Why Latino people are on the front lines of climate change

https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/ [login to see] /why-latino-people-are-on-the-front-lines-of-climate-change
Most residents of Puerto Rico still don't have electricity or water days after Hurricane Fiona caused floods and landslides. The widespread damage, just five years after Hurricane Maria destroyed much of the territory's infrastructure, revealed how unprotected the island's 3.2 million residents are as climate change makes hurricanes more powerful and rainy.

Puerto Rico's vulnerability to storms is the latest example of how Latino people in the United States often live on the front lines of global warming. Latinos are disproportionately affected by climate-driven extreme weather, and are generally more concerned about climate change than non-Hispanic Whites, according to multiple national polls.

"Latino communities from Texas to California to Puerto Rico are the hardest hit when these climate-induced disasters occur," says Michael Méndez, who studies climate policy and environmental justice at the University of California Irvine. "They absolutely have a real world connection to our changing climate."