Among California's Asian Americans, 83 percent describe themselves as environmentalists, compared to just 52 percent of all California voters, according to a first-ever poll on the environmental attitudes of Asian-American voters. NAM environmental editor Ngoc Nguyen reports on the surprising findings.
New America Media, news report, Ngoc Nguyen
Editor's Note: Among California's Asian Americans, 83 percent describe themselves as “environmentalists,” compared to just 52 percent of all California voters, according to a first-ever poll on the environmental attitudes of Asian-American voters. NAM environmental editor Ngoc Nguyen reports on the surprising findings.
Asian-American voters in California care about the environment and could swing votes on environmental measures, a new poll has found, bucking conventional wisdom.
The groundbreaking multilingual poll surveyed 1,002 Asian-American voters on their views about environmental issues and compared results to a poll of 564 state voters. Interviews were conducted with Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese and Asian Indian voters.
“Asian Americans should be paid attention to,” said James Lau, executive director of the California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, which commissioned the poll. “They are supportive of a lot of environmental issues.”
Asian Americans made up about 10 percent of California voters in the 2008 elections. If tapped by environmental activists, this fast-growing voting...
SAN FRANCISCO -- Last December, Gov. Schwarzenegger tasked a 14-member commission to come up with new sources of revenue for the state that could put an end to the feast or famine revenue cycles seen in Sacramento. The Commission on the 21st Century Economy met on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley last week to hear testimony on one revenue option: a carbon tax.
New America Media, News Report, Ngoc Nguyen
March 23, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO -- Last December, Gov. Schwarzenegger tasked a 14-member commission to come up with new sources of revenue for the state that could put an end to the feast or famine revenue cycles seen in Sacramento. The Commission on the 21st Century Economy met on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley last week to hear testimony on one revenue option: a carbon tax.
The idea behind a carbon tax is to tax the use of fossil fuels and use the money to invest in the development of clean energy.
The simplest way to tax carbon-based fuels is through a gas tax, said Fred Silva, senior fiscal policy advisor for California Forward, a bipartisan organization that focuses on governance reform. The state already has a gas tax, so all it would have to do is simply increase it, said Silva, who attended Tuesdays meeting.
According to California Forward, even as it is, the state has the highest combined gas taxes in the country. California levies an 18 cent/gallon motor fuel tax paid by distributors, and a sales and use tax paid by...
People who live in neighborhoods with dirtier air and water - usually low-income and ethnic minorities -- will bear the brunt of climate change, according to a report released today.
Climate change will increase pollution, harm public health, raise the costs of food, energy and water, and result in job losses, with the greatest burden falling on communities of color and the poor, the study found.
The Climate Gap -- Poor, Minorities Hardest Hit by Climate Change
New America Media, News Report, Ngoc Nguyen
People who live in neighborhoods with dirtier air and water - usually low-income and ethnic minorities -- will bear the brunt of climate change, according to a report released today.
Climate change will increase pollution, harm public health, raise the costs of food, energy and water, and result in job losses, with the greatest burden falling on communities of color and the poor, the study found.
Climate change is real. So is the climate gap. Its not something fictitious, made up by communities who feel underrepresented, said Dr. Manuel Pastor, one of the reports authors and a professor at the University of Southern California.
Pastor, who directs the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity at USCs Center for Sustainable Cities, says that as environmentalists and policymakers come up with policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they also need to address the disproportionate impact that climate change will have on the neediest populations. The levees that would...
Kim _jong-il has granted a pardon to detained journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
Today is the day we have all been waiting for, detained journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have been granted a special pardon by Kim Jong-il, due to the diplomatic tact of Ex-President Bill Clinton's surprise visit to Pyongyang.
American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained in North Korea while on assignment for San Francisco-based Current TV a media venture founded by former Vice President Al Gore on March 17, while they were shooting video along the China/North Korea border for a story they were working on about the trafficking of women in the region. They were stopped by North Korean border guards and arrested immediately thereafter. Both women were transported to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, where they remained under arrest until their trial.
Their verdict in a closed trial was reached on June 8, and both women were sentenced to 12 years of reform through labor for illegal entry and grave crimes against the North Korean state.
Since the sentencing, the families have received calls, and during the second call in July, Laura told her sister Lisa Ling that she and Euna did violate North Korean law and confessed to all of the charges levied against them. They expressed deep regret for their actions and asked for continued support from our country and its citizens for their amnesty.
In a surprise move, ex-President Bill Clinton flew to Pyongyang yesterday in a private...
The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee issue a statement regarding the pardon of their loved ones.
The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are overjoyed by the news of their pardon. We are so grateful to our government: President Obama, Secretary Clinton and the U.S. State Department for their dedication to and hard work on behalf of American citizens.
We especially want to thank President Bill Clinton for taking on such an arduous mission and Vice President Al Gore for his tireless efforts to bring Laura and Euna home. We must also thank all the people who have supported our families through this ordeal, it has meant the world to us. We are counting the seconds to hold Laura and Euna in our arms.
This statement from the families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee can be found at www.lauraandeuna.com.