Conventional wisdom is changing. In 2001 after the CLCV Education Fund conducted a first-ever study on the environmental attitudes of California Latino voters, with particular emphasis on urban Latinos — and in 2012, the CLCV Education Fund conducted a new and updated poll.
Our 2001 poll and subsequent report showed that Latinos were strongly concerned about air and water quality and other environmental conditions in their communities. Not only did they label the environment a priority issue, they called for a variety of aggressive actions to maintain environmental quality, including toughening environmental laws, bolstering enforcement, creating more parks and redeveloping unsafe areas such as brownfields. These findings underscored a sudden and dramatic change in the way legislators, especially Latino legislators, prioritized the environment.
With the 2010 census data showing California Latinos increasingly moving inland and their numbers growing in the Central Valley, CLCV Education Fund conducted a new study to better understand this segment of the Latino population.
The 2012 poll found that two-thirds of Latino voters identify as conservationists and overwhelmingly believe we can “protect the environment and create jobs at the same time.” The statewide survey found Latino voters support “conservation” on a range of issues, believe we can simultaneously protect the environment and create jobs, and personally identify with conservation as a value. This data leaves no doubt that Latino voters are a core constituency for the conservation and environmental movement here in California.
