NRDC Report: Latinos Are Especially Hard-hit by Climate Change
"It's no wonder Latinos in
"But there's a silver liningâ Latinos, and all Americans, also can gain real and sizable health and economic benefits as we cut the carbon pollution driving climate change and transition to smarter, cleaner energy that powers our future," Quintero said.
Fuestro Futuro, a comprehensive review of dozens of the latest studies and reports in
- A majority live in
California ,Texas ,Florida andNew York , states that are among the most affected by extreme heat, air pollution, and flooding. - Latinos are heavily represented in crop and livestock production and construction, where they're at elevated risk from climate-change-boosted extreme heat. They are three times more likely to die on the job from excessive heat than non-Latinos.
- Latinos generally have less health insurance coverage than non-Latinos, so they struggle to access health care when afflicted by climate-related illnesses.
There is a flip-side:
"The millions of people in
The Nuestro Futuro report highlights these polling findings:
- 9 in 10 Latinos want climate action, and 86 percent support carbon pollution limits on power plants- a key driver of climate change. In contrast, a recent
Associated Press poll found that 65 percent of all Americans think climate change is a problem that the government needs to address. - A majority of Latinos, 59 percent, do not believe there's a trade-off between environmental reforms and economic growth.
The report also catalogues these other health impacts Latinos face:
- Nearly 25 million of the country's 56 million Latinos live in the 15 worst areas for ground-level ozone pollution, which puts people at risk for premature death, lung cancer, asthma attacks and other health ailments. The areas include
Los Angeles ,Phoenix ,Denver ,Las Vegas ,Dallas ,New York andHouston . - In 2015, 48 percent of the nation's crop and livestock production workers and 28 percent of construction workers were Latinos, working in outdoor jobs that put them at high risk from extreme heat.
- Nationally, farm and construction workers accounted for 58 percent of job-related heat deaths, and Hispanics had three-fold more risk of dying from the heat on the job than non-Hispanics, and the report cites studies in
California ,North Carolina andOregon . - On average Hispanic children suffer the same from asthma as non-Hispanics, but they are 70 percent more likely to be admitted to the hospital and, alarmingly, twice as like to die from asthma as non-Hispanics.
- And millions of Latinos are undocumented immigrants and not eligible for disaster aid offered to help people recover from extreme weather damages to property.
Flooding from sea level rise and storms, both amplified by climate change, also hit Latino families especially hard. Many of them live along the coasts, often lack health insurance and have fewer resources to become resilient when confronted by climate impacts, according to the report.
For example, southern Floridaâhome to 2.7 million Hispanicsâcould experience some of the highest impacts from rising seas and hurricane-driven flooding in the country. Communities including
"Millions of Latinos live in cities with pollution-choked air and along our coasts where seas are rising. They are in the vortex of climate health impacts," said
Finally, the report concludes with recommendations that urge Latinos and all Americans to support full implementation of the
"There is a huge, untapped opportunity to reduce electricity bills for Latinos, including the nearly five million Hispanic residents in multifamily rental housing," said
For the Nuestro Futuro report in English and Spanish, a one-page summary in English, blogs on the issue and other materials, click here: https://www.nrdc.org/resources/nuestro-futuro-climate-change-and-us-latino
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