A campaign slogan used by the Air Quality Program in Fort Collins and other areas is “Clean Air, It’s Up to Us.” And if you’re part of the Latino demographic, this is especially true.

Turns out that 66 percent of Latinos in the United States, roughly 25.6 million folks, have been residing in regions that don’t meet the federal government’s standards for air quality for some time, according to a Natural Resources Defense Council 2004 report, “Hidden Agenda: Environmental Health Threats in the Latino Community.”

In more concrete terms, this unpleasant factoid has additional trickle-down cousins: 60 percent of Latino ninos are more likely to suffer from asthma and other respiratory issues than Anglo kids, and Latinos are three times as likely to die from asthma than whites.

Keep in mind that in Colorado, more than 89,000 kids of all ethnicities between the ages of 1 and 14 are affected by asthma, and for those of us who are part of the multi-colored adult contingency, our state ranks 17th in the country with reported asthma.

Time to snap into action. And what better way to kick-start a local initiative than to tap the talents of inspired Latino youth with leadership qualities?

Carpe diem

The city of Fort Collins recently announced a new pilot project aimed at improving air quality and raising air pollution awareness in our comunidad. The Community Air, or CAIR, micro-grant program is open to nonprofits in Fort Collins, including schools, colleges and universities, faith-based communities, homeowner associations and others.

Sponsored by the Environmental Services Division, this grant represents a great opportunity for students to pull out their thinking caps and apply. Grants range from $500 to $2,000 per organization. Applications are due by May 31, and selected projects must be completed by the end of the year.

So if you’re a Latino high school, community college or university student, or a teacher, principal, professor, guidance counselor or neighbor who works with Latino young adults in Fort Collins and Larimer County, spread the word. The possibilities are as good as fresh ideas that include innovation and tangible results.

One place to start might be a specific project that engages bilingual citizens to translate important air quality messages and materials into Spanish and distribute them to Latino neighborhoods – perhaps a radon-testing outreach campaign, the city’s “Breathe Easy” anti-idling campaign materials, or a fun and informative Spanish-language video on the need for healthy air quality or climate protection.

“Currently, few of our air quality information pieces are available in Spanish,´ said Lucinda Smith, senior environmental planner and air quality program manager with the city’s Environmental Services Division. “With a Latino population in Fort Collins of more than 9 percent, we could reach out to more customers and provide better care to our community with Spanish-language materials about air quality information and available services.”

But that’s not all, she added. “Perhaps even more important than having this information disseminated to Latino neighborhoods is learning what questions they have and what air quality-related needs exist from their perspective.”

CAIR wants you

According to the Colorado Department of Education, approximately 31.6 percent of the student population in the state is Hispanic. In Larimer County, that represents about 7,747 pupils, more than 4,750 Hispanic kids in the Poudre School District.

Colorado State University has enrolled about 14.3 percent minority students, and 52 percent of those students are Latino, or more than 1,880 undergraduate, graduate and professional veterinary medicine students, according to CSU’s Institutional Research Fact Book for 2010-11. At Front Range Community College’s Larimer Campus, the spring 2011 semester enrollment included 551 Latino students, or 8 percent of the overall student headcount, according to the office of the Dean of Student Services.

Details and the application package for the CAIR micro-grant pilot program are available at http://fcgov.com/CAIR.

Ana Arias is principal of Arias Global Consulting, based in Fort Collins. She welcomes suggestions on topics you’d like to see covered in “Latino Voices” and can be reached at ana@ariasglobal.com.