My Community is Literally on Fire

You won't hear this on the news, so I'm sharing. Last week a two-day fire after the Marathon refinery exploded on the border of Carson & Wilmington, CA, filled my hometown with toxic chemicals.

Although you have most likely never been to Wilmington, I want you to imagine what it's like growing up hearing refinery explosions, having sports practice canceled because the air quality is too bad, and missing school because of asthma. That's what 60,000 people in my hometown experience regularly, where 99% of people are Latinx & the rate of childhood asthma is double the national average.

No matter what industry you are in, I want you to care about this.

I want you to care about the fact that our reliance on oil and plastic means the oil industry can continue to evade California's environmental regulations. I can’t blame the industry for doing its job to meet our demand for oil. And I can’t blame us for relying on cars when getting around SoCal without a car is extremely challenging.

I want you to care about the fact that Marathon refinery became the largest refinery on the West Coast coast after the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), our air quality regulator, conducted a flawed environmental impact report. The AQMD became more industry-friendly after a Republican takeover of its board in 2016.

I want you to care about the terrible typical media reporting on this incident that completely lacked any conversation of environmental justice or the social and political context that allowed this fire to be.

I want you to care about our city planning and housing system that keeps low-income brown folks segregated to polluted communities without many options for leaving and keeps us reliant on cars.

I can't do anything about the oil refinery fire, but I'm committed to passing policies & making infrastructure investments that make it easier for us to get to jobs and live without reliance on oil. I'm committed to people in low-income communities of color, having more opportunities to live in healthy neighborhoods. I'm committed to having government regulators and politicians who protect the health and safety of our most vulnerable populations, rather than catering to industry lobbyists.

Today is Super Tuesday! Before you vote, I urge you to research your local representatives and ballot initiatives. Those votes are the most critical and where you can have the most impact. The president is a big deal, but it’s these local representatives and legislators who have the biggest impact on our daily lives.

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