Latinos: More Concerned about the Environment than Average Americans

LATINO PERSPECTIVE-Yes it’s true, according to recent polls, Americans of Latino descent are more worried about the quality of our air, water and the alarming effects of climate change already impacting our country, than the average American. 

Anyone who says that Latinos are only concerned with immigration doesn’t understand the complexity of American Latinos. 

In an article in the NY Times titled Climate Is Big Issue for Hispanics, and Personal Gabriel Sanchez, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Mexico and director of research at Latino Decisions says that there’s a stereotype that Latinos are not aware of or concerned about these issues. He argues that “Latinos are actually among the most concerned about the environment, particularly global warming.” 

One reason, Mr. Sanchez and others said, is that Latinos often live in areas where they are directly exposed to pollution, such as neighborhoods near highways and power plants. 

According to a poll conducted earlier this year by the same paper, Stanford University and the nonpartisan environmental research group Resources for the Future found that Latinos are more likely than non-Latino whites to view global warming as a problem that affects them personally. It also found that they are more likely to support policies, such as taxes and regulations on greenhouse gas pollution, aimed at curbing it. 

Among Latino respondents to the poll, 54 percent rated global warming as extremely or very important to them personally, compared with 37 percent of whites. Sixty-seven percent of Latinos said they would be hurt personally to a significant degree if nothing was done to reduce global warming, compared with half of whites.

And 63 percent of Latinos said the federal government should act broadly to address global warming, compared with 49 percent of whites. 

A greater percentage of Latinos than whites identify as Democrats, and Democrats are more likely than Republicans and independents to say that the government should fight climate change. In the poll, 48 percent of Latinos identified as Democrats, 31 percent as independents and 15 percent as Republicans. Among whites, 23 percent identified as Democrats, 41 percent as independents and 27 percent as Republicans. 

Over all, the findings of the poll run contrary to a longstanding view in politics that the environment is largely a concern of affluent, white liberals. 

I agree with Fernando Espuelas who is a political analyst and contributor toThe Hill when he says that the time has come for a Green-Latino Electoral Alliance. The Latino concern with climate change reflects not just a greater acceptance of the climate change scientific evidence than the general population; it's also a very practical focus on health. Latino kids are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino white kids.   

Espuelas brings to our attention that Latinos and other minority communities are disproportionately impacted by air pollution. About 50 percent of American Latino families live in areas with high pollution indexes, creating at least an inferred link between pollution and the disproportionate ravages of asthma and other diseases among Latinos. 

Politicians would be smart to bring this issue to the forefront, and be concerned with it. Activating Latino support for climate change policies is not only critical and necessary but the right thing to do. 

Immigration is very important but contaminated air and water is a matter of life and death ... just ask Erin Brockovich. 

 

-cw

 

CityWatch 

Vol 13 Issue 63 

Pub: Aug 4, 2015

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