Activistas exigen que el Plan de Acción Climática de San Diego priorice los vecindarios más contaminados
Abortion is a human right. Abortion is healthcare.
EHC is heartbroken and outraged by the United State Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade – a 1973 court case that made abortion legal in all 50 states. Now, 50 years later in 2022, each state gets to decide if women and people who can give birth have the fundamental right to decide what happens to their bodies. Environmental Health Coalition firmly believes that abortion is a human right and healthcare. Both are at the center of Environmental Health Coalitions’ work and mission. Getting to decide what happens to your body should not depend on your zip code.
Just as environmental racism impacts low-income communities of color, lack of access to abortion services will have a devastating impact on these same communities. Nearly half of women who seek abortion care live in households below the poverty line and abortion bans are predicted to increase maternal mortality by 21 percent. The United States already has the highest maternal mortality rate of industrialized countries.
Though abortion is still legal in California, we are deeply worried about our sisters and siblings in other states who no longer have this right. They may not have access to abortion as a lifesaving medical procedure. Abortion is the treatment for life-threatening conditions, like ectopic pregnancy. They may turn to illegal and dangerous abortion providers. Women and pregnant people will die because they won’t have access to safe abortion care.
EHC stands with our partners as we continue to fight for healthcare and human rights. We are grateful to the California Legislature for giving California voters the opportunity to add abortion rights to the state’s constitution. We also applaud Governor Gavin Newsom for signing an executive order that further protects women coming to California for abortion care.
EHC encourages you to donate to organizations that are fighting to preserve a woman’s and pregnant person’s right to choose, and to organizations that are helping people in states where abortion is illegal to travel to California for care. Below are two organizations doing great lifesaving work.
We Must Act on Air Pollution to Prevent Climate Disaster
Air pollution concentrated in Environmental Justice (EJ) communities is damaging the health of residents and has an enormous contribution to global warming gasses. If the City of San Diego is serious about centering equity in its plans to combat the climate crisis, it needs to Start Here Start Now with investments in neighborhoods like Barrio Logan. Over 100 community residents surveyed by Environmental Health Coalition from May 2021 suffer from air pollution that causes respiratory issues. These same communities, most likely to be hit hardest by climate disasters, need investments first to quickly transition away from dirty polluting fossil fuels to healthy communities. A win-win for climate and clean air.
Evangelina Trapero, longtime resident of Barrio Logan with her family, lives with the consequences of air pollution every day.
“When I touch the leaves of my plants they always have something black on them. I see the difference where I work in Pacific Beach and the plants there are always clean. There, I open the window and there is no ugly dust. At home, I open the windows and everything is covered in black dust,” Evangelina said.
Air Pollution Contributes to Climate Change
With limited resources and urgent action needed on climate, the City of San Diego must focus on sources of climate pollution like heavy-duty diesel trucks that produce the super pollutant black carbon. That would maximize public dollars to benefit both the climate and public health.
The black dust that builds up on surfaces of plants, windows, or inside homes is called “black carbon” and it comes from the exhaust of heavy-duty diesel trucks or polluting industries. Black Carbon is a super climate pollutant, which is pollution that worsens climate change and has dangerous health effects. Particulate matter (PM2.5), diesel particulate matter (Diesel PM), and ozone are examples of super climate pollutants.
While Black Carbon only lasts in the air for days or weeks, it’s 700 – 1,500 times more powerful at warming the climate compared to carbon dioxide, and other well-known climate-warming gas.
In addition to warming the planet, Black Carbon gets inside the lungs and major organs of people living directly next to pollution sources causing health effects like heart disease, lung disease, respiratory issues, asthma, and higher rates of cancer.
When her son was very young, Evangelina took him to the emergency room for asthma attacks and the doctors told them to go outside and go for walks. “How do you do this if you can’t breathe all this pollution? The trucks are polluting, that is what I can see. I am under the bridge and it feels like I am on it,”
Evangelina’s experience is too common in Barrio Logan, one of the most polluted communities in California where homes and schools are next to chrome plating facilities and heavy industry. It has some of the highest concentrations of diesel pollution in the state, ranks in the 90th percentile for cancer risk, and has an asthma rate that 3 times higher than the average for San Diego County.
Now is the Time to Act on Clean Air for Climate Justice
Local climate policies need to prioritize projects that eliminate sources of short-lived super climate pollutants like Black Carbon concentrated in Environmental Justice communities. Urgent action is needed now! The climate crisis is rapidly getting worse and the health disparities of residents suffering from respiratory issues put them at the greatest risk.
In May of 2021, Environmental Health Coalition gathered feedback from 100 residents in Logan community and 95% of residents surveyed by EHC said that the City of San Diego should address climate change and air quality simultaneously.
The City of San Diego has an opportunity to listen to the people living in the most polluted communities, prioritize policies, and fund projects to help clean up the air now such as:
- Set policies with measurable goals to eliminate all sources of diesel particulate matter in EJ communities
- Convert transit buses to 100% electric, zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) with priority in EJ communities by 2030
- Require heavy-duty diesel trucks to be 100% zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) by 2030
- Invest in and prioritize ZEV charging infrastructure in EJ communities first by 2030
Join our advocacy efforts to help ensure our local climate solutions include EJ priorities. We need climate action that cleans the air now and cannot afford to wait any longer!
You’re Voting for Assembly Member Twice? Yup! it’s NOT a Mistake.
What Happened During The April Special Election?
Earlier in the year, Assembly District 80 representative Lorena Gonzalez stepped down, leaving the District without an assembly member. In April, Assembly District 80 (Barrio Logan, National City, City Heights) residents got to vote for someone to replace her and represent the district for the rest of this year. Georgette Gomez came in first place and David Alvarez came in second.
What does this have to do with the June Primary Election?
Since Gomez and Alvarez were the top two vote-getters in April, they will be on the ballot again in June. AD 80 residents will vote in the June primary for which of them should represent the district until December. This is called a runoff. But, that’s not all.
If you live in AD 80 you will vote for Assembly Member TWICE!
If you live in City Heights, you will vote for an assembly member for your old district (District 80) and an assembly member for your new district (District 79) on your June Primary ballot. Wait, what?
This can be confusing. The state created new assembly districts that will go into place in 2023. Until December, City Heights will remain part of District 80. So, you get to vote for an Assembly Member to represent AD 80 (Gomez or Alvarez) through the end of the year. However, after December, City Heights becomes part of Assembly District 79 (AD 79). So, you will also get to vote for a representative for AD 79. Dr. Akilah Weber is the current assembly member for this District.
If you live in Barrio Logan, Logan Heights or West National City, you will vote for an assembly member in District 80 twice. Huh? Why?
Like we mentioned above, you will get to choose between Gomez and Alvarez to represent AD 80 through December. But, who will represent the District afterwards?
You also get to vote for who you think should represent AD 80 from December 2022 until November 2024. The top two vote-getters will move on to the November 8th election. The winner of that election will be your Assembly Member for AD 80 for the December 2022 – December 2024 term.
Oscar Flores’ SOMAH Job Training Journey
Beyond installing solar, a major goal of the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) Program is to train workers for a renewable, fossil-fuel-free economy. By providing paid job training opportunities with every solar installation, SOMAH helps workers acquire or strengthen practical skills for the solar industry and access opportunities to network with solar contractors and industry leaders. For Oscar Flores, a former SOMAH job trainee from El Monte, SOMAH opened up new a new career path.
As an undergraduate student majoring in Electrical Engineering at UC San Diego, Oscar was aware of career opportunities in renewable energy. However, he did not consider this a career path for himself until he began volunteering on solar panel installations with GRID Alternatives.
“I knew the solar industry was a good place to be career-wise, but I did not really consider it for myself until I started doing solar installations. That opened up the world for me, and I have not looked back since.”
Through this relationship with GRID, Oscar was able to participate in a paid job training opportunity with SOMAH in February 2020. He worked on a project installation at the Loma Sierra Apartments, in Loma Linda, CA over the course of four weeks, under the guidance of the construction team. Oscar helped to install a 95kW producing solar system for 24 units. Oscar emphasizes that his SOMAH experience was a powerful one that taught him many skills, such as how to work on a pitched roof. The opportunities Oscar had access to with SOMAH went beyond the hands-on experience in the field. He was also able to network and connect with the solar contractors.
Oscar credits SOMAH job training for laying the foundation for his career path, “the skills I learned from people [in the construction team] like Angel, Miguel, and Derek were invaluable, my knowledge around solar energy went from zero to 100%.”
After completing his training, Oscar began working for Motive Energy, in Victorville, CA, where he is currently a systems engineer, a position he feels his time with SOMAH prepared him to attain. He is also studying photovoltaic system design for residential and commercial properties, and working on a special project in West Covina, CA, close to where he grew up.
At EHC, we are working with SOMAH to bring these job training opportunities and the benefits of solar to EJ communities in San Diego and National City. To learn more about job training opportunities with SOMAH, visit the SOMAH website here or contact Monica de la Cruz at monicad@environmentalhealth.org. You can also follow and like SOMAH on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.
PAIR Program: Do you qualify for a free air monitor & purifier?
Do you qualify for a free air monitor and purifier in your home?
EHC is partnering with the County of San Diego, the San Diego Air Pollution Control District and the Port of San Diego on the PAIR Program to provide over 500 Portside residents with a FREE air monitor and air purifier to improve air quality in their homes.
Call the PAIR Hotline 619.603.7758 today to sign up while supplies last! Click below to learn more.
