Earth Day falls on April 22, and it’s a reminder of the environmental challenges that face us — including Latinos.
According to research from the Environmental Defense Fund, a United States-based nonprofit environmental advocacy group, most Latinos live in states that are on the frontlines of climate change like in California, Texas, and Florida — states that have experienced increasingly destructive extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas and Louisiana in 2017, particularly affected Latinos as 27 percent of Latinos whose homes were damaged by the storm said their living conditions were still not safe one year later. The Environmental Defense Fund noted that historically, government spending has prioritized the most valuable property for flood protection, thus benefiting wealthier and whiter areas — rather than those who have the hardest time recovering from an environmental disaster.
Because Latinos make up 57 percent of farm laborers, graders and sorters collectively, workers are subject to environmental hazards and climate impacts because their work mostly takes places outside. The same goes for the construction industry as Latinos represent 27 percent of the labor force. These workers are severely impacted climate change compared to other groups in the country. Thankfully, there is an organization working to fix the issue.
Nonprofit GreenLatinos works to demand equity and dismantle racism by advocating for environ- mental, conservation and climate justice. The group is focused on developing strengthening its federal advocacy work by researching and focusing on Latino’s disproportionate needs and policy priorities. Its policy priorities include climate justice and clean air, public land and ocean, sustainable communities, by extreme heat, hazardous air pollution from destructive wildfires, and other forms of climate change.
Other data from the Environmental Defense Fund found that Latinos are 21 percent more likely than whites to live in urban heat islands, which can be up to 22 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than rural and suburban areas because of factors like city surfaces being covered in pavement and concrete while lacking tree cover. Research from universities, government entities, and others found that Latinos on average breathe in 63 percent more particulate air pollution than they create through their activities and consumption compared to white Americans who breathe in 17 percent less particulate air pollution than they create. These factors can lead to lung disease, heart attacks, strokes, asthma, and cancer.
Simply put, Latinos face different challenges from water equity, and local work in Colorado.
The group’s Colorado state team has worked on various legislative campaigns which include Ean Thomas Tafoya, an active member of the Denver Public Affairs, Colorado Public Policy, Federal Environmental Policy communities and recent candidate for the Denver mayoral race; along with Juan Roberto, a community member focused on Colorado Clean Transportation and Energy Policy. Those who are interested in supporting the organization can make donations at greenlatinos.org/donations.
We can all work toward creating a healthier environment by talking to friends and family about climate change, voting on environmental initiatives, and by urging leaders to rebuild better by investing in clean energy to create more jobs and less pollution.
