Congresswoman Hilda Solis on Global Warming and Race

by: Matt Stoller

Sun Aug 12, 2007 at 23:16:29 PM EDT

This is a video interview of Congresswoman Hilda Solis, a progressive leader in the House. I'll have a few more clips over the next week or so.

Believe it or not, we do have some progressive leaders in Congress. Not enough, of course, but they're there. One of them is Hilda Solis, Congresswoman from the 32nd district in California and a dedicated progressive. Though elected in 2000, Solis is quite powerful, serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee (including Environment and Hazardous Materials, Health, and Telecom Subcommittees). She's also on the new select committee on global warming, which puts her squarely in the Ed Markey camp, politically speaking.

The reason I'm interested in Solis is that she's working on a structural problem facing the environmental movement: race. With the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, she successfully pushed a green jobs initiative which made its way into the energy bill. On August 16th, she's hosting a community forum on global warming, an issue that is not really on the radar for most people in her predominantly Latino district, though generically, pollution is a huge problem and global warming offers interesting political opportunities.

By turning global warming into a jobs issue, Solis is working to reframe the often depressing and disempowering rhetoric of the environmental movement into language that different groups can get behind. There are interesting and unexpected allies here. A few weeks ago, I accompanied a Sierra Club lobbyist to a visit with freshman Tim Walz, and he's using the same strategy in his rural Minnesota district - sustainable energy means jobs. Conservative rural residents are now proud of wind turbines, because it means economic growth. The political combination of rural and urban constituency groups is quite potent.

What Solis is doing on August 16 is a very different model of environmental organizing - she's actually working to put together a coalition, which is rare in a Congressional leader. A new economy is coming, and the fruits of that economy are how we can build the political consensus necessary to deal with the scope of the problem.

So the clip above is the first part of my interview with her. I'll have more from Solis over the course of the week, including her discussion of ethnic media and blogs, and her defense of the progressive caucus.

Thoughts and comments are welcome, especially from videographers who want to rip my amateurish skills apart. I'm just learning how to do video editing, so be nice.

Matt Stoller :: Congresswoman Hilda Solis on Global Warming and Race

Tags: Van Jones, Ella Baker Center, environmental movement, global warming, Hilda Solis, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View Send As Email

Congresswoman Hilda Solis on Global Warming and Race | 9 comments

I Saw Solis Last Thursday (0.00 / 0)

She was in San Pedro, testifying at a field hearing held by Barbara Boxer on a bill to drastically reduce ship pollution. Solis is carrying the bill in the House. Boxer made a point of drawing her out with a question about environmental racism.

The patterns of port-based pollution are, of course, strongly correlated with minority communities, which also have concentrations of other pollution sources, such as refineries, and the dirtier sorts of manufacturing.

by: Paul Rosenberg @ Sun Aug 12, 2007 at 22:57:12 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Drive the "River Road" from Baton Rouge down to NOLA (0.00 / 0)

if you wanna see the text of environmental classism/racism writ in structures of intricate and practical design...

These fabulously shaped and bent conduits feed up or down to supply or extract materials form ships the bottoms of which are roughly parallel to the cars on the road below.

There are several ante-bellum estates sprinkled in among the low-lands and flood-plains. But nobody LIVES there, not like the folks live in the shotgun houses that ring the pollution-soaked swamps and line the shell-edged road.

by: konopelli @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 19:10:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Great post (0.00 / 0)

It is unbelievably great to see someone in Congress making these connections and building the necessary coalitions. More like her, please!

The critic in me can't help but point out that her grasp of the science seemed slightly muddled in terms of the connection between ozone and GW, and how they might effect her district.

I terms of the video quality, I've never done it myself, but my reaction as a viewer is that the part in the middle where you do quick cuts doesn't really work or look professional. In future video's I might avoid that.

by: Sam L @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 01:31:45 AM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

bad footage (0.00 / 0)

I was covering for bad footage.

And SamL, lots of people are working on building these bridges. Jenifer just doesn't know it because she's not doing any work to find out about it. This video took me about 12 hours of work, from interview to editing. It's much easier to not do the work and just write about how no one wants to talk about race.

by: Matt Stoller @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 08:32:40 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Um (0.00 / 0)

"Believe it or not, we do have some progressive leaders in Congress. Not enough, of course, but they're there."

"More like her, please!"

"Lots of people are working on building these bridges. Jenifer just doesn't know it because she's not doing any work to find out about it."

I was trying to agree with your first statement, not sure how I fell afoul of the second.

Obviously, I know that 'lots of people' in the environmental justice movement and elsewhere are hammering away at this, and have been since pretty early on in the environmental movement. All I meant was that it is nice to see someone in a position to do so actually trying to literally bring together the broader environmental and social justice movements. You know, exhibiting the signs of actual Progressive Leadership. It warms my heart.

As for the footage, I figured that was probably the problem. I don't know what a professional would tell you to do except maybe just not to bother with what you're trying to salvage unless it's absolutely necessary. Or else maybe run the audio over some other footage; her district, polluting factories, kids with asthma inhalers, etc.. That also might visually spice up future videos a little more. I know it would mean quite a bit more time traveling, shooting and editing, though.

by: Sam L @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 10:56:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Eco Apartheid vs. Eco Equity (0.00 / 0)

As Van Jones put it in his pitch... I'm very thankful you have highlighted this and would encourage those who are interested in the idea of Green Collar Jobs the opportunity it presents to America's working class community, keep tabs via Van's posts and his organizations site which is doing some good organizing around this topic. http://ellabakercent...

by: Nicthebrick @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 13:54:36 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Yes (0.00 / 0)

I elaborated on Van Jones's theme at Daily Kos:

The choices we're making now to deal with the consequences of burning up millions of years of fossilized energy in 150 years determine what path we take humanity.

There are three paths which solve the emissions problem.

1. CRASH AND BURN (Eco-apocalypse) Do nothing about global warming and end up with some degree of civilizational collapse, through major wars, ecological catastrophes, and economic collapse due to the pressures of an out-of-control warming planet
2. NUCLEAR FEUDALISM (Eco-apartheid) Allow the current economic and industrial powers to consolidate and control energy use, forcing the majority of the globe, including most of the people in first world nations, into energy-starved poverty
3. SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY (Eco-equity) Decentralizing control over the energy grid, dismantling the reliance on a producer-consumer society, judging quality of life on community, mutual responsibility, innovation, and stewardship over profligacy

by: The Cunctator @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 14:25:17 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Another forum: Carbon Finance World! (0.00 / 0)

From the Hill Heat calendar:

18 - 20 September 2007, The University of Chicago Gleacher Center, Chicago

This text appears below a photo of a smiling Milton Friedman:

Carbon finance experts estimate that the global carbon market is now worth over $27 billion. Financial giants along with Fortune 500 companies, utility & energy companies, fund managers and regulatory bodies are cashing in on the lucrative concept of carbon finance. Carbon Finance World 2007 has been developed to examine the emerging opportunities in this new global market. This conference will provide attendees with countless business development and networking opportunities, real investment prospects and an action plan for profitable growth.

by: The Cunctator @ Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 14:24:12 PM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Solis on Environmental Justice Policy (0.00 / 0)

in 2005 Rep. Solis did an awesome event for us on her successful Environmental Justice policy work. We have video and audio of the event here http://www.drummajor...

She really is amazing. Great work Matt!

by: Elana DMIBlog @ Tue Aug 14, 2007 at 11:07:28 AM CDT

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Congresswoman Hilda Solis on Global Warming and Race | 9 comments