This fall, the Governor of California said yes to #healthyhoods and signed four climate justice bills into laws. That’s four incredible reasons to dance.

With these victories, we’re transforming our communities into #healthyhoods by:

• Fighting climate change
  With SB-32, we set an unprecedented goal for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in California – 40 percent below 1990 levels.

• Better air quality and transparent leadership
  With AB-197, we increased transparency for the California Air Resources Board and required it to publish more data about air pollution.

• Creating #healthyhoods
  With AB-1550, we put our neighborhoods first in line to receive more funding to become healthy, thriving communities.

• Planning for environmental justice
  With SB-1000, all general plans must prioritize communities hit first and worst by climate change.

Celebrate justice

We’re proud of our community leaders and our partners at the California Environmental Justice Alliance who mobilize and empower our communities throughout California. These statewide victories prove that when we raise our voices together, we can create lasting change for justice. 

While Port District plans a massive expansion of its operations and diesel emissions from the Tenth Avenue Terminal, the neighboring community of Barrio Logan has been ranked even higher in the newest draft of California’s environmental justice screening model, CalEnviroScreen.

The new draft version three of CalEnviroScreen, released September 6, confirms the pollution hazards and social vulnerabilities in the Barrio Logan/Logan Heights area.

Barrio Logan was already at the very top of the state in version two of CalEnviroScreen – the highest five percent of all 8,000-plus census tracts in the state. The newly released draft version shows diesel hazards a full 15 percentile points higher than previously estimated for this area. Heart attack risk – a new indicator in version three – is also high, given the relatively young age profile of the community. Asthma continues to be a prominent indicator of disadvantage in the community – Barrio Logan and Logan Heights rank even higher on the asthma indicator this time around. This version of CalEnviroScreen also includes unemployment data for Barrio Logan – which the previous version lacked for this area. Unsurprisingly, it’s high.

Another new indicator measures cost of living based on the “rent-adjusted income” – or, the average income households have left after paying rent. Areas with high housing costs and low incomes rank high on this indicator. Barrio Logan is at the 97th percentile – an alarming result that will not surprise anyone struggling with rising rents in the area.

This small community, the historic heart of Chicano art and life in San Diego, is under siege from pollution, high health burdens, high rents and high unemployment. The community needs clean air, affordable housing and good jobs. Barrio Logan children need to be able to play outside. Instead, they may be subjected to a 500 percent increase in emissions and truck traffic from Port operations at the terminal.

Another draft document just out – the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the redevelopment of the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal – indicates the community will not be getting a break anytime soon.

The draft EIR evaluates the impacts of a 500 percent increase in cargo volume coming through the terminal. All this cargo would mean more ships coming, more cranes and forklifts moving cargo, more trucks, more night-time light, more noise, as many as 800 more truck trips a day and a cancer risk estimate of 197 per million – about 20 times more than the level normally considered “significant.” All the extra diesel fuel burning would also generate a huge increase in planet-harming greenhouse gas emissions – a 540 percent increase – not even counting all the emissions generated from ships crossing the ocean to get here.

EHC will be working with community residents and the Port of San Diego to get a better outcome for Barrio Logan. We believe that, at a minimum, the Port must ensure that no net increase in pollution will occur from the redevelopment. Jobs generated from the project must be high quality, and every effort must be made to hire workers from the community. And greenhouse gas emissions must be offset by corresponding decreases on Port property or in the community. Stay tuned for action alerts as the issue moves forward.

Join us on December 13 at 1 p.m. at 3165 Pacific Hwy. to demand the Port be a good neighbor to our communities.

Click here to sign our petition to tell the Port of San Diego to take its plan back to the drawing board.

Joy Williams
Research Director
Environmental Health Coalition

When we speak in unison, we stay strong, and our communities cannot be ignored. To make election day easy on November 8, we’ve put together this voting guide to highlight the most important propositions for justice in our neighborhoods.

No on Measure A: Protect our children’s health

Say no to a deceptive 40-year tax increase that pays for freeway expansion and air pollution.

No on Measure C: No Downtown Stadium

Say no to a $1 billion tax dollar giveaway. Put our neighborhoods first!

No on Measure D: Protect Our Neighborhoods

Say no to a stadium or convention center on top of residential neighborhoods.

Yes on K: Restore Democracy

Vote yes to prevent insiders from controlling City Hall. Voters should choose their city representatives from the top two vote getters.

Yes on L: Full Voter Participation

Vote yes to allow San Diego voters to decide on propositions in November, when most people vote.

Pledge to use your voice, and your vote, on November 8, 2016.

Click here to learn about registering to vote.

Learn more about EHC's voter empowerment efforts and how to use your voice for justice on election day.

Last month, community members joined us for a walking tour through Old Town National City. Together, we saw firsthand the problems our neighborhood faces and celebrated the progress we're making to find solutions.

We visited the construction site of affordable Paradise Creek apartments near a transit stop and a beautiful park. We walked the improved route to Kimball Elementary School, which has new safety features and no longer neighbors polluting industries across the street.

Thank you for joining us to make National City a beautiful, safe and healthy place we're proud to call our home.

Click here to see more photos of the inspiring community tour.

Recently, The Port of San Diego announced its plans to significantly expand the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal, located less than half a mile from Perkins Elementary School and residential neighborhoods in Barrio Logan. If approved, the project would bring hundreds of polluting trucks and ships to our communities every day, making our air increasingly hard to breathe and catalyzing the toxic pollution our communities already struggle with.

By expanding the Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal without a plan to address the social and environmental impacts it will cause, the Port’s current plan would:

• Bring 800 more diesel trucks through our neighborhoods – per day. Added to existing and projected traffic, there may be over 30,000 truck trips per year through Barrio Logan.
• Increase toxic air pollution by 600 percent. A steady flow of diesel trucks through our neighborhoods is a disastrous hazard to our health.
• Catalyze climate change. A 540 percent increase in greenhouse gas pollution will virtually erase our progress in the fight against climate change.
• Disturb our neighborhoods with excessive noise. We don’t deserve hundreds of noisy trucks passing by our homes, schools and workplaces.
• Worsen traffic and parking problems. Barrio Logan needs better transit and safer streets, not more congestion.

You can use your voice to stop the Port from bringing more toxic pollution to Barrio Logan and developing the Tenth Ave. Marine Terminal in an irresponsible way that harms our communities.

Take action in three steps to tell the Port that we deserve better.

• Click here to sign the petition
• Click here to demand #healthyhoods on Twitter.
• Click here to learn more about the Port’s project.