Governments Are Perpetuating Climate, Health, and Nature Inequalities Hispanic Communities Face in the U.S.
October 5, 2024
There are nearly 9 million children living in America, and in 2022, the majority (41%) were Hispanic children under the age of 18 living in poverty—environments often neglected, industrialized, and riddled with pollution (1). For many Hispanics and Latinos, this is a reality shaped by deep-rooted social, economic, and environmental inequities, resulting from a discriminatory system that confines marginalized groups to segregated, toxic spaces.
As a Hispanic and Latina who has lived in those neighborhoods in Philadelphia and Tampa, I know those environments not only influence how we perceive ourselves within the broader society, often fostering feelings of disconnection and exclusion, but also how they take a profound toll on mental and physical well-being, especially for children.
It’s not a coincidence, it is discrimination
You don’t have to go deep into a minority low-income community to see the stark difference from a predominantly white and affluent community. Historical zoning practices, such as redlining, and housing and environmental discrimination place Hispanics where no one should live – near toxic fossil fuel plants. The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA reports that there are 3,344 power plants within just three miles of communities with one or more of the seven socioeconomic indicators at or above the 80th percentile nationally (2). The seven socioeconomic indicators are: people of color, low-income, unemployment rate, limited English speaking, less than high school education, under age 5, and over age 64. The EPA’s graph below shows that there are hundreds of power plants in low-income, minority, and vulnerable communities, disproportionately exposing them to toxic emissions from coal, oil and gas plants, exacerbating environmental and health inequalities.
Figure 1. Number of power plants in communities at or above 80th percentile (2).
For Hispanic populations in the U.S., their unique vulnerabilities expand beyond the power plants in their backyards.
That’s because Black and Hispanic communities are more likely to live in areas affected by extreme heat, poor air quality, and increased flooding risks. A higher rate of Hispanic individuals, in particular, work in industries like agriculture and construction, exposing them to extreme heat. Many also live in regions experiencing extreme weather events, increased flooding, and wildfires, particularly in states like California, Texas and Florida, which house large Hispanic populations (3). As a Floridian myself, I’m witnessing how the climate crisis is devastating our communities in a number of ways.
A recent study in the U.S. found that while Hispanics and other people of color are less likely to live near lakes than white, non-Hispanic groups, the lakes in BIPOC communities are three times less likely to be monitored for quality even once (4). For predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods, researchers found lakes were seven to 19 times less likely to be monitored (4). This raises a serious health concern for communities that use these lakes as a source of drinking water or recreation, as more frequent algal blooms and other contaminants, like nutrients and heavy metals can also pollute lakes. Higher levels of air pollution in Hispanic communities are also an issue.
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2021, over 70% of Hispanics reported air pollution as a significant issue in their local areas, a figure much higher than that for non-Hispanics (49%) (5). For children in these communities, it means they’re more likely to experience respiratory illnesses like asthma as well as learning disruptions due to extreme heat, and displacement from extreme weather events, further perpetuating the cycle of being disadvantaged. Children have everything to lose when it comes to their health because of their vulnerable developing bodies and immature immune systems.
This is the unfortunate reality for many of the Hispanic and/or Latino youth plaintiffs in the constitutional climate lawsuits filed on their behalf by Our Children’s Trust. For example, The plaintiffs in Genesis v. EPA are all children under the age of 18 living in California, five of which have Hispanic and/or Latino roots. Climate-related impacts like extreme weather events, rising temperatures, wildfires, and wildfire smoke are affecting these children to an extent children have never experienced before. Hispanic and Latino children in America have reached a new profound level of vulnerability they don’t deserve due to climate change perpetuated by their own governments.
By actively promoting and funding fossil fuel projects through subsidies and leases, governments are directly contributing to the climate crisis and violating basic human rights.
Children are losing their homes, their sense of safety, their health, and even their education. One in four children in the United States is Hispanic and the vast majority (93%) are U.S.-born (6). So, it’s not a question of whether these children are to be protected under the United States Constitution or State Constitutions. What Hispanic children in America need and deserve is for their governments to take the necessary actions to protect their fundamental rights to a safe and livable climate. These young plaintiffs possess an unwavering bravery and determination to assert their climate rights and hold governments accountable, but they shouldn’t have to.
The Nature Gap
It’s critical for governments to take action and achieve lasting systemic change when it comes to the climate crisis. However, it’s also critical for governments across the country to prioritize and improve Hispanic/Latino communities. The notion of achieving climate justice is merely a philosophy if disenfranchised communities are not at the forefront of sustainability. A huge issue is the unequal access to green spaces in America. Just as the United States has systematically segregated people based on race, ethnicity and class, it has segregated and excluded people of color from public lands and natural spaces. In fact, “people of color are more likely than white people to live in an area that is nature deprived,” meaning, that their neighborhoods have lost more natural areas to human activities than the state average (7). In 2017, 67% of Hispanic and Latino populations lived in nature-deprived communities (7).
Figure 2. Percent of people living in a nature-deprived area by census tract demographics in the United States, 2017 (7).
The reduction and limited access to green spaces not only has a plethora of consequences for human health but also for the natural environment we depend on. Communities bearing the brunt of nature’s destruction also miss out on its benefits like clean air, water, climate resilience, recreation and pure enjoyment of nature.
Recent studies show that adding green spaces to low-income neighborhoods has a profound impact on both mental health and healthcare costs. One study from Penn Medicine found that greening vacant lots in distressed areas of Philadelphia led to a significant reduction in feelings of depression, especially in neighborhoods below the poverty line. The study revealed that these green spaces reduced depressive symptoms by over 68%, demonstrating the powerful effect of urban nature on mental well-being (8). Moreover, the intervention was cost-effective, with greening lots costing only $1,600 per lot and $180 annually for maintenance, making it a scalable solution for improving community health (8).
Clean air, water and open natural spaces are resources to which everyone has an equal right both in principle and in law.
Nature’s resources are supposed to be free and accessible to all humans without discrimination. If Governments prioritize green space development to ensure equitable distribution of parks and recreational areas across the U.S., they’d be helping to restore access to clean air, cooler neighborhoods, and safe places for physical activity—improving overall well-being and addressing environmental injustices for Hispanics and other people of color.
[2] https://www.epa.gov/power-sector/power-plants-and-neighboring-communities#graphing
[7] https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-nature-gap/