Climate change has a disproportionate impact on the poor. As the effects of climate change become more prevalent, the impacts on the most impoverished and vulnerable peoples will become more extreme and unpredictable. These impacts have policy implications and social costs both in terms of addressing how we mitigate climate change and how we address poverty. California's San Joaquin Valley is both a literal and figurative hotspot for the intersection of impacts created by global climate change and local policies ranging from water management to poverty mitigation. Combining climate change with a region already suffering from environmental degradation and a lackluster program for aiding those who are most socioeconomically vulnerable creates a perfect storm with potentially devastating and wide-reaching consequences.