(Earthbeat National Catholic Reporter. Aleja Hertzler-Mccain).
Latinos are uniquely positioned to take action on environmental causes due to the hazards they face and their commitment to the issue, said experts at a Wednesday (May 22) panel hosted by Georgetown University. “What makes our community become environmentalists,” said Elena Gaona, communications director for the Chispa (Spanish for “Spark”) branch of the League of Conservation Voters, “is more urgent and more connected to the life and death of their children and of themselves and of their neighbors.” “While climate change is here, it has been here longer and felt more deeply by communities that are Latino in the U.S.,” she said. Mark Hugo Lopez, the director of race and ethnicity research for Pew Research Center, said that Latinos report being more impacted by environmental issues and more concerned about climate change than the general U.S. population. “Latinos are poised to be leaders in their communities and nationally on environmental issues,” he said.
