Healthy Desert, Healthy You
Environmental Health Summit (free event)
Date: September 11-12, 2025
Location: The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa
The summit is presented by the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation, a local government agency formed in 1948. Its mission is to achieve optimal health at all stages of life for all District residents. The District includes more than 400,000 residents and encompasses the entire Coachella Valley. The District and Desert Healthcare Foundation, together, are one of the largest funders in the valley. These funds are used to assist residents — especially the underserved — in accessing vitally needed resources, such as primary and behavioral healthcare.
The summit’s topics are at the intersection of climate, health, and equity, building community, and advancing collaborative work for a healthier, more equitable future:
- The Changing Climate: Impacts, Challenges, and Action
- Advancing Renewable Energy & Green Technology for a Sustainable Future
- Balancing Growth: The Environmental Impact of Land Use, Infrastructure, and Corporate Distribution Centers
- Keynote Speaker: Andrea Vidaurre: The Peoples Collective
- Mitigating Air Quality Issues: RFP Grantee Solutions
- Building Tomorrow: Youth in Action Today and Careers in Environmental Health
- Clearing the Air: Health Expert & Community Voices on Air Quality and Health Outcomes
- Navigating the Future of Water: Challenges, Solutions, and Sustainability
- Strenghtening Environmental Health: Government & City-Led Responses
- Restoring the Salton Sea & Lithium Extraction: Balancing Opportunity and Environmental Impact
Annual Salton Sea Workshop by the State Water Board
Date: May 21, 2025
Location: Coachella Valley Unified School District Board Room 87-225 Church Street, Thermal, CA 92274
Time: 9am – 6pm
More information: waterboards.ca.gov/saltonsea/
The State Water Resources Control Board will hold its annual workshop on the status of Phase 1 of the Salton Sea Management Program. The one-day workshop will have multiple options for participation: a physical meeting location in Coachella Valley, and a virtual participation option through Zoom. There will also be a watch-only webcast option for those who do not intend to provide public comment. All formats will offer live Spanish interpretation, and workshop materials will be provided in English and Spanish. Public comments are welcomed and encouraged.
2025 We Are Not Alone lecture series at UC Riverside, Palm Desert Campus
The inaugural “We Are Not Alone” series will focus on a particularly concerning environmental challenge right in our own neighborhood—the Salton Sea. You can register for the series at the UCR Palm Desert website.
The Salton Sea Challenge—The Big Picture
6 p.m. Jan. 30, 2025
Speaker: Distinguished Professor Timothy Lyons, UCR Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Mayhew Professor of Geo-ecology; Salton Sea Task Force.
An overview of what is happening, why we should care, and why you should come to the other three lectures to hear the details.
Water: Salton Sea at the Crossroads of Change
6 p.m. Feb. 19, 2025
Speaker: Caroline Hung, PhD Candidate in Biogeochemistry, UCR Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
An assessment of environmental challenges on water quality at this critical juncture for the Salton Sea.
Health: The Impacts of a Drying Salton Sea
6 p.m. March 20, 2025
Speaker: Emma Aronson, Associate Professor of Environmental Microbiology; UCR Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology; Salton Sea Task Force.
Exploring the health impacts of dust and particulate emissions from the Salton Sea on local communities.
Air: What’s Blowing in the Wind at the Salton Sea?
6 p.m. April 10, 2025
Speaker: Will Porter, Assistant Professor of Atmospheric Dynamics and Modeling; UCR Department of Environmental Science; director of the Salton Sea Task Force.
How to address air quality changes in the increasingly dry, dusty future facing the Salton Sea basin.
Salton Sea Summit 2024
Advances at the nexus of water, air, and health
Date: October 18 and 19, 2024
Location: UCR Palm Desert Campus
More information: https://www.saltonseasummit.org/
This coming Fall the UCR Salton Sea Task Force will host the fourth biannual Salton Sea Summit, with a focus on assembling and sharing cutting-edge research related to some of the most pressing environmental questions facing the Salton Sea region, as well as providing a platform for community dialogue and communication. This year’s summit will be held on October 18th and 19th at Riverside’s Palm Desert campus, with remote viewing also available on the second day at two satellite locations in Imperial and Mecca.
Healthy Desert, Healthy You
Environmental Health Summit (free)
Date: September 20-21, 2024
Location: The Westin Rancho Mirage Golf Resort & Spa
Discussing the intersection of climate, health, and equity, building community, and advancing collaborative work for a healthier, more equitable future.
The speakers include many of the Scientists who participated in our Salton Sea Community Forum in December of 2022. It will be an opportunity to meet with others who are concerned about our environment, and plan how we can protect and improve it.
UC Riverside Palm Desert presents: Asthma and the Salton Sea: Community Studies on the Disparate Effects of Environmental Exposures and Health Impacts
Date: Tuesday, March 26, 2024
Time: 6-7pm
Location: UCR Palm Desert, 75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211
Click to register
While much work remains to be done to understand the relationship between the Salton Sea and the health impacts on residents, UCR studies point to interesting observations. These correlations may point to the underlying causes of asthma in the region, as well as the mechanisms of disease, which may also assist with diagnosis and treatment. Speakers: Dr. David Lo, distinguished professor of Biomedical Sciences, and Kezyiah Yisrael, PhD candidate and researcher.
Tears for Water: Prayer Vigil for the Salton Sea
Sunday, November 12, 2023
2:30 PM-5 PM
North Shore Beach and Yacht Club
99155 Sea View Dr, Mecca, CA 92254
Light snacks will be served
Salton Sea Community Forum
Date: Saturday, December 3, 2022
Time: Noon – 5:30 p.m.
Location: UC RIVERSIDE – Palm Desert Center
75080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92211
The Salton Sea Coalition will host a Free Community Event to educate and inform residents of the Coachella and Imperial Valleys about Salton Sea water importation proposals, air quality, and health issues. The event will begin with a reception including snacks, poster making, and a cultural performance. The reception will be followed by the main program, featuring panels of medical and scientific experts.
HEALTH PANEL
Moderated by Karina Quintanilla, Palm Desert City Council
Dr. David Lo, UCR Center for Health Disparities
Dr. Ryan Sinclair PhD, Loma Linda University
Lilly Garcia, United for Justice, Inc.
Dr. Will Porter, UCR Air Pollution Researcher
Parents & Children from Salton Sea Communities suffering from dust-related illnesses
WATER IMPORTATION PANEL
Moderated by Russell Betts, Desert Hot Springs City Council
Tom Sephton, Desalination Expert
Rodney Smith, Salton Sea Canal Project from the Sea of Cortez in Mexico
Andrew Hanna, Pipeline from the Pacific Ocean
ENVIRONMENTAL PANEL
Dr. Will Porter, UCR Air Pollution Researcher
Dr. Hoori Ajami, UCR Water Researcher (Hydrologist)
Dr. Caroline Hung, UCR Sea Bottom Toxics Researcher
Dr. Charlie Diamond, UCR Sea Bottom Toxics Researcher
Janet Wilson, Senior Environmental Reporter at the Desert Sun
Salton Sea Coalition 