Latino Communities at Risk 2004 Report from Sierra Club
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The Sierra Club's 2004 Latino Communities at Risk Report details the cumulative impact of the Bush administration's environmental actions on Hispanic communities throughout the country. The report looks behind the policy and the numbers to tell the stories of 12 individuals and families whose health and livelihoods have been directly affected by the Bush administration's environmental policies.
The Hispanic community is disproportionately at risk. Study after
study has shown that Hispanic communities are located in the most
polluted areas of cities. Three out of every five Latinos live in
communities near uncontrolled toxic waste sites. Eighty percent of
Latinos live in the 437 counties with the country's worst air, compared
to 57 percent of Anglos and 65 percent of African Americans.3 And 90
percent of farm workers are Hispanic and are still exposed to extremely
dangerous pesticides.
The Sierra Club's report tells the stories of Latinos from communities
throughout the United States (NY, NM, NC, AZ, WI, CA, PA, FL, as well
as Puerto Rico and Mexico). Guillermo Ruiz and Jorge Fernández are farm
workers incapacitated by their exposure to toxic pesticides. Michael
Vallejo, Thania Delgado, and Nicholas Jaramillo are all suffering from
the asthma epidemic that plagues our nation. Zeida Santana and Maria
Nolasco are worried about exposing their children to dangerous toxins
like mercury and lead. And Chris Velasquez and Miguel Davila are seeing
the lands and waters that support their families be destroyed.
According to the Sierra Club, "There is a better way. We have the
technology and the knowledge needed to clean up and prevent the
poisoning of our air, water and land. Every community, every person
deserves that protection. The Bush administration should protect all of
our communities - for our families, for our future."
To access the report and find out more, visit http://sierraclub.org/comunidades/ingles/, or for Spanish visit http://sierraclub.org/comunidades/
