Hola! My name is Isabel González Whitaker and I’m the newest team member at Moms Clean Air Force and EcoMadres.
I’m here to help bring even more attention to the important work we are doing together. With your help we will continue to drive results in the fight against air pollution and for a healthier planet.
Learn more about me in this short video:
As a Cuban-American, I love being able to introduce myself to you today, the start of Hispanic Heritage Month. I am the daughter of hard-working immigrants who never took the ideals of democracy for granted. My upbringing informs everything I do.
Recently, I pivoted from a career in journalism to community-driven work, thanks to a park I created in Atlanta to honor my mom. Establishing the first and only park in Georgia to be named for a Latino/a set me on a path that now finds me here: leveraging the power of our voices to push for strong environmental regulations and climate-centered laws that are anchored in the well-being of our families.
For my family, Hispanic Heritage Month can be a happy time rooted in the traditions we share across generations. But this time of year—the onset of allergy season in many places—can also bring worry for the health of loved ones.
As a mother of a child with respiratory issues, I worry about stats like these:
- the third week of September sees more hospitalizations for asthma than any other time of the year and
- Latino children are 40% more likely to die of asthma than non-Latino children.
The success of the Clean Air Act has helped bring asthma rates down. But our work is far from done.
Standards for ozone, a pollutant that can increase risk of asthma attacks, must be strengthened. Yet, just last month, EPA punted on raising the standard of safety for ozone, putting millions of people in the US, including children, at risk.
We’ve just released a new petition to demand EPA act now on ozone (below). I signed it and I hope you will too.
This Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s take action together to protect our families and ensure climate safety for generations to come.