Climate change affects all of us, but it disproportionately affects the health of Latino communities. Nationally, Latino children are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino white children, and two out of five Latinos live within 30 miles of a power plant. Thankfully, our elected officials and Latino voters are increasingly becoming aware of these facts and are moving toward action that will protect our communities from climate change and pollution. The Clean Power Plan is one such example, and with our support, will be a good step toward addressing these environmental justice issues.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment – an arm of Gov. Hickenlooper’s administration – will be creating our state plan to meet the Clean Power Plan and reduce our statewide carbon pollution by 30 percent in the next 15 years. I highly encourage its leaders to consider the affects of the plan on our Latino population and make an effort to focus on steps that will ensure a healthy environment for our most vulnerable communities.
Earth Justice and Green Latinos conducted a survey at the beginning of this year that indicated 78 percent of Latinos say they’ve directly experienced the effects of climate change, while six out of 10 Latinos have confidence that enacting stronger environmental laws will improve economic growth and create new jobs. These facts speak to a larger theme; that the environment is an important issue to Latinos, who are in turn becoming an increasingly powerful force in elections.
The Clean Power Plan is smart policy, and Colorado has the tools to develop a state plan that could drastically improve our public health, particularly for Latinos and other disproportionately impacted communities. Join me in thanking Gov. Hickenlooper for his work on the plan and requesting a fair and just state plan that does it’s best by Coloradans.
Deedee deHaro-Brown
Durango
