Latinos nationwide gear up to fight for environmental justice
By hola | Published | No Comments
Latinos are often referred to as “canaries in the mine” when it comes to climate change, pollution and other environmental problems, Biden administration official Dr. Cecilia Martinez told an online discussion that drew more than 500 people around the country last week. Because Latinos are one of the most impacted groups, she continued, it’s key to identify who benefits and who loses from environmental policies and regulations.
“Environmental justice means a healthy environment where we live, where we work, where we play, where we pray, and where we go to school,” said Martinez, Senior Director for Environmental Justice President Biden’s White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Martinez was one of four speakers at “21st Century Latino Agenda: Prioritizes Climate Action” on Facebook Live on Mar. 10. The discussion was co-hosted by several organizations including the Green Latinos and EcoMadres and organized by The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). It featured Vanessa Hauc, a journalist and director of “Noticias Telemundo Planeta Tierra,” who moderated the discussion; Tomás Carbonell, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Stationary Sources in the Office of Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Dr. Gerald Torres, an environmental justice professor at the Yale School of the Environment.
“We must turn public health issues into environmental justice issues,” Torres told the audience, using the public transportation sector as an example of how government policies and regulations often relate to public health in unexpected ways. Is there public transportation available to get you to a hospital when you need one? If you live in a warm climate, are bus shelters in place to provide shade for waiting riders?
Another important way government policy intersects with public health and environmental justice is the lack of green spaces in urban neighborhoods. “Re-greening” U.S. cities by creating parks and planting trees, for example, could improve respiratory health, Torres added. Studies have also found that access to green spaces ameliorates mental health problems, he added.
The Biden administration’s plans for tackling environmental justice and how those plans involve the country’s Latino communities also dominated the discussion. Martinez said a key goal of the new administration is improving the country’s regulatory system in regards to environmental justice, since it hasn’t been effective in the past when it comes to addressing environmental injustices.
“We do not have a system, currently, that can monitor the cumulative health impacts of multiple sources of emissions and multiple contaminants on a particular community; nor do we have an effective way to regulate those in a way that can maximize public health and safety,” Martinez stated.
Torres and Carbonell offered priorities that they think the Biden administration should focus on, including major issues such as air pollution and water scarcity. According to Dr. Torres, enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act would provide investment with long term benefits and generally improve public health. Investments in reducing air pollution driving childhood asthma and other ills affecting residents of all ages, are also crucial, the panelists agreed, as is investing in energy that reduces greenhouse emissions. However, the panelists also noted that different communities struggle with different problems and priorities, so identifying them at the community level is vital.
“Environmental Justice is finally being a center focal point of environmental and climate policy both in the administration but also in Congress,” Martinez said.
—Arthur Boyer
*Story produced in Hola Cultura’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning (SPEL).
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