Adrianna Quintero2013-06-19T07:12:51-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.voces.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=adrianna-quinteroCopyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc.HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Adrianna QuinteroGood old fashioned elbow grease.Latinos Agree: Time for President Obama to Cut Carbon Pollution From Power Plantstag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.32704512013-05-14T15:27:50-04:002013-05-14T15:27:56-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/cheered this commitment, knowing that they stood to suffer should climate change continue to worsen.
Now, three months later -- and without Congress doing anything on the climate front -- we're watching for the president's next move. The Obama Administration has missed its deadline to cut industrial carbon pollution from power plants. With this missed deadline comes a new poll of Latinos nationwide, confirming that the time for President Obama to act is now.
With Congress stalled, the president has a historic opportunity to set America on the path to a sustainable energy future and fight climate change. The Obama Administration has already taken major strides in this direction, raising vehicle fuel efficiency standards from 29.7 to 54.5 miles per gallon, so we'll soon be able to travel twice as far on a tank of gas. We've invested more than $90 billion dollars toward innovations in new energy sources, smarter electric grids, advanced battery storage, and more -- solutions that are yielding benefits and creating jobs today.
But there's a lot more to do if we want to make a serious, long-term dent in the carbon that polluters are pumping into our air. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already proposed standards to limit carbon pollution from new power plants -- the first time in U.S. history power plants will be subject to such controls. Coal-fired power plants are the biggest global warming culprit in the country (responsible for around 40 percent of our emissions), and these historic standards will ensure new plants won't be able to spew carbon pollution unchecked.
These standards are important for Latinos. Nearly half of all U.S. Latinos live in the country's most smog-polluted cities, breathing in dirty air that can cause asthma attacks, reduce lung function, and aggravate respiratory illnesses. Climate change -- and the hotter temperatures that come with it -- only make smog worse. For children, the elderly, outdoor workers, and those without health insurance in the Hispanic community, these conditions can be deadly.
Because these impacts too often hit home for Latinos, it's no surprise that polls are once again showing extremely high support among Latinos for government action to curb carbon pollution.
A new poll carried out by Voces Verdes and Latino Decisions in late April shows that 84 percent of U.S. Latinos favor the EPA setting safeguards to limit air pollution that impacts public health. Importantly, 86 percent of those surveyed said they would support President Obama taking action to limit pollution that causes climate change. This mirrors past polls showing that Latinos consider the environment and public health top priorities, and think that government action on air pollution is key.
Now is the time for us to rise to the challenge. Hispanic voters put their faith in President Obama, reelecting him to tackle key issues for our community, including a changing climate that threatens our communities, our health and our future. Delaying life-saving standards isn't just a political maneuver; it has big impacts on the everyday lives of Latino families and other vulnerable populations.
President Obama: The Latino community has your back as your administration works to limit carbon pollution from new and existing coal-fired power plants. And we urge your administration to move swiftly to finalize the standards and help our families and future generations breathe easier.]]>From Immigration to Climate Change: It's All Part of the Latino Nationtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.30570362013-04-11T14:22:51-04:002013-06-11T05:12:02-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/on the "to do list" for U.S. Latinos.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there are roughly 50.5 million Latinos in America, about 16 percent of our population. By 2050, the Latino population will double to 30 percent. And while Latinos represent a wide range of national origins, ethnic and cultural groups, with a full spectrum of social class and ancestry with roots in indigenous American, European, African, even Asian populations, we share a common cultural heritage that defines our American experience similarly. The same way Irish heritage defines Irish Americans or Italians their experience, we as Latinos, Hispanics, Chicanos or whatever we choose to call ourselves, share a cultural heritage that unites us culturally in a meaningful way.
I had the pleasure of participating in Tavis Smiley'sLatino Nation: Beyond the Numbers, where PBS broadcaster Tavis Smiley, in partnership with the William C. Velásquez Institute, gathered some of the nation's top Latino leaders and influencers for a national conversation on the challenges and opportunities facing Latinos in the U.S. today.
Latino Nation: Beyond the Numbers, takes an important step towards exploring the Latino perspective on a broad range of issues that are priorities for the Latino community. The panel discussion artfully guided by Mr. Smiley, navigates issues from immigration to the economy to education to environment and how growing Latino engagement on these issues will impact our country. In doing so, Latino Nation dispels the notion that we are single-issue voters.
Environment, for example, is not often considered central to the Latino agenda despite the concern that Latinos have shown time and again on climate change, clean energy and conservation issues. Latino Nation, however, explores and reveals the often overlooked reality that like the momentum building on immigration reform, Latinos are ready to demand that the US show leadership on addressing climate change now.
Perhaps this is because here in the U.S. nearly half of all Latinos breathe air that doesn't meet air quality standards, or because we have watched family members in Latin America suffer the impacts of climate change. Either way, our concerns over the impacts of our rapidly changing climate are real and are motivating our community into action.
As Hispanics continue to gain greater recognition for the positive contributions we have made to U.S. culture, the economy and politics, we are quickly becoming more eager and ready to step up our level of civic participation and engagement. If we succeed in building upon this momentum with a renewed focus on education, empowerment and engagement, the Latino Nation will not only benefit Latinos, it will benefit our nation as a whole. Latino Nation gives us a glimpse into what we'll need to do to get there.
Tune in to Latino Nation on Tavis Smiley on PBS, April 10-12.]]>El Papa Francisco hace un llamado a líderes mundiales por la protección ambientaltag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.29090832013-03-19T14:25:31-04:002013-05-19T05:12:01-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
El Arzobispo Jorge Mario Bergoglio, ahora Papa Francisco, nació y creció en Buenos Aires, le encanta el tango y el fútbol y ante todo parece ser un modelo de austeridad, modestia y humildad. Favorece el uso de transporte público y prefiere llevar una vida sencilla, viviendo entre sus feligreses y rechazando los lujos que su posición le permitía como cardenal. Y como vimos en su primera aparición pública como Papa, su estilo parece ser de modestia y calor humano. Los devotos latinoamericanos rebosan de alegría y tienen una fe renovada. Y a pesar que muchos discrepan con su postura en algunos temas sociales de gran importancia, su compromiso por servir a los pobres parece ser inquebrantable.
Ha elegido su nombre papal en honra a San Francisco de Asís. San Francisco (circa 1181) se distinguió por su devoción por proteger a los pobres y la naturaleza. Se le atribuye el milagro de poder hablar con los animales, especialmente las aves, lo que explica porque en los retratos históricos esta rodeado de ellos. San Francisco poseía una ideología progresista que aspiraba alejar a la iglesia de su afán por buscar poder institucional y hacia su propósito cristiano de servir y atender a los humanos y cuidar de la naturaleza como creaciones de Dios en la tierra.
Como madre, católica, latina y líder ambiental, me inspira que el Papa Francisco ya está prestando su voz por el medio ambiente. Todos los que trabajamos en protección ambiental, reconocemos que el cambio climático, la contaminación mortal y la destrucción de los recursos naturales seriamente amenazan al planeta y, en particular, el bienestar y la vida de los pobres.
El Papa Benedicto XVI hizo grandes avances para ayudar a concientizar al mundo sobre el cambio climático y como sus impactos amenazan a los más pobres y vulnerables, vinculándolo a la inseguridad alimentaria y la escasez de agua. Benedicto XVI solicitó una reducción en el consumo de energía, mayor sensibilidad ecológica, mayor eficiencia energética y la investigación en fuentes alternativas de energía, a la vez instalando $1,5 millones en paneles solares con el objetivo de transformar al Vaticano en el primer estado neutral en carbono. El Papa Benedicto XVI también criticó la "resistencia económica y política" ante la lucha contra el cambio climático y la degradación del medio ambiente.
Hoy, en la homilía de inicio de su pontificado, Francisco insta a cristianos y no cristianos a ser "custodios de la Creación".
"Quisiera pedir, por favor, a todos los que ocupan puestos de responsabilidad en el ámbito económico, político o social, a todos los hombres y mujeres de buena voluntad: seamos custodios de la Creación, del designio de Dios inscrito en la naturaleza, guardianes del otro, del medio ambiente; no dejemos que los signos de la destrucción y de muerte acompañen este mundo nuestro", prosiguió el Papa.
Escuchemos el llamado del Papa y empecemos a darle prioridad a enfrentar el cambio climático reconociendo que el bienestar y el futuro de los pobres del mundo--y de todos nosotros y del mundo--dependerá en gran parte de nuestras acciones ante esta crisis.]]>Pope Francis I's Commitment to Helping the Poor Should Include Tackling Climate Changetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.28821702013-03-15T14:46:25-04:002013-05-15T05:12:01-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/"Cuando no hay amor, se adormece la conciencia" Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires
It's impossible to ignore the biggest news around the world: There's a new Pope, and it's historical. The Vatican's Conclave of Cardinals has chosen the first Jesuit Catholic Pope born in the Americas -- and he's Latino. His background, personality and choice of name have riveted the 1.2 billion Catholics around the world.
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Pope Francis I or Papa Francisco I, was born and raised in Buenos Aires, loves tango and futbol (soccer), and is by all accounts, a model of austerity, modesty and humility. He is a fan of public transportation and the simple life, purposely living among the people whose spiritual life he led and rejecting the luxuries that his position as Cardinal allowed. And as we saw in his first public appearance as Pope, modesty and warmth seems to be his style. Devout Latin Americans are overjoyed and full of renewed faith. And while many will disagree with his stance on other important social issues, his commitment to serve the poor seems unwavering.
He has chosen his Papal name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis (circa 1181) is famous in Catholic dogma for his devotion to care for the poor and the environment. He was merited with the miracle of communicating with animals, especially birds, which explains why he's typically photographed around them. St. Francis was also merited with the progressive ideology that aimed to move the Church away from building institutional power and back to their truest and basic purpose: serve and care for people and nature as God's creations on earth.
As an environmental leader and as a Catholic Latina mother, I hope Pope Francis will be a voice against climate change, deadly pollution, and the destruction of natural resources that threaten our planet and the lives of the poor most severely.
Pope Benedict XVI, made great strides in helping bring awareness to climate change and the impacts it will have on the poor and vulnerable, linking climate change to food insecurity and water scarcity and calling for action. He called for less energy consumption, greater ecological sensitivity, improved energy efficiency and research into alternative forms of energy, aiming to transform the Vatican into the first carbon-neutral state installing $1.5 million in solar panels. Importantly, Benedict criticized the "economic and political resistance" to combating climate change and environmental degradation.
As we learn more and more about Pope Francis I, I hope that he will continue this legacy, prioritizing the importance of tackling climate change and recognizing the very real impacts that our failure to act will have on the world's poor.]]>Obama Commits to Tackle Climate Change and Make Communities Strongertag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.26797122013-02-21T19:09:10-05:002013-04-23T05:12:01-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
President Obama called on both parties to put forth a plan that will tackle global warming while driving strong economic growth. Most importantly, Mr. Obama emphasized his commitment to act, even if Congress will not.
For the many Latinos listening to the speech, the president's commitment to tackle climate change was long-awaited. Reducing pollution, preparing our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speeding the transition to renewable, clean energy, will make all of our communities, and especially those most impacted -- like the Latino and African American communities -- stronger and healthier.
The president's plan will reduce dangerous carbon pollution, lower electricity bills for struggling families, and advance U.S. leadership in global clean energy markets. That's all while we create job opportunities nationwide. Investing in clean energy means investing in our nation's infrastructure: building 21st-century electric grids, high-speed rail, and efficient buildings in cities and towns across the country. It means strengthening our manufacturing sector, creating new demand in producing wind turbine towers and components for electric cars. And it means sparking hubs for clean-tech innovation and development, fostering the entrepreneurs and technologies that will transform our energy future. For Latinos and other communities, investing in clean energy means opportunity.
Delivering the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address, Senator Marco Rubio spoke of his concern for his neighbors, seniors like his mother, and our children. But this long-time climate denier has repeatedly ignored the realities of climate change even when his home state of Florida stands to suffer some of the most serious impacts of global warming.
Senator Rubio's dismissal of climate change is ignorant at best, whether he says it in English or in Spanish. Latinos are not blind. We see that climate change is already taking a major toll on our lives and the economy.
We know that Hurricane Sandy will cost taxpayers well over $60 billion. We have seen how Sandy and wildfires in the West have uprooted families, killed businesses, and cost lives. Our farmers and farmworkers suffered first-hand the searing droughts across two-thirds of the country--droughts that are expected to cost up to 1 percent of U.S. GDP, and jobs for many.
We can't afford to wait. As our president stressed, we must act on climate change "before it's too late." President Obama has laid out a roadmap for doing so. Latinos stand ready to help the president make this happen.]]>President Obama Vows Action on Climate; Latino Groups Support Swift Actiontag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.25239122013-01-22T16:34:36-05:002013-03-24T05:12:02-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
Answering the concerns of so many families, the President affirmed his commitment to ease the path to citizenship for immigrants, improve outdated education programs, and create greater equality in our workforce. And in a bold pledge to protect the health of our families and communities, President Obama declared that his administration would work to address climate change -- a commitment strongly supported by Latinos nationwide.
With communities still recovering from the flooding and devastation left by Hurricane Sandy, the President's call for action to curb climate change could not come soon enough. 2012 saw thousands of records broken in the U.S. for heat, rain, and snow across the country, with American families suffering the consequences. From devastating droughts in the Midwest that ruined crops and the livelihoods of American farmers, to violent storms that left thousands without power or water along the East Coast, 2012 proved to be a shockingly dangerous -- and deadly--year of extreme weather events.
Ready or not, our climate is changing, and we're witnessing the consequences in our backyard. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that 2012 was the hottest year ever recorded in the continental United States. A warmer climate fuels more heat waves, downpours, floods, fires, and other extreme weather events -- just what we've seen across the country over the past few years.
The President got it right when he stated that we will all be affected by a changing climate. As the President stated, "Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires and crippling drought and more powerful storms."
We can't afford to wait any longer. That's why leading Latino groups, along with small business owners and environmental organizations, are urging President Obama to act quickly to address the growing climate threat. In a new letter to the President, Voces Verdes, the National Hispanic Medical Association, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), and over a dozen other leading Latino organizations called on President Obama to curb harmful carbon pollution from our existing coal-fired power plants.
The President has already acted to reduce pollution from new power plants. But we can't stop there. Coal-fired power plants are the nation's largest source of global warming pollution. Implementing new standards for existing power plants will put us on a path toward climate stability, unleash investment in new clean energy technologies, and help stem the devastating storms, droughts, and floods worsened by climate change. And, even while Congress remains gridlocked, the President can act now to implement these new standards, using the authority already given to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up our air.
For Latino communities, action on climate change now means a healthier and more prosperous future for our children. Half of all U.S. Latinos live in places where air pollution often makes the air unsafe to breathe. Cutting pollution from existing power plants will not only clean up the air in communities near the plants, but will also help reduce the health impacts of climate change -- like increased asthma attacks that come with warmer air. And with unemployment still hovering around 10 percent for Latinos, jobs in areas like construction, home weatherization, solar panel installation, and energy efficiency retrofits, will help get our workers back on their feet.
President Obama faces a long, difficult road in his second term, but his commitment to confront climate change could be a defining part of his legacy. The President has the opportunity now to drive global action on climate change, showing that we are committed to creating a healthier environment for all.
As President Obama outlined in his inaugural address, "America cannot resist this transition. We must lead it." Mr. President, the Latino community, and Americans across the nation, stand ready to support your actions to respond to the threat of climate change and protect our children and future generations.]]>La mega-tormenta Sandy y el cambio climáticotag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20672862012-11-23T09:36:47-05:002013-01-23T05:12:01-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
Las imágenes del sendero de destrucción que dejo el Huracán Sandy en el noreste de los Estados Unidos me han traído recuerdos de los días que vivimos en la Florida después de que el huracán Andrew azotó mi casa en Miami en 1992 y el estado de shock es una sensación que recuerdo bien cuando veo las caras de quienes están pasando por el mismo dolor esta semana.
Créditos de las Fotos: ABCNews, NOAA/AP Photo/Weather Underground
Sandy verdaderamente fue una súper-tormenta. Trajo fuertes vientos, lluvias, inundaciones, incluso nieve, y ha dejado una de nuestras áreas más densamente pobladas paralizadas por días. Una tormenta récord por cualquier medida, el huracán Sandy dejo su huella.
La fuerza de Sandy, indicada por la presión barométrica antes de tocar tierra, estableció un récord al tener la lectura barométrica más baja jamás registrada por una tormenta del Atlántico que tocó tierra al norte del cabo Hateras, Carolina del Norte. Cuanto más baja sea la presión, más fuerte la tormenta.
Para complicar las cosas, cuando Sandy se acercaba al noreste, coincidió con un sistema de clima frío lo cual resultó en un híbrido de lluvia, vientos y nieve.
Las imágenes son aterradoras y claramente presentan un nuevo fenómeno de mega-tormenta y muchos científicos están de nuevo conectando estos graves impactos con el calentamiento global. Sencillamente, la ferocidad de Sandy fue influenciada por el cambio climático.
Varios factores merecen atención. Primero, el calentamiento global ha calentado los océanos (el Atlántico esta unos 2 a 5 grados más cálidos que hace un siglo). Las tormentas y los huracanes cogen fuerza al pasar sobre esta agua más caliente y esta energía extra los hace más violentos, aumentando la cantidad de lluvia que traen y causando más inundaciones.
Créditos de las Fotos: ABCNews, NOAA/AP Photo/Weather Underground
Segundo, los niveles más altos del mar han aumentado el riesgo de inundación. Los niveles de agua alrededor de Nueva York han subido casi un pie (30 cms) en los últimos 100 años. De hecho, los niveles del mar que se extiende desde Boston a Norfolk, Virginia están subiendo cuatro veces más rápidamente que el nivel global promedio, lo cual hace que la región sea vulnerable a las inundaciones y peligrosas.
Como estamos viendo con Sandy, las inundaciones por marejadas ciclónicas han causado graves problemas como la destrucción del icónico paseo de Atlantic City e inundaciones en Manhattan y del sistema de metro por primera vez en sus más de 100 años de historia no ha visto nada igual.
Estos son hechos, no argumentos políticos y estos hechos apuntan a una nueva realidad. Como dijo el gobernador de Nueva York, Andrew Cuomo "Quien diga que no hay un cambio dramático en los patrones climáticos creo que está negando la realidad. Últimamente tenemos una inundación histórica cada dos años.
Sabemos que los humanos somos fuertes y esto también los sobrepasaremos pero ¿por qué poner nuestras vidas y bienestar en riesgo simplemente porque nos negamos a tomar medidas para limitar la contaminación de carbono la cual es la principal causa del cambio climático?
Nuestros hijos no deberían tener que sufrir porque nuestros líderes políticos se niegan a rechazar la influencia de las grandes petroleras y la industria de carbón simplemente porque financian sus campañas.
Aquellos quienes niegan el cambio climático lo seguirán negando cuando estemos 200 metros bajo el mar, después de todo su posición se basa en la política la cual hemos visto este año, frecuentemente tiene poco que ver con la realidad.
El resto de nosotros que queremos evolucionar más allá de los combustibles fósiles, el aire sucio y el terror de pasar por otra Mega-Tormenta, sequía u otro evento meteorológico extremo sin precedentes, no necesitamos más pruebas, necesitamos acción.
]]>Latinos Want Results, Not 'Gifts' in Presidential Electiontag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.21681202012-11-21T17:51:40-05:002013-01-21T05:12:01-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
Portraying President Barack Obama as a modern-day Santa Claus, Romney told large donors that Obama had won simply by handing out the gift of "amnesty" to undocumented Latino youth, free birth control to women, and partial loan forgiveness to struggling college students. But with President Obama back in the White House for another four years, the GOP is getting a rough wake-up call: American voters didn't want gift-wrapped handouts this holiday season -- they wanted long-term solutions to the biggest problems facing our communities and our economy.
Latinos were a huge factor in deciding the fate of the 2012 election, and we voted with our conscience -- deciding based on the future of the economy, on our changing climate and healthcare system, and on immigration policy. Latinos made up a full 10 percent of voters this year, with 71 percent casting their vote for President Obama. And perhaps to some politicians' chagrin, Latinos aren't going anywhere. We're only growing as a key voting bloc, with Presente.org estimating that each month, some 50,000 Latinos turn 18 and become eligible to vote.
So it wasn't just shiny, ribbon-wrapped "gifts" that mobilized millions of Latinos to get out to the polls. It was the threat of our nation choosing a party that was clearly so out of step with our country's needs.
While the GOP stood arm-in-arm with the backers of the most extreme anti-immigration laws in the country, President Obama proposed finding a long-term path for immigrants to gain an education and work legally in the country. Similarly, the president's healthcare plan was nothing close to a gift -- but an effort to fix our broken healthcare system by extending coverage to millions of Americans, so families no longer have to choose between taking their children to the emergency room and putting food on the table.
While the GOP relied on polluters buying up airtime to promote their policies, President Obama took historic steps to reduce harmful mercury and carbon pollution in our air and water and established new fuel efficiency standards so we'll pay less at the pump.
To voters, all of these proved that President Obama will work to protect the long-term health of our families, our communities, and the planet.
Those are the results that matter to Latinos. As poll after poll has shown, Latino voters in swing states and nationwide favor candidates who make protecting our clean air, clean water, and the health of our children a priority. Nearly 90 percent of Latino voters nationwide want to see more clean energy development in our country, rather than polluting fossil fuels. And as communities still reel from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, Latinos once again expressed that they are deeply concerned about worsening weather events due to our changing climate.
With election rhetoric now behind us,it's time for our leaders in Washington to turn their attention to working together for the first time in months. Latinos and American voters as a whole will be looking to President Obama and Congress to start to move us forward with real, sustainable progress on the issues that matter most.
When it comes to politics, let's leave the gifts behind this holiday season, and focus on bipartisan solutions that benefit all voters.]]>The Latino Vote: What Happens Next Depends on Ustag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20869612012-11-07T08:42:13-05:002013-01-07T05:12:01-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
Latinos turned out in droves. We voted early and voted our conscience and our experience. Over the next weeks we will pore over these results, but what has been materializing over the past decade is now clear: our time has come.
An impreMedia-Latino Decisions poll released Tuesday estimated that Obama had won 75 percent of Latino voters nationwide, which is very close to the most recent exit polls that find Latino support at around 72 percent -- higher than in 2008. In states like Colorado, Nevada and Florida, the results hinged on Latino turnout. Even in states not traditionally thought of as Latino strongholds like Ohio and Pennsylvania, exit polls were crediting Obama's win thanks in part to Latino voters.
An estimated 24 million Hispanic-Americans were eligible to vote this election (an increase of more than 4 million since 2008), and 11-12 million were expected to actually go to the polls. Turnout was key for all of us working with Latino voters since for our community, this election carried high stakes. Our unemployment rate remains high, health care remains a priority with many Latinos -- many of whom are uninsured, education is critical for our youth, our communities are still bearing the brunt of pollution and global warming, and there is of course the large issue of immigration.
While the results reflect that a majority of Hispanic voters nationally simply believed that President Barack Obama was better able to deal with the country's problems than his Republican challenger Mitt Romney, this election may have come down to respect.
For all the Spanish language ads targeted to Latinos, there was no disguising the disconnect. The same way the GOP aligned itself with the fossil fuel industry and polluters, so too did they stand arm in arm with the creators of the most extreme anti-immigrant policies like SB 1070, the Arizona anti-immigrant profiling law. As San AntonioMayor Julian Castro said, "They took on the most extreme position and alienated Latinos."
And while Hispanics are not homogenous, the tone of the debate is still seen as a sign of respect to the community even among those who may not face the issue of immigration personally.
Now as the day breaks the focus must shift to us. We as Latinos now have an opportunity that we must not waste. It's now our job to show the country and our leadership that we are watching: on immigration, on health, on the economy, on the environment. We must call for action and remain engaged in the public debate. We must show leadership. Our civic duty must live beyond Election Day and translate into a dialogue with our representatives and let them know we will hold them accountable. Let's make our voice heard and stand ready to advocate for our community and for ourselves.]]>Superstorm Sandy Reminds Us Why We Have to Care About Climate Changetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20507532012-10-31T17:35:52-04:002012-12-31T05:12:01-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/several blogs about the connection between extreme weather and climate change, so watching Sandy pummel the East Coast compelled me to revisit this issue once again.
Watching the images of Sandy leaving a path of destruction brings back memories of the day after Hurricane Andrew hit my home in Miami back in 1992. The state of shock as my parents and I approached our storm ravaged home is still fresh in my memory even 20 years later as I see the faces of those who are experiencing the same today.
My heart goes out to them.
As a mother of two, I can't help but think of the kids who just Sunday were obsessing over what candy they might collect on Halloween and whether or not their costume was just right, makes it even harder to watch.
Yes, things will eventually return to normal for most but having lived it - I know it's not a fast or easy road back to normalcy.
Sandy truly lived up to its hype as a superstorm. Wind, water, flooding, even snow, has left one of our most densely populated areas paralyzed for days. A record storm by any measure, Hurricane Sandy has left its mark.
This massive storm, roughly twice the size of Texas, made landfall in New Jersey on Monday evening with 80 mph sustained winds killing at least 39 people in nine states and leaving more than 8.2 million homes and businesses on the eastern seaboard without power.
Sandy's strength, as indicated by barometric pressure just before landfall, set a record by having the lowest barometric reading ever recorded for an Atlantic storm to make landfall north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The lower the pressure the stronger the storm.
Adding insult to injury, as Sandy approached the Northeast, it converged with a cold-weather system that resulted in a hybrid of rain, high winds and snow.
The images are shocking. Almost as shocking as finding this headline on Fox News. Yes, Fox News: "Scientists: Global warming didn't brew superstorm, but it might have heated up key ingredients."
Admittedly, this is an AP wire story but I did find it on Fox.
The article begins with a quote that today, in Sandy's wake, is being uttered by more than one scientist and official: what used to be once-in-a-century storm is now happening at least once per year. The piece goes on to explain what we who work to combat global warming have been saying for years:
We've said it before: global warming has made our oceans warmer (the Atlantic Ocean is about 2-5 degrees warmer on average than a century ago). Warm water fuels hurricanes with extra energy, making them more violent, increasing the amount of rain they carry and making flooding more likely.
This was echoed by Kevin E. Trenberth, senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., who explained, "All weather events are affected by climate change because the environment in which they occur is warmer and moister than it used to be."
Higher sea levels have also increased the risk of flooding. As my colleague Dan Lashof pointed out, water levels around New York are nearly a foot higher than they were 100 years ago. In fact, sea levels stretching from Boston to Norfolk, Virginia are rising four times as fast as the global average, making the region vulnerable to flooding and dangerous storm surges. As we saw with Sandy, flooding from storm surge has caused serious problems, destroying part of the iconic Atlantic City boardwalk, flooding Lower Manhattan and the subway system for the first time in its history, to name a few.
It seems today from the coverage of Sandy, that we can all agree that these factors are indeed facts -- not talking points -- and these facts point to a new reality. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo put it well, "Anyone who says that there's not a dramatic change in weather patterns I think is denying reality," Cuomo said. 'We have a 100-year flood every two years now.'"
As someone who has lived through a so-called 100-year storm, I have to again say -- we have to do something about this and do it now.
Sure people are resilient, people will rebuild, but why should we put life and limb at risk simply because we refuse to take action to limit the carbon pollution that is the main reason our climate is changing?
Our children should not have to pay the price of our politicians refusing to buck the power of big oil and big coal simply because they fund their campaigns!
The deniers will keep denying -- even with the evidence in hand -- after all their position is based in politics which as we've seen this year, often have loose footing in fact. For the rest of us who want to evolve beyond fossil fuels, dirty air and fear of the next superstorm, drought, or freakish unprecedented extreme weather event, we don't need more proof, we need action.
Photo Credits:NOAA/AP Photo/Weather Underground, ABC News]]>Yet Another Poll Show Latinos Want Political Candidates Who Support Clean Air and Clean Energytag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.20112172012-10-25T10:49:23-04:002012-12-25T05:12:01-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
A poll released last week by Latino Decisions on behalf of Nuestro Rio showed that Latino voters in Colorado want oil shale companies to disclose any potential water impacts before moving forward. This poll echoes results of a September poll of Latinos released by the NRDC Action Fund that Latino voters in four swing states -- Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Virginia -- decisively favor candidates for president and the U.S. Senate who support clean air and clean energy policies over candidates who don't.
This Latino Decisions/Nuestro Rio poll found that Colorado Latino voters would overwhelmingly support a candidate who prioritized water protection over development. Given that Latino voters are an estimated 12 percent of the electorate in Colorado, this new data should give pause to candidates whose stump speeches revolve around letting polluters, and especially oil and coal companies, have their way with our land at the expense of our health and the well-being of our communities.
In this electoral season, regulations and protections on air and water have been tarnished as unnecessary burdens on the "poor little oil and coal" companies. Still, despite a multi-million dollar advertising campaign designed to convince voters that the only way to create jobs is by drilling our land and polluting our air, this poll, like those before it, shows Latino voters are not buying it.
While there are many important issues facing Latinos in 2012, including jobs, the economy and immigration, new polling shows that Latino voters in Colorado also care deeply about protecting the environment. Even when told by pollsters that some argue oil shale production could create jobs, a strong majority of Latino voters preferred more government action to ensure the environment is protected.
These findings reflect those expressed by over 100 business leaders, recreation organizations, farmers, ranchers and others in a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (a division of the Department of the Interior) this summer.
Furthermore, these poll results, and those preceding them, are not surprising when we consider that most Americans are concerned about drought and want to shift to cleaner energy and away from dirty energy sources, like oil shale, to avoid water shortages. This is particularly true given that there is no viable oil shale industry to speak of, and instead, is defined by a century of failed efforts to jump-start oil shale production by polluting waters in the West while spending millions of dollars of taxpayer funds.
These voter opinions show how out of touch Mitt Romney is when pushing for less protections of our air and water while demanding more protections of Big Oil profits that have already brought in $1 trillion since 2001. Romney's proposals to slash tax incentives for clean energy sources, like wind, despite the fact that the wind industry produces tens of thousands of jobs in manufacturing, construction, and other services, run completely counter to what Americans want.
Latino interest in environmental protections is nothing new. Beyond being a culturally relevant issue for Latinos, many Latinos see the connection between protecting air and water to protecting our health. Perhaps that's why when asked how important the protection of rivers, mountains, and air in Colorado was as an election issue, given all the various important issues on the agenda, a majority of Latino voters rated environmental protection as "important." Only 2 percent of respondents said it was "not at all important" as an election issue this year.
With the election around the corner, Latinos want candidates who can guarantee a healthier future -- and they will go to the polls looking for a candidate who cares about their health and well-being. President Obama's plan puts people and their well-being first, and that's something Latinos get.
Full poll results posted here]]>Mitt Romney Out of Touch with Latino Voters on Clean Energy and Health Issuestag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.19582802012-10-11T14:36:51-04:002012-12-11T05:12:01-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
With the election around the corner, Latinos want candidates who can guarantee a healthier future -- one where their families aren't forced into hospitals in the name of big polluter profits. Recent polling conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP) in Nevada:
• 73 percent of Latino voters in Nevada were more likely to support a candidate who wants to reduce dangerous carbon pollution from power plants, rather than ignore it.
• 70 percent of Latinos would vote for a candidate who supports EPA standards to cut toxic mercury emissions from smokestacks.
• 68 percent of Latino voters supported a candidate who backed incentives for growing clean energy industries, rather than for fossil fuel companies.
• And 67 percent would vote for a candidate who wanted strong fuel efficiency standards for our cars.
These numbers aren't unique to Nevada. In other battleground states, including New Mexico, Florida, and Virginia, Latino voters expressed time and time again their support for candidates who want to foster the growth of cleaner energy instead of dirty, fossil fuels.
With such clear numbers on Latino voters, how are the candidates responding? While President Obama has passed historic vehicle standards to save us money at the pump, helped clean up power plants, and supported investment in homegrown energy sources like wind and solar, Mitt Romney seems to be blinded by his own dirty energy fog -- one that no doubt comes from the big polluters who fund him.
Romney's energy plan is nothing short of disastrous for Latinos. He would steamroll over health protections, rolling back life-saving standards that reduce mercury in our air and water, and cut down on harmful pollution that causes global warming. He would make us all pay more at the pump, by reversing landmark fuel efficiency standards for our cars. And he would take control of our public lands away from all Americans, allowing states to start a race to the bottom, where fossil fuel industries shape pollution controls and our communities are left to suffer the consequences.
Romney would ensure that Big Oil companies -- giant corporations that have brought in $1 trillion in profits since 2001 -- keep getting enormous tax handouts paid for by all Americans. That's while he would slash tax incentives for clean energy sources like wind, even as the wind industry supplies tens of thousands of jobs in manufacturing, construction, and other services.
While nearly 90 percent of Latino voters nationwide support clean energy, Mitt Romney doesn't seem to care. Or perhaps he's preoccupied with the multi-million-dollar donations coming in from giant oil tycoons. How else could he justify sacrificing our health in the name of dirty, polluting industries?
This November, Latino voters will go to the polls looking for a candidate that cares about their well-being. This poll shows that at least in these key battleground states, the candidate that will work to give us a safer, brighter future, based on homegrown clean energy technologies and important safeguards for the health of our children will come out on top.]]>Stop the War on Healthtag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.19101132012-09-26T12:09:43-04:002012-11-26T05:12:02-05:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/
This legislation groups five bills that put our air and water at risk by overturning critical clean air and safe water standards including preventing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from setting standards for greenhouse gas (GHG), standards for automobiles and heavy duty trucks, delaying the implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standard; and preventing EPA from setting federal level standards to govern the management and disposal of coal ash waste.
GOP supporters mobilized support for this bill decrying actions taken by the administration to protect the health or our families as job-killers disregarding the fact that protecting our health - all of us, not just some of us--must be at least as important as jobs.
Since I spend most of my time working with the Latino community and closely with Voces Verdes, I know that for people who have to live and breathe the pollution spewed by coal powered power plants (who are often disproportionately minority communities) and eat the mercury contaminated fish that puts our brains at risk -- protecting our air and water is no joke. For those communities, rates of pollution-related illness are alarming: one in six African American kids struggles with asthma, compared with one in 10 nationwide; while Latino children have higher levels of mercury in their bodies compared with non-Hispanic white children, and 43 percent report living or working near toxic sites like coal fired power plants(up from 34 percent in 2008).
Our businesses need certainty in policy in order to invest and compete. Our communities need clean air and water to thrive. Congressional intervention to protect polluters over people ignores what the majority of Americans want and puts us and our country's ability to compete at risk.]]>Poniéndole cara y voz a la pelea contra la contaminación de carbóntag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.15543112012-06-30T07:15:00-04:002012-08-30T05:12:15-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/dos audiencias públicas en Washington, D.C. y Chicago sobre su propuesto estándar para limitar la contaminación de carbono de plantas de energía nuevas.
Para aquellos de nosotros que no vivimos cerca de una planta de energía esto puede parecer un asunto de prioridad inferior. Sin embargo, la verdad es nos afecta a todos y como mi colega Kim Knowlton escribió en su blog, la voz de cada persona en apoyo de esta propuesta norma es crítica.
La propuesta norma de carbón representa un paso fundamental hacia la protección de la salud de nuestros niños y familias. La contaminación de carbono causa el cambio climático y así uno de los peligros más serios para la salud pública para el mundo en el siglo 21. Un aumento en las temperaturas desencadena una serie de cambios ambientales que afectan la salud: calor extremo, la contaminación del aire y el esmog de ozono a nivel del suelo, alérgenos aéreos como el polen, entre otros. Un documento del 2012 de la Sociedad Torácica Americana describe como los médicos del pulmón esperan que los casos de asma aumenten cuando aumente la contaminación de carbono y cambio climático.
En mi trabajo con la coalición hispana, Voces Verdes, estamos reuniendo líderes latinos para expresar su apoyo a esta importante norma. Voces está trabajando para garantizar que se escuche la voz de la comunidad Latina.
Roberto Carmona, Presidente & CEO del Crimson Leadership Group y miembro de la Junta de Voces Verdes testificó a esto en la audiencia de Chicago recordándole a los reguladores que líderes empresarios latinos apoyan la regla porque para ellos, hacer lo correcto para nuestros negocios debe ir de la mano con hacer bien para nuestra comunidad. Por eso es crítico que controlamos la contaminación por carbón qué por años ha envenenado las comunidades de Chicago.
En Washington, D.C., Roger Rivera, Presidente del National Hispanic Environmental Council se unió al llamado a la acción recordándole a los reguladores que los latinos enfrentan un riesgo significativamente mayor de desarrollar enfermedades agudas y crónicas como asma y otras enfermedades pulmonares y respiratorias causadas por la contaminación del aire debido a que tantos millones Latinos viven en áreas donde el aire no cumple con normas federales de aire limpio. El Sr. Rivera también le recordó a la EPA de la importancia de adoptar rápidamente esta norma, así como un estándar para las centrales existentes.
Monica Cevallos del Nuevo Movimiento Latino destaco la amplia gama de grupos latinos que apoyan la norma de la EPA y la necesidad de oír esas voces.
Ustedes también pueden sumar su voz a este importante llamado. Haz clic aquí para dejarle saber a la EPA que tú apoyas estándar para limitar la contaminación de carbono de plantas de energía nuevas. La Agencia ya ha recibido un millón de comentarios pero queremos enviarles ¡2 millones! No podemos suponer sólo porque estamos del lado de las personas que vamos a ganar. Los grandes contaminadores harán todo lo posible para poder seguir contaminando.
Si no me creen, miren esta propaganda que sacaron en Craigslist ofreciéndole $50 y almuerzo a cualquier persona que fuera a la audiencia con una camiseta que dice APOYO EL CARBÓN. Qué triste tener que bajarse a ese nivel de comprar el apoyo.
Aseguremos que los contaminadores no puedan comprarse el permiso de seguir contaminando. Añade tu voz hoy]]>Latinos Nationwide Call for New Power Plant Rules to Curb Climate Changetag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2012:/theblog//3.16211132012-06-27T09:50:56-04:002012-08-27T05:12:06-04:00Adrianna Quinterohttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/adrianna-quintero/, along with a number of Latino organizations nationwide representing Hispanic health professionals are standing up to support new clean air safeguards that might help save lives by cutting pollution from coal power plants.
Over the past two months, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), received an unprecedented two million comments from individuals and groups supporting new standards to cut carbon pollution in our air. Up until now, coal power plants-the largest carbon polluters in our nation-have been allowed to spew dangerous gases into our air unchecked. The rest of us have paid the price. Carbon pollution collects in our atmosphere, speeding up climate change and setting us on a path for even hotter summers, more frequent and disastrous heat waves and storms, and dangerous health risks for Latinos and all Americans.
As a key factor in climate change, carbon pollution can have harmful implications for the health of Latino families. Nearly 83 percent of our nation's farmworkers are Latino, laboring outside for long hours in dangerously hot conditions. Since the 1990s, the rates of heat-related deaths among U.S. farm workers have tripled. And the future only looks worse-last year was the second hottest and driest summer on record, and 2012 has already set new temperature records in the lower 48 states. That means U.S. farmworkers might expect even more cases of severe dehydration, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion as our planet sizzles.
Hotter temperatures also make smog worse, threatening the health of Latino children who run and play outside due to asthma. Nearly half of all U.S. Latinos already live in areas where smog makes the air unhealthy to breathe. Paying for healthcare to manage asthma, chronic bronchitis, or other respiratory diseases aggravated by smog can be devastating for any family. Worsened smog due to warmer climates can be especially painful for Latinos and immigrant communities, who are the least likely to be insured compared with other groups in the U.S.
Thankfully, our federal government now has a historic opportunity to protect the health of Latino families and all communities. The new rules will help set us on the path to cleaner, safer sources of energy, and the economic growth that comes from new industries like solar energy, wind power, and energy efficiency.]]>
