‘If you could tell the American people one thing about climate change, what would that be?’

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“It is the issue that most keeps me up at night,” said Colón. “Because of the way it will alter our way of life. But how little time we spend thinking about it, until it’s right at our doorstep! I would say that it’s not a long way off.  I could tell everyone from personal experience how it’s already here. From the forest fires in California to the hurricanes that devastated Puerto Rico, the recurrent flooding in the streets of Miami, and the heat waves that are so hard for our elderly to endure here. None of this that we are experiencing is a coincidence.”

Colón went on to talk about the hardships faced by the Latinx community in Florida which are exacerbated by climate change. Giving specific examples, she discussed the way that the communities in Florida dealing with the worst heat often cannot find relief, because the majority of the shaded landscape is actually in higher-income communities “The parks are not well distributed,” she pointed out. “There is nothing you can do to get relief.”

Inequality is an issue

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Colón discussed the great inequality when it came to getting relief after large weather events.

When hurricanes hit Puerto Rico, “every household on the island became an emergency operation center,” said Colón. “As a person who had worked in government, I think my outrage heightened three times over by realizing that I knew exactly what the federal government could do.”

She compared the treatment of Puerto Rico’s American citizens to that of “second-class citizens.”

“It’s not even ok to say the words climate change,” she explained. “Some people have the ability to escape what is coming,” Colón emphasizes that the vulnerable segments of the Latinx community often do not have the resources to get to safer environments.

“There’s always a cultural tie, a closeness to nature,” said Colón when asked why Latinx communities feel so strongly about the environment. “The impacts on our natural environment are very visible to us.”

Vote for climate

#VoteLikeAMadre

Climate change advocates, like Frances Colón, understand the importance of voting for candidates that believe climate change is man-made and who have platforms in place to listen to the science. As Colón explained, there are plenty of politicians who actively work on “silencing the science” instead of taking strides to protect the future.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Leaders like Frances Colón inspire action, they give permission to ask for change.  Mothers around the country are listening to Colón and other climate experts. They are promising to dedicate their vote to their kids’ future — protecting their ability to breathe clean air, grow up in a stable economy, and experience the natural world.

If you are ready to join them, make the Pinky Promise, and then #VoteLikeAMadre on November 3rd.

Disclaimer: This sponsored article was produced and distributed in partnership with Latino Victory Project, in support of the Vote Like a Madre campaign.