Sergio Olmos Profile picture
Investigative reporter @CalMatters | sergio@calmatters.org | dm for Signal | 🇲🇽

Sep 4, 2021, 9 tweets

Climate change is already exacting a toll, and some are paying a higher price than others.

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

Employees of a farm in Southern Oregon described cramped living conditions in temporary housing that made escaping the outside heat difficult.

Six bunk beds stacked in rows, small fans were tied to beds with pieces of cloth.

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

It’s so hot that some farm workers have to wear headlamps and work at night to escape the heat, like this Pear farm in Zillah, Washington.

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

At one unit where migrant workers lived, there were little protection from the elements, the windows were fully covered to keep the heat and light out.

Oregon’s new heat safety rules require rooms to be 78°F, they were not.

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

In a farm in southern Oregon, migrants lived in housing that had little protection against the heat.

Small fans were tied to beds with pieces of cloth.

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

Beatriz, 38, like many others, is paid by what she can pick. “The grape goes to waste with the smoke,” she said.

“It affects our pay also, because we don’t get paid for bad grapes.”

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

“There has never been a drought this severe,” said Kurt Meyer, who is cutting down his fourth generation Pear orchard in Medford.

“After 111 years, we didn’t have much of a choice. You can’t farm without water.”

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

“The industry will have to go to where there’s water,” Mr. Meyer said, who is cutting down his Pear orchard after 111 years farming in Medford.

“I don’t see the Rogue Valley being a big farming community anymore.”

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

The hazards of air quality and heat are magnified by the continued risk of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Medford area has had among the highest growth rates of Covid cases in the United States.

Photos by @jordangalephoto
nytimes.com/2021/09/04/bus…

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