Climate Elders': How climate change is hurting older people in the Americas

"Water supply is a constant concern for all farmers in the area. Although the first canals to bring this resource to the highlands date back to the Inca era, climate change has made that supply increasingly unstable, and illegal mining in the nearby mountains poses yet another threat.For Ubaldo, who switched from traditional agriculture to the more profitable cultivation of herbs for cosmetic use, the availability of clean water has become even more crucial, as the family business is strictly organic."

"Gregorio Rios, 75, is a self-taught architect. He has worked on the construction of several water systems in Peru and Bolivia. A few years ago, he returned to his native San Pedro de Casta, in the central Andes of Peru, where he has been promoting the restoration and construction of ancient water harvesting' infrastructure, as many local farmers were experiencing droughts due to climate change."

"Francisco Vigo Api'soomaahka (William Singer III) stands by the dry pond next to his home in the Kainai Nation near Stand Off, Alberta. The disappearance of the pond is a symptom of the declining water table, which now casts uncertainty on the viability of his well. At 60, Api'soomaahka is becoming an elder in the traditional sense, but he has been working to restore the native prairie on his plot, called Naapi's Garden, as a means of building ecosystem resilience,"

Ubaldo Almeida, 61, farms at 2,370 meters in Cahuasqui, Ecuador, where water supply is a constant concern. Ancient Inca canals exist, but climate change and illegal mining have made supply unreliable. Ubaldo shifted to herb cultivation for cosmetics and needs clean water for a strictly organic family business. Gregorio Rios, 75, of San Pedro de Casta, Peru, promotes restoration of ancient water-harvesting infrastructure after building systems in Peru and Bolivia. In the Kainai Nation, Alberta, Francisco Api'soomaahka faces a drying pond and declining water table while restoring native prairie to build ecosystem resilience and food security. In Miami, lifeguard Robert Reddick, 72, reports reduced outdoor activity as extreme heat forces people indoors and raises health risks.

Read at english.elpais.com