The Coachella Valley in California is home to many Mexican migrant workers. Despite the heat, they work ten hours straight on date or vegetable plantations. Many of them live in barely serviceable housing.
– It feels very damp, and the floor is about to break, says Adriano Zacarias, who lives with his family in the area.
Nearby is Palm Springs, the world’s most golfing city. Residents there use twice as much water per capita as in the rest of California. Now there are also plans to build the Thermal Beach Club, a residential area built in a water park.
– It’s completely crazy. What you do is you take something that is already going on and pump it full of anabolic steroids, says Manuel Pastor, professor of sociology.
Growing gap between rich and the most vulnerable
He researches the growing gap between those who can afford to buy protection against the increasing extreme weather and those who are most vulnerable.
– Who has air conditioning when the weather is hot? Who can drive a car with air conditioning and not have to wait for the bus without protection from the heat?, he says.
Southwest California has always been hot and there have always been poor migrant workers, how has the situation changed as a result of the climate crisis?
– There is an increasing realization that climate change is real. But there is also a realization that the climate gap is just as real. This means that certain groups are at greater risk of being affected by climate change, says Manuel Pastor.
In the Coachella Valley, the water is too dirty to brush your teeth or cook – in Palm Springs, homes are being built in a water park. See the big differences in the video.