Daphne with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at
the ground breaking of Ascot Hills Park in East LA.

I took a "toxic tour" in Los Angeles during which I saw houses and school yards right next to oil refineries, dumps for old train cars, an electric company plant, and the huge port of Los Angeles. In order to clean up the environment, we have to bring the inner cities to the table. These lower income communities carry our environmental burden. If everyone demands stronger regulations in these areas, the environment is cleaner and the economy is stronger for all of us. We have to all work together to keep the earth's natural resources clean everywhere! GET INVOLVED NOW! WWW.CBECAL.ORG

ENVIRONMENTAL IN JUSTICE
An environmental injustice exists when members of disadvantaged, ethnic, minority or other groups suffer disproportionately at the local, regional (sub-national), or national levels from environmental risks or hazards, and/or suffer disproportionately from violations of fundamental human rights as a result of environmental factors, and/or denied access to environmental investments, benefits, and/or natural resources, and/or are denied access to information; and/or participation in decision making; and/or access to justice in environment-related matters.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
A condition of environmental justice exists when environmental risks and hazards and investments and benefits are equally distributed with a lack of discrimination, whether direct or indirect, at any jurisdictional level; and when access to environmental investments, benefits, and natural resources are equally distributed; and when access to information, participation in decision making, and access to justice in environment-related matters are enjoyed by all.

TAKE ACTIONS!

Sustainable South Bronx
Founded in 2001 by life-long Hunts Point resident, Majora Carter, Sustainable South Bronx addresses land-use, energy, transportation, water and waste policy, and education in order to advance the environmental and economic rebirth of the South Bronx to inspire solutions in areas like it across the nation and the globe. Visit their website at: http://www.ssbx.org

Communities for a Better Environment
Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) is an environmental health and justice non-profit organization, promoting clean air, clean water and the development of toxin-free communities. Bill Gallegos is the Executive Director of CBE. Visit their website at: http://www.cbecal.org/

DID YOU KNOW?

• 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.
  
  
• From lung-searing fumes, to half-inch thick toxic dust on windows, to vapor plumes from nearby facilities and industry-residents in low income, communities of color are on the front lines of our increasingly industrialized economy. (BRVEJ)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  
• 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)
  
  

NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
BRVEJ (Better Environmental Justice)
CDCP (Center for Disease Control and Prevention)