March 3, 2015
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Dear Mr. President,
As members and leaders of the undersigned organizations committed to efforts that support the Latino community’s health, economic advancement, safety and well-being, and the concerned communities whom we represent, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude for your veto of the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act.
Climate change affects the Latino community directly. Our communities are among the most impacted by air pollution and the many environmental harms that stem from a changing climate. Hotter temperatures affect millions of Latino families by worsening air quality, impacting water supplies, and exposing our families to the many risks that come from extreme weather events. Our continued reliance on fossil fuels also impact many Latinos who live in low-income communities of color and threaten our health by aggravating asthma, heightening our risk of cancer and heart disease and exposing us to other pollution-related illnesses.
Over 60% of the American public and in particular our community supports your use of executive action to oppose the Keystone XL Act. Likewise, Latinos overwhelmingly support government action to fight climate change as shown in polling by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Voces Verdes and Latino Decisions and more recently in the Stanford University/Resources for the Future Poll. Moreover, 92% of Latinos polled called for increased usage of renewable energy instead of fossil fuels.
Latinos want to be, and are increasingly part of, the vanguard creators of the new energy economy. In fact, when Latino voters were asked whether they would rather work for the fossil fuel industry or the clean energy industry if pay and co-benefits were equal, the voters almost universally chose to work for the clean energy industry. Furthermore, 44% of Latinos would pay $20 or more each month to ensure that their home’s energy sources were derived from clean energy, as reported by a survey by the National Council of La Raza and the Sierra Club. As such, your executive action is directly in line with our community’s hopes.
Thank you for rising to this challenge and look forward to you rejecting the pipeline all together. We pledge to continue working with you to support your efforts to secure a healthy future for our communities and for future generations.
Sincerely,
Americas for Conservation
America Verde
Azul
The CLEO Institute
Earth Charter Indiana
HECHO
IDEAS for US
Green Latinos
Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures Society
La Madre Tierra
League of Conservation Voters
Mujeres de la Tierra
Noble Renewables Group
Presente.org
Sandoval & Sandoval
Sachamama
Sierra Club
Voces Verdes