July 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 39

Following his presentation at the
summit, keynote speaker Deputy Secretary of the Interior Mike Connor published an opinion piece titled " Public
Green Spaces in the United States: A
Place for Everyone (www.laopinion.
com/2016/06/09/espacios-verdes-publicos-de-estados-unidos-un-lugar-para-todos) about GreenLatinos and park
access, climate justice, healthy parks,
historical monuments celebrating Cesar Chavez and other leaders of color,
and jobs and youth leadership with the
NPS on La Opinion website. Bureau
of Land Management Director Neil
Kornze, who supervises more than 245
million acres of public land nationwide,
dropped in for dinner and a talk with attendees. And, when a last minute schedule change prevented Rep. Raul Grijalva
(D-AZ), ranking member of the House
Natural Resources Committee who has
led efforts to diversify the green movement, from attending, committee staffer
Bertha Guerrero spoke on his behalf.
Former Assistant Attorney General for
the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Ignacia Moreno, also gave
comprehensive remarks.
The summit concluded with members
selecting policy priorities for the coming
year. In the weeks to come, GreenLatinos committees will promulgate action
plans on:
* Climate change cessation and mitigation
* Compliance with civil rights, environmental justice and public participation
laws
* Public lands designations, protection
and access
* Solar and renewable energy proliferation
* Ocean ecosystems protection and
coastal access
Climate change and environmental
protection are civil rights and moral
concerns as much as they are health,

economic and environmental issues. A
diverse environmental movement will directly address the rights of communities
of color and low-income communities.
Environmental issues are as important
to Latino voters as immigration reform,
according to a poll by GreenLatinos,
EarthJustice and Latino Decisions. Hispanics disproportionately live in areas
burdened by pollution, lack of green
space and health vulnerabilities, and
they are more likely to view climate and
the environment as important to them
personally. Public lands, including parks,
beaches, monuments and recreation areas, are just plain fun and can help cool
the air, clean the ground and water,
improve health and the economy, and
provide habitat protection. Latinos are
among the strongest supporters of environmental protections, most willing to
pay more for clean energy and the most
loyal green voters.
Pope Francis, the first Latino pope,
calls for environmental conservation, climate justice, and protection of the poor
and underserved. Environmental health
problems are particularly problematic
for Latinos and climate change threatens
the countries of origin of many Latinos.
Through all of this, Latinos know that
we can grow the economy and promote
human health, the environment and
equal justice at the same time.
Substantial investment in the Latino community now will reap political, public policy and real benefits for
generations to come. Latino stewardship of the environment reflects longheld cultural tenets based on common
sense, economic necessity and good
citizenry rather than mainstream environmentalism.
Mark Magaña is President and CEO of
GreenLatinos (markmagana@greenlatinos.org).
Robert García is Founding Director and Counsel
of The City Project (rgarcia@cityprojectca.org).

About GreenLatinos
GreenLatinos is a national nonprofit
organization that convenes a broad coalition of Latino leaders committed to
addressing national, regional and local
environmental, natural resource, conservation and justice issues that significantly
affect the health, welfare and quality of
life of the Latino community in the United States and abroad.
GreenLatinos invites its members to
establish collaborative partnerships and
networks to improve the environment;
protect and promote conservation of
land and other natural resources; amplify
the voices of minority, low-income and
tribal communities; and train, mentor
and promote the current and future generations of Latino environmental leaders
for the benefit of the Latino community
and beyond. GreenLatinos develops and
advocates for policies and programs to
advance this mission.
To learn more about GreenLatinos and
its initiatives, go to www.greenlatinos.org.

About The City
Project
The City Project is a civil rights and environmental justice nonprofit organization
based in Los Angeles, California that believes all people should have access to
healthy, livable communities. Its mission
is to achieve equal justice, democracy
and livability for all.
The City Project's multicultural, Latino-led team works with diverse allies
to ensure equal access to healthy green
land use through planning by and for the
community, climate justice, physical education and schools of hope as centers
of their communities, health equity and
wellness, and economic vitality for all, including jobs and avoiding displacement
as communities become greener and
more desirable.
For more information about The City
Project, go to www.cityprojectca.org.

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Parks & Recreation

July 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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