
8 mins
November/December 2025
Translate
Change font size