Letters to the Editor: ‘Climate migration in reverse’: High home prices drive people to Salton Sea’s foul air

To the editor: For Imperial Valley residents reading between the lines, the article about the decline in respiratory health for people living near the evaporating Salton Sea chronicles the intersection of housing insecurity and environmental risk.

Your article begins with the story of the Clark family, who moved to Niland — an Imperial County community with little public health infrastructure and high environmental risk — because of housing unaffordability in their previous hometown. Even with the state’s highest unemployment rate, home prices in Imperial County have risen by 24% in just the last year.

Stories of economic migration to towns lining the Salton Sea — such as Thermal, Niland and Salton City — in search of affordable housing reveal a kind of climate migration in reverse. Economic insecurity is driving people to areas with high environmental risk and low public health infrastructure.

As lithium investments around the Salton Sea grow, so must investments in preventing and mitigating environmental risk in our communities. These investments must also strengthen access to basic needs such as housing, healthcare and jobs, so people’s exposure to environmental pollution isn’t determined by economic status.

Daniela Flores, Calipatria, Calif.

The writer is co-founder of the Imperial Valley Equity and Justice Coalition.