About The Salton Sea
While people may have heard of the Salton Sea in movies such as “Into the Wild,” not many know about its significance. The Salton Sea was a hot-spot of a lake for celebrities in the 1950s that has now quickly fallen to a nearly desolate desert. But this seemingly forgotten place outside of Los Angeles is not a place to be forgotten.
The Salton Sea, a 35 by 15-mile lake, is California’s largest inland body of water, located in the desert. The lake was created from the flooding of Colorado's river and is home to 300 species of birds and three species of fish. However, the Salton Sea is toxic, since its shoreline is receding and thus exposing a sandy substance that holds a century’s worth of agricultural runoff, DDT, and carcinogenic herbicides.
It is difficult for locals to have their say about what is done to the Salton Sea. The odor of the area and dead fishes have compromised the quality of life of those residing nearby. Especially during Summer months, the heat makes the smell unbearable, and the repeated agriculture makes dust devils a regular occurrence. Indigenous communities also have worse housing and mostly service jobs. The issues with the environment affect them disproportionately compared to wealthier communities in the area. Their housing is dilapidated as they live in food deserts.
Although environmental problems are happening all around the world, some are more neglected than others by society, being that they might not even be aware of it, and politicians, who fail to act term after term. The State of California has barely paid attention to the lake’s problems, which is already causing local communities to suffer from the consequences, such as air pollution. Politicians’ performances are still far from being effective for the Salton Sea. There are still funding barriers preventing the L.A. District from further promoting effective practices to preserve the lake. With the spike of the COVID-19 pandemic, the funding went to emergency needs instead, delaying even more an urgent problem that can no longer be postponed by the state and federal government. Also, more expensive wetland habitat restoration is needed, and as long as the money is properly and exceptionally spent for that purpose, change will not be made. This problem negatively affects biodiversity and society, creating an ecological disaster.
Environmental justice is also social and human rights justice.