PEOPLES PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES LIBRARY

WATER, AIR AND LAND: A SACRED TRUST
The uses of water, air and land are diverse in New Mexico and will change dramatically with climate change. For caretakers of this sacred
trust, this map offers a bird’s eye view of the health of our environment in southeastern and south central New Mexico. It documents
primarily energy-related sources of pollution, though in New Mexico other polluting factors are also at work. This map does not cover
abatement sites, most solid waste facilities and voluntary remediation sites, among other things, and shows major water basins only.

Read this explosive article by Dr. Sofia Martinez covering the of the effort of Tularosa Downwinders to be gain rightful compensation for the cumulative health consequences of nuclear contamination. 

The Environmental and Economic Justice

Library and Resource Center is driven by local

community residents and grassroots organizations who continue the multi-generational effort of reclaiming knowledge. The environmental, social, economic, political and cultural perspectives within the contents of the library materials represent the understandings of those passed and living on the frontlines of injustice. Please see the online catalogue and visit the library inside the Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.

 This tour, originally held in person at Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge’s Environmental Justice Day, is meant to recognize the challenges the Mountain View Community faces in their own fight for environmental health and prosperity through seeing and telling the history of the neighborhood and, in turn, telling the story of Environmental Justice across the country.

The tour has been led historically by community members and representatives of Mountain View Neighborhood Association, Los Jardines Institute and Friends of Valle de Oro NWR. This story map intends to carry on the spirit of the in-person tour in a digital format with the added ability to share the story and utilize the story for learning and educational purposes. 

Environmental justice organizations including the Just Transition Alliance, Indigenous Environmental Network, The Farmworker Association of Florida, Los Jardines Institute, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice challenged EPA’s  policy through advocacy and litigation.  However, the lack of monitoring and  reporting obscured the data needed to  show clearly how EPA exacerbated the cumulative risks of COVID-19 and air pollution. 

These environmental justice groups,  along with the Vermont Law School  Environmental Justice Clinic, are  releasing this report as this country  works to turn the page on the Trump era  and set a new course for environmental  justice, and as COVID-19 rates are again  surging. 

Read the latest edition of the Valle de Oro NWR Environmental and Economic Justice Strategic Plan Summary for 2021-2025. This iteration contains more specific strategies, actions and goals building on the first iteration of the plan from 2017-2020. 

We encourage community members who are directly impacted by this plan to reach out to us with any feedback or questions. This is a living plan that is driven by the communities of Mountain View, the South Valley and 

Pueblo of Isleta. 

 This bill offers a series of concrete measures aimed to address environmental injustice. It is the culmination of years of research and fact gathering as well as a robust and inclusive process spearheaded by environmental justice leaders who represent some of the very communities this bill is meant to support. 

If passed and enforced properly, it would significantly strengthen environmental protection for communities that face disproportionate pollution burdens. 

 This platform lays out a bold national climate policy agenda that advances the  goals of economic, racial, climate, and environmental justice. The platform identifies areas where the undersigned environmental justice (EJ) and national groups  are aligned on desired outcomes for the national climate policy agenda. 

The platform also lays the foundation for our organizations to vastly improve the way  we work together to advance ambitious and equitable national climate policies  and to work through remaining differences. 

Los Jardines Institute are co-authors and inaugural signatories of this platform. 

The Campaign for Healthier Solutions seeksto work with discount retailers (dollar stores)to help them protect their customers and the communities in which they operate, and grow their own businesses, by implementing corporate policies to identify and phase out harmful chemicals in the products they sell

Environmental justice communities in Delaware face substantial cumulative health risks from exposure to toxic air pollution much greater than those faced by wealthy White neighborhoods.

A demographic analysis of chemical disaster vulnerability zones.

The Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge was established in Albuquerque  in 2012 under the Obama administration. It is the first urban wildlife refuge west of the Mississippi being built from the ground up. The VDO sits on 570 acres on what was once a dairy in the Mountain View community. Mountain View is an unincorporated area which borders the city of Albuquerque. The community holds the cities sewer treatment plant and all heavy industrial process for the city. The community is home to over 30 EPA regulated sites, including superfund sites and other dangerous and polluting industries. 

Los Jardines Institute has worked with the Refuge over the last eight years to publish the first Environmental and Economic Justice  Strategic Plan. It is the first plan of its kind for any public site in the nation. You can access the report at: www.friendsofvalledeoro.org.