Community activists, residents, faith leaders, doctors, and educators rallying at the Port of San Diego’s Administrative Building, December 2022. – Photo provided by EHC.
After a tireless fight, the Environmental Health Coalition (EHC) and frontline community members have successfully pressured the Port of San Diego to end its negotiations with the Mitsubishi Cement Corporation.
The proposed mega-cement warehouse in San Diego’s Barrio Logan and West National City, two low-income communities of color, would have added to the already high rates of asthma hospitalization for children in the area. But thanks to the tireless efforts of MFN member Environmental Health Coalition, a grassroots coalition that fights the unjust consequences of toxic pollution, discriminatory land use, and climate change, the project has been stopped. The coalition’s victory showed decision makers that communities cannot breathe money and that their community’s health and well-being must be prioritized over profit and development.
“This would never have been proposed in a community like Coronado, so why do Logan and National City have to continually fight for the right to breathe clean air? The reason is environmental racism. Today, we celebrate our victory but also send a clear message to decision-makers: do not allow proposals like MCC to come forward again. The community is clear – no more diesel deaths.”
– Julie Corrales, Barrio Logan Policy Advocate, Environmental Health Coalition
Through community protests, building relationships with the Port, and mobilizing more than 800 community members to write letters, EHC and its supporters made it clear that the community would not stand for more deadly pollution in their neighborhoods.
EHC and their community members’ victory shows that when communities come together and fight for environmental justice, real change can happen. But the fight to protect frontline communities is far from over. Frontline communities can’t breathe money — we need policymakers to listen to our demands and prioritize community health. We need robust climate protections and action that safeguard frontline communities, like Barrio Logan and West National City, from corporations like Mitsubishi.
Interested in learning more?
Read the full press release from EHC. For more information about the EHC and their fight for environmental justice and community health, check out their information below:
Learn how MFN and its members are holding the EPA accountable to a zero emission freight future!
