Dia de la Tierra (Earth Day!)

Today we celebrate Earth Day and to observe the occasion, Hispanic media has done a good job of providing content that can raise awareness and help get us all more environmentally savvy so we may preserve the planet for generations to come. No matter what side of conservation or conversation you are on, we all can agree that our generation creates too much waste and the worst part is that some of it will carry on to our kids and grandkids.

Latinos and minorities in the country are more sensitive to environmental issues not just because they think ‘green’, but out of need.  For many 1st and 2nd generation Latinos, preserving resources such as water and energy are part of their daily lifestyle because of behaviors from their home country where they may have depended on precious private water sources and even supply their own energy.  Most have an acute awareness of turning off appliances to prevent high energy bills, turn off the water while brushing their teeth and are mindful of pre-packaged items that have extra plastic or materials that end up in landfills.  In the U.S., minorities also have experience working in sites and living in places that are impacted by air and water quality issues and environmental justice disparities have long been issues to overcome.  Also, according to surveys conducted in time for last year’s presidential elections, the environment is among top concerns for Latino voters.

As we all take a moment to think about Earth Day, kudos go to Hispanic media and organizations that keep the consumer education information coming to Latinos in the U.S. and who make it a point to help us all be mindful of simple, complex, involved or plain no-brainer actions we can take to preserve and conserve the resources we share.

Some of the highlights for the week:

• On April 25th, Discovery Channel en Espanol will air An Inconvenient Truth in Spanish
• Terra.com has feature coverage on the site, including a profile on ‘environmental criminals’
• Univision.com has a great spread for its campaign, Piensa Verde, Actua Verde (Think Green, Act Green)
• Impredia and pubs La Opinion, El Diario La Prensa, have call outs to stories on the front page

And last but not least, for Hispanics looking to get more engaged with the environment, following are a few groups and associations worth noting:

• La Onda Verde de NRDC:  A program from the (Natural Resources Defense Council—an organization with more than  1.2 million members.—created to help Latinos become more aware of environmental issues.  They have an interesting partnership  with Warner Music for Latin artists downloads benefiting the non-profit’s efforts.
• LatinosGoGreen.org: A project of non-partisan group Democracia USA, it began as a voter education campaign on green issues and now continues to educate and mobilize.
• SierraClub’s EcoCentro: A comprehensive site about Sierra Club’s initiative to inform and empower Latinos to take environmental action.

Don’t see your favorite group or initiative listed here?  Drop us a line and we’ll include it.  For now, happy Dia de la Tierra to all.