Local opinion: A personal story of God and pollution

Three weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthened measures on air and water pollution from power plants. I have particularly strong feelings about pollution. I am a fifth generation Mexican-American with family roots in Tucson’s Southside. My family has had severe health consequences from exposure to toxins dumped into our community. I am also a young Catholic, and I share Pope Francis’ moral conviction that it is against God’s plan to poison ourselves with pollution.

Every year, the EPA’s regulations will prevent 1,200 deaths and 360,000 cases of asthma symptoms, as well as finally address our country’s second largest source of climate pollution. We in Arizona know that water is precious, and the EPA’s action will also cut 660 million pounds of toxic wastewater pollution every year. We should applaud these life-saving measures and embrace the move toward a cleaner, healthier world.

It is important to recognize that pollution is everywhere and endangers all of us. Yes, it is true that more than 70% of power plants are located in communities of color and low-income communities. That is shameful. But let us recognize that our planet is small and interconnected; air and water pollution travel far and wide and can compromise your health no matter where you live.

I am convinced that God did not intend for us to lose thousands of lives to soot pollution and cancer due to our reliance on dirty fuels and toxic substances. Pope Francis says that contaminating our air and water is “a sin against ourselves and a sin against God.” We are engaging in self-destruction. More precisely, industries are engaging in destruction of our health and we are letting them. But a better world is possible, and I am glad to see the EPA is doing its part.

Pollution is personal for me. Recently, while I was engaged in Catholic care for creation activities, I started digging into my family history of pollution vulnerability. As I learned more, I became very proud of the resilience of my family, shouldering through adversity like so many other Hispanic families in Tucson’s Southside.

As a child, I remember sitting in my aunt’s hospital room praying the rosary nonstop, asking for our Blessed Mother Mary to intercede to save my aunt’s life. I have since learned about the toxin trichloroethylene, a solvent used to clean airplanes. For decades, in the 1970s and 80s, these chemicals were carelessly dumped in the area. They leached into the air and drinking water of thousands of families, resulting in lupus, leukemia, and other terrible cancers and illnesses. Even though it was one of the biggest water lawsuits in the country at $130 million, the payout spread across thousands of people amounts to less than $10,000 for many families—a small fraction of their medical costs.

My family is very grateful that my aunt is alive after fighting lupus in her life. Fortunately her brother, too, is healthy after fighting leukemia starting at age three. This is only a tiny glimpse of the effects that pollutants can have on families.

The reality of pollution is terrifying. But there is hope for a supportive change. Americans are raising their awareness and their voice to demand better guardrails. The EPA and other government agencies are responding and strengthening safeguards across many kinds of pollution. The industrial polluters only seem to stop polluting when the tools of government force them to.

I believe God is with us in our efforts, pulling us toward a healthier environment for our future. I will end with a hopeful message from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, released last fall, called Laudate Deum:

“I ask everyone to accompany this pilgrimage of reconciliation with the world that is our home and to help make it more beautiful.”