Hispanics Show Growing Clout in Environmental Debate By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
Published: October 16, 2006 EL MONTE, Calif. (AP) - Maria Valdez didn?t consider herself an environmentalist when she pressed this city east of Los Angeles to buy land ringed with factories and railroad tracks for a new neighborhood park. The trash lot is now on its way to becoming a green oasis with a butterfly sanctuary and community garden _ and Valdez is undergoing a transformation of her own. Next month she will be sworn in as president of the El Monte chapter of Mujeres de la Tierra, a two-year-old environmental group that caters to Hispanic immigrants and translates as ?Women of the Earth.? ?When you get involved and you know that you could make it happen, it feels good,? said Valdez, a stay-at-home mother of six. ?I?m interested in the water, the air _ for our kids.? Spurred by high rates of asthma and lead poisoning among their children, Hispanic immigrants such as Valdez, a U.S. citizen who left Mexico as a child, are embracing green values like never before _ on their own terms. Hispanic activists and politicians talk openly about building a unique green movement that distances itself from mainstream environmental groups, even as those organizations hope to tap into newfound Hispanic political clout. Those involved in the nascent movement cite a gap between the priorities of traditional environmentalists, who may focus on saving endangered species and preserving roadless areas, and the practical concerns of many Hispanic immigrants, who confront thick smog and lead-laced water every day in inner-city neighborhoods. Many also are wary of groups like the Sierra Club, which has debated whether to make U.S. immigration control part of its platform. ?If you ask a Latino, `Are you an environmentalist?? they?ll say `No? because it boxes you in,? said Irma Munoz, founder of Mujeres de la Tierra. ?Environmentalists blame Latinos for all the problems.? The newly defined movement is strongest in Southern California. Last month, more than 1,200 Hispanic community leaders, activists and politicians gathered in Los Angeles for the first meeting of its kind in decades. Participants in the National Latino Congreso drafted resolutions on issues ranging from emissions reductions to mercury pollution, hoping Hispanic voters will use those as a litmus test for candidates in the 2008 presidential campaign. Some high-profile Hispanic politicians also are intent on being green. Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, co-sponsored a groundbreaking law that makes California the first state to put a cap on greenhouse gas emissions, including those from industrial plants. He said his interest grew partly out of his concern for the effect that poor air quality has on Hispanic children. ?For a long time, the image of an environmentalist in California was a stereotypical, brie-eating, chardonnay-sipping, Volvo-driving Marin County-ite,? Nunez said at a speech at the Los Angeles gathering. ?But there were other issues that affected people who wouldn?t commonly be known as environmentalists.? In the heavily Hispanic cities of Maywood and Bell Gardens, also just outside Los Angeles, local politicians got elected last year by focusing on industrial pollution, lingering Superfund sites and water contamination. A 2004 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that nearly 70 percent of Hispanics live in areas that violate federal air quality standards and Hispanic children are twice as likely as non-Hispanic white children to have lead in their blood. Traditional environmental groups have catered to the Hispanic green movement by hiring Spanish-speaking outreach coordinators, starting Spanish-language Web sites and running ads on Spanish TV and radio. Some, such as the Earth Day Network and Sierra Club, helped sponsor the National Latino Congreso and work with activists on local projects. Oliver Bernstein, deputy press secretary for Sierra Club?s diversity programs, said his organization has been doing environmental justice work with grassroots Hispanic groups since 1992. At the Latino Congreso, Bernstein said many Hispanic leaders were ?pleased that Sierra Club was working hand in hand with them.? Some Hispanic environmentalists say they want to do it their way. For Hispanic immigrants, environmentalism can mean building a park, getting rid of a smoke-belching factory or persuading railroads to run freight trains less often _ not protecting an endangered species hundreds of miles from their homes. ?We?re not the tree-huggers,? said Laura Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. ?We have to deal with high numbers of asthma patients and Superfund sites and how it affects communities.? Mainstream environmental groups recognize that they are shadowed by past mistakes _ but say they are ready to move forward. Adrianna Quintero, the director of Latino advocacy and outreach at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said the organization created her position to reach out to local activists. The group?s work with Hispanic environmentalists on Nunez?s emissions cap bill was a watershed moment for both sides, Quintero said. ?From now on, going forward, we hope that everything will be like that,? she said. ?The reality of it is that we have so much in common. Our goals are the same, which is to make a better planet for everyone.?
