Neighbors are unaware of the origin of the waste, but like California activists, suspect that they are runoffs from the maquiladoras located along the Alamar creek.

In the vicinity of the Chilpancingo area, near the industrial zone of Otay and the Tijuana River, colored water is often seen running through the streets.

"There have been times when colored water comes, it looks like rainbows," says Luz Elena Félix, a resident of the area and community promoter of the Colectivo Chilpancingo Pro Justicia Ambiental.

Read the full article in Spanish on El Sol de Tijuana

We are pleased to welcome Bari Samad and Laura Benavidez to the EHC team.

Bari joins EHC with more than 15 years of communications experience in the nonprofit sector. As our communications director, he will leverage digital tools for impactful storytelling, advocacy, and community organizing. In the past, he has collaborated with former Vice President Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection campaign to organize Green Jobs Now, an online-to-offline national day of action that resulted in more than 600 community events in more than 40 states. 

Laura joins EHC as the organization’s first City Heights organizer, bringing nearly two decades of community organizing experience to the team. In her new role, Laura will empower environmental justice community members to find their voice and advocate for clean air, transportation justice and more. In 2016, Assembly Speaker Emeritus Toni Atkins recognize Laura as an "Emerging Female Leader." She hopes to assist the communities EHC serves through resource sharing, leadership development and mentorship. 

Learn more about our team members here. 

Residents in environmental justice (EJ) communities are the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s (MTS) number one customers, but the transit service doesn’t serve them the way it should. EJ community residents are at higher risk of disease due to transportation-related air pollution emissions and the current transit system doesn’t get them to their jobs. Seventy-percent of jobs are unreachable within 90 minutes by public transit. 

That’s why, we proudly stood with the San Diego Transportation Equity Working Group at the MTS board meeting to demand a 2020 MTS ballot measure that leads with transportation equity which: 

✔️Connects EJ communities to jobs
✔️Makes it affordable to ride the bus and trolley
✔️Ensures San Diego meets regional climate goals
✔️Includes meaningful community engagement

Read our full MTS 2020 ballot measure fact sheet here. 

Want more? See our media coverage from Televisa or read about our Transportation Justice work here.

As we reflect back on 2018 and Environmental Health Coalition’s (EHC) accomplishments, we are reminded of your generosity. With your continued support, we promoted public health and fostered environmental justice in the communities that need it most.

As a result of your support, we achieved the following wins in 2018:

• Affordable Housing for National City Residents - EHC led efforts to add 92 additional apartment units to the Paradise Creek complex along with remediation of contamination.
  
  
• Civic Engagement Impact - EHC leaders educated more than 20,000 residents on the importance of voting to build the community’s voice. Together with our state and local allies, we protected funds for education and maintained revenue for transit and road repairs. In San Diego, we expanded democracy and protected our kids from lead in drinking water.
  
  
• Climate Action Plan Assessment – EHC released an in-depth environmental justice assessment of the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan implementation since 2015. Our report highlights the need for more efficient and affordable mass transit options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demands the City to increase direct investment in environmental justice communities. View our report coverage: San Diego Union-Tribune and KPBS.
  
  
• Children’s Comic Book – EHC launched the “Comic Alamar,” a digital and print booklet that tells the story of Tijuana’s Alamar River and its importance for regional sustainability.
  
  
• Local Truck Ordinance – EHC successfully advocated for a resolution to redirect heavy-duty truck traffic away from homes, schools, and senior centers in Barrio Logan.
  
  
• Community Hero - I was honored to be recognized by KPBS and the National Conflict Resolution Center as a Community Hero for environmental justice and sustainability.

EHC’s success and recognition would not be possible without our Board of Directors, staff, community leaders and generous donors. Thank you for believing that we are the right organization to make a difference in our community.

The Environmental Health Coalition collaborated with the Tijuana Colectivo Chilpancingo Pro Justicia Ambiental Youth Group, to launch a comic book that tells the story of Tijuana’s Alamar River and its importance for regional sustainability.

Check out the digital version of the comic book "Mi Comunidad y el Alamar, un rio binacional y una comunidad fronteriza,” or “My Community and the Alamar, a Binational River and a Border Community":

The Alamar’s riverbank forest is a very important opportunity to mitigate the air pollution emitted by the Mesa de Otay maquiladora industry in Tijuana and by the heavy-duty diesel cargo trucks passing through nearby communities.

Learn more about EHC's Border Environmental Justice work in Arroyo Alamar.

Read the full press release on the comic book launch.