"Latino Voters Crucial To Environmental Movement, Report Finds"

"Latino voters care deeply about green issues, and could be a crucial voting bloc in support of environmentally-friendly legislation, according to a new report.

The report, published jointly by Latino Decisions, a political opinion research group, and the nonprofit Hispanic Access Foundation, found that more than two-thirds of Latinos believed air and water pollution were "very" or "extremely important" issues. The Latino voting bloc was instrumental in passing conservation tax propositions in Colorado, New Mexico and California -- where Latinos make up 11, 35 and 25 percent of voters, respectively. Latino voters were also essential in passing Florida’s Amendment 1, which dedicated funds to conserving natural resources and recreation lands in the state. Latinos make up 19 percent of voters in that state.

Released on Wednesday, the report comes after a poll from The New York Times, Stanford University and Resources for the Future found that more than half of Hispanic voters considered global warming “extremely or very important to them personally.” Nearly two-thirds of them responded that the federal government should act on climate."

Dayana Morales Gomez reports for the Huffington Post June 3, 2015.