Thriving Salton Sea Communities Project

The Thriving Salton Sea Communities project examines the environmental and public health crisis surrounding California’s Salton Sea, focusing on hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) emissions and their disproportionate impact on nearby low-income, predominantly Indigenous and Latinx communities. While government agencies tend to treat H₂S as a minor odor nuisance, this research—grounded in community-based monitoring—demonstrates that emissions are more frequent and severe than officially reported, and are closely tied to environmental conditions like wind and temperature. Residents experience these emissions as chronic, embodied health burdens linked to respiratory issues, headaches, and broader environmental injustices, compounded by agricultural pollution, shrinking water levels, and inadequate infrastructure. The project reframes H₂S exposure as not just a technical issue, but a matter of environmental justice and lived experience.

Combining scientific data with interviews, focus groups, and creative workshops conducted in partnership with community organizations, the research highlights how pollution shapes both physical health and perceptions of the future, especially among youth who associate the region with decline and limited opportunity. It also critiques “safe threshold” models of pollution, showing how residents experience toxicity as constant and pervasive. In its final phase, the project aims to return knowledge and tools to the community through accessible outputs like a zine, workshops, and advocacy resources, while promoting participatory, community-led research. Ultimately, it seeks to challenge narratives of the Salton Sea as a lost or toxic space and instead support visions of environmental justice and long-term community thriving.