California Teens Expose the Chemicals in Household Cleaners That Are Putting Their Community at Risk

When Giselle Lazaro met with study subjects for a scientific research project she was conducting, she found herself on familiar territory—in households that resembled her own Mexican American home in Salinas, a working-class city in central California. Lazaro and 14 other students from Salinas high schools were conducting a study to identify health hazards from traditional cleaning products and raise awareness about how to avoid them. "Scientists are often portrayed in the media in white lab co

She Breathes In Pollution, and Fights It, in the Windy City

Four years ago, Gina Ramirez noticed tall black piles of what looked like dirt or soot not far from her home on Chicago’s Southeast Side. Some of the piles towered several stories high along the banks of the Calumet River. At the time, Ramirez was nine months pregnant and earning a master’s degree in sociology at the city’s Roosevelt University. With a son on the way, she felt uneasy about what could be lurking in these piles hovering over Chicago’s 10th Ward, a predominantly Latino and blue-co

An Environmental Justice Advocate’s L.A. Story

Dr. Michael Anthony Mendez on the subject of his new book, Climate Change from the Streets, and the readiness of Latinos to act on climate and justice. Like Mike, Carol, Marcia, Greg, and company, Michael Anthony Mendez grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley. But unlike the Bradys, Mendez, who is Mexican-American, didn’t live in a roomy split-level on a tree-lined block. His neighborhood, the North Valley section of Los Angeles, housed two landfills but had no parks for the people, mostly