"My name is Ester Guzman. Today, I've come to demand that you make the
regulations for locating new facilities stricter. One of (my children) had to have sinus
surgery at just two years old. You've sent mobile asthma clinics that hand out Claritin
and inhalers, but the problem never goes away."
(Testimony delivered to CalEPA Sept. 2003)
- More than 66% of US Latinos live where air does not meet federal standards. The
health threats of this are asthma, lung cancer, allergies, chronic bronchitis, and
premature death. (NRDC 2003)
- "Asthma Town" is the name given to a neighborhood in Huntington Park, southeast
Los Angeles.
- A nationwide study found that Latino children have higher mercury levels in their
bodies compared with non-Hispanic children. (NRDC)
- Hispanic children are twice as likely to have higher levels than CDCP threshold for
risk of lead poisoning. (NRDC)
- If current trends in obesity and inactivity continue, today's youth will be the first
generation in this nation's history to face a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
(LA Dept. of Public Health)
- Communities of color and of low-income lack safe open spaces for physical
activity in parks and schools and disproportionately suffer from obesity related
diseases. (CDCP "Creating a Healthy Environment...2004")
- Until Nov.1, 2005 the largest public open green area in East Los Angeles was
Evergreen Cemetery, which tells kids if they want open space they have to die first.
(Center for Law in the Public Interest)
- School children are affected by airborne toxics: schools in areas of highest
respiratory risk score approximately 100 points lower on the state's Academic
Performance Index. (BRVEJ)
- Latinos are twice more likely than Anglos to be living in neighborhoods proximate
to hazardous waste treatment storage, transfer and disposal facilities. (BRVEJ)
A study by Professor Danny Faber of Northwestern University showed that of the $200 billion given to charity in 2001, only 3% went to environmental
organizations. Only 1/10 of that was directed to environmental justice work. (Liberty Hill
Foundation)
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
BRVEJ (Better Environmental Justice)
CDCP (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
Daphne with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at
the
ground breaking of Ascot Hills Park.
