Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
Connecting Social Justice Movements
3:25 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Environment| Immigration · Comments Off
17 Nov 2008
I’ve been wanting to post about this for a while, but kept forgetting to. In light of the total screw up of the gay community on how to organize with and across different community boundaries, I remembered and now I am posting!
But before describing the day, one may ask, what does this have to do with the climate?
(aside from bad puns about melting the ICE…)Yesterday I felt the power of youth, and the moral legitimacy of young people speaking truth to power – of being bold and not letting injustices stand; of offering leadership; of youth organizing for a better world. A Youth Climate Movement holds this same power, and as young climate activists strive to integrate a deep understanding of power, race, class, and gender into our movement, we would do well to explore the links between our work and the struggles of immigrant youth and their families across the country.
Far too often, mainstream organizations will throw their hands up in frustration and whine about, “We’re not supposed to save everybody, we’re an organization that focuses on X!”
What alliances like the anti-ICE and pro-environment alliance does is show that you don’t have to give up your organization’s center in order to connect your fight to the fight of other social justice centered organizations. But you do need to be willing to extend yourself to people you don’t normally talk to and extend yourself to people you normally may not feel inclined to hook up with.
Struggling through Hurricane Ike
11:20 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Environment| Texas · Comments Off
17 Sep 2008
So it seems that Hurricane Katrina wasn’t enough practice for the government. Latest news on Hurricane Ike clean up is that FEMA is “struggling” with distribution issues. In other words, folks who are in desperate need of help, simply aren’t getting it:
“Where’s FEMA?” some evacuees have asked. Houston Mayor Bill White complained FEMA wasn’t bringing ice, water and meals fast enough, while the county administrator personally took over the coordination of efforts to hand out relief supplies.
According to (total jackass) Michael Chertoff (who runs FEMA), getting mad at FEMA now is just scapegoating FEMA for what is overall a difficult situation. I say, hand to the face Mr. Chertoff. Those who watched CNN for even ten minutes knew that there was a major storm brewing a week before it actually touched ground, in my humble non-official opinion, there should have been beds, warm soup etc set up within *hours* of the storm not days.
But who am I but some innocent blogger?
ICE Response to Hurricane Gustav Questioned
1:57 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Environment| Immigration · Comments Off
8 Sep 2008Remember this notice put out by ICE telling undocumented workers that it would not round them up during Hurricane Gustav evacuations?
Early Puberty in Girls Linked to Environmental Pollution, Plastics
1:25 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Environment · Comments Off
21 Aug 2008I just finished reading a really important and somewhat frightening essay about how early development in young girls (those that develop as young as 7 or 8, or as in one case, as young as 14 months) is linked to environmental pollution and plastics.
An excerpt:
When I began looking into environmental causes, however, a clearer picture began forming. Dr. Sandra Steingraber, author of the Breast Cancer Fund’s comprehensive 2007 report “The Falling Age of Puberty in U.S. Girls” considers early puberty to be “an ecological disorder” resulting from a complex web of environmental influences. Pollutants, plastics and chemicals may be the hidden causes of early puberty in girls, and Black girls seem to be more vulnerable.
I did not develop early, but I had two friends that did, and they were harassed mercilessly by boys and men alike. But sexual harassment should not be the only reason to be concerned about the link of early puberty to pollution/plastics–that would imply that if we just keep our girls childlike, sexual harassment and violence would stop happening. We need to fix the entire mess we’ve created, environmental pollution, sexual violence, lack of health care resources, food safety–everything.
via/Color Lines
The Problem With Palm Oil
1:09 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Environment · 1 Comment
18 Aug 2008Ever wonder what levels of destruction were wrecked on the environment, wildlife and indigenous populations so that you can eat some Cheez-Its? I appreciate the Rain Forest Action Network, as they really seem to understand how their interest in the environment is connected to something seemly unrelated, like exploitative labor practices or the protection of animals.
The Gas Immigrants Pass : Being Blamed by White Supremacists for Global Warming
8:22 am By Maegan La Mala · Environment| Immigration| Media| race · 1 Comment
13 Aug 2008
While the name, Center for Immigrant Studies, sounds non-partisan enough, in reality they are a right wing white supremacist hate group using their various fronts to spread lies to feed into the mainstream media and the mainstream media buys it!
Their latest piece of nonsense? Blaming immigration for the end of the world as we know it : global warming. Yes, that’s right folks. Polar bears drowning as icecaps melt? Blame the immigrants. Troubling weather patterns? Blame the immigrants.
They have such incredibly stupid “data” includes factors like “immigrant emissions”. Tell me they’re not talking about José’s and Tanya’s farts?
For the full press release read after the jump.
Mexico City Limits Car Use on Weekends
12:08 pm By Maegan La Mala · Environment| Latin America| mexico · Comments Off
20 Jun 2008
Back when I lived in Mexico City, my friends who had cars had to structure their lives around the “Hoy No Circula” program, which dictates one weekday in which your car cannot be driven. The program has been very successful both in its ability to get people to comply (huge fines will do that) and how it’s improved the quality of the air in the Mexican capital. But according to VivirMexico (no relation to VL, but great blog), local government is taking the program a step further, imposing restrictions on Saturdays as well, though only one Saturday per month per car.
According to VivirMexico, critics say the new restriction will negatively impact tourism to the city.
Via / VivirMexico
5 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day : Latino Style
10:00 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Environment · Comments Off
22 Apr 2008
Feliz Earth Day mi gente. Hopefully today you will find a way to do something for madre tierra if you haven’t been doing so already. Here are some quick and easy things you can do right now to celebrate and sustain mother earth for us and for generaciones to come.
1 : Let (Those Wires) Loose
Unplug electronics you’re not using, this includes your cell phone charger, television, and yes, computer (when you’re not reading VL). Even when many electronics are turned off they still use power (and still cost you).
2 : Don’t Be a Chica(o) Plastica
If you’re still choosing plastic when they offer paper or plastic, try changing your answer. Or better yet carry your own cloth reusable bag when shopping. I do (most of the time- sometimes I forget). And if you’ve been paying any attention you know that that plastics in water bottles (BPA’s) aren’t doing you (or landfills) and good. Buy a stainless steel water bottle that you can use over and over. Mala’s favorite is Kleen Kanteen.
More tips after the jump.
When Latino Corporate Fighters Win Awards, The Corporates Get Mad
10:07 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Ecuador| Environment · Comments Off
18 Apr 2008
What does a multi-national company do when two Ecuadorians fighting against them win an award? They launch a PR battle attack. Pablo Fajardo and Luis Yanza were named the 2008 Goldman Environmental Prize recipients for their 14 year grassroots struggle against Chevron and the contamination that oil company has done against the country and people of Ecuador, specifically in the Amazon region.
In response, Chevron issued a press release and hold a press briefing saying that the company objects:
to the Goldman Foundation over its selection of personal injury lawyer Pablo Fajardo and his associate, Luis Yanza, who were revealed today as 2008 Goldman prize recipients. Chevron regrets that the organizers of the Goldman Environmental Prize were skillfully misled into naming Mr. Fajardo and Mr. Yanza as prize winners.
Ecuadorian Modelo/Assemblymember Wants to Save the Environment but Not Rape Victims or GLBT People
11:52 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Controversia| Ecuador| Environment| GLBT| Politics| Women · 1 Comment
27 Mar 2008
Trying to show she’s more than just a pretty face, Rosanna Queirolo, won a seat on the Ecuadorian National Assembly on a platform promising to protect the environment and to provide a bridge to the Ecuadorian immigrant community in the United States. Once comfy in her seat of power however, she showed her true colors in positions about rape, abortion and the GLTB community.
For those non-Spanish dominant peeps, translation after the jump.
Hola!
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- Bay Area Community Members to Hold Vigil and Release Statement about Murders in Maryland and Puerto Rico
- Transgender Day of Remembrance and Latin@s
- Dear Troll(s):
- Puerto Rican, Latino Clergy, Theology Professors, Community Members To Condemn Brutal Hate Killing of Gay Puerto Rican Man
- Vigils for Justice y en Memoria de Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado
- Russell Athletic rehires fired union organizers
- When Things Go Wrong…Terribly Wrong.
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