Local advocate recognized as ‘Science Defender’ EL
As part of the work he does of installing and leading Comite Civico del Valle’s air monitoring network and sharing the data with the community, Humberto Lugo-Martinez has been recognized as one of the five Science Defenders by the Union of Concerned Scientists for 2017.
The recognition is given to individuals who are serving their communities by doing the science themselves or taking a stand against some of the policies at the federal level, which has been busy at eliminating references, studies and data regarding climate change.
Lugo-Martinez was recognized alongside other notable Science Defenders, including Bethany Wiggin, the founding director of environmental humanities at the University of Pennsylvania, who began the Data Refuge Project in which she had worked with public agencies to preserve national climate and environmental data before the federal government eliminated it from the public’s eye.
Robyn Wilson, a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency scientific advisory board, who is being recognized after she refused to resign from her post following EPA administrator Scott Pruitt’s efforts to remove scientists from the EPA advisory boards; Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, a 17-yearold, who five years ago initiated a lawsuit against the federal government related to climate change; and the attendees of the March for Science rallies that took place around the country were also recognized as the 2017 Science Defenders.
“I think it’s exciting to be nominated as a Science Defender especially in this day and age when all the work we’re doing is tied to the federal rollbacks of regulation on climate and pollution,” Lugo-Martinez said. “We’re all working and making science data available to the community and defending what we already know that pollution and climate change are affecting our planet.”
As part of the efforts to improve the air quality monitoring across the Imperial Valley, Comite Civico Del Valle launched an air monitoring network in 2016 to recognize and avoid prolonged exposure to poor air quality.
The IVAN (Identifying Violations Affecting Neighborhoods) Network consists of 40 air monitors placed across the Valley and provides real-time data regarding the current exposure levels in the air. Lugo-Martinez is the IVAN program manager with Comite Civico and personally installed many of the monitors. He is also currently working with other disadvantaged communities across the state who are seeking to replicate the IVAN network elsewhere.
Imperial County has the worst areas in the state of California when it comes to air quality. According to data from the California Department of Public Health, the county has the highest rate of asthma-related emergency services visits in the state for children ages 5-17. While the state has an average of 72.4 emergency visits per 10,000, the rate in the Valley is more than twice that with 163.
“It’s always great to be recognized along with others who are working on the ground doing science, working as part of community organizations and educating the public,” Lugo-Martinez said, and although he received the nomination, he sees it as a recognition of the work the community has done. “It shows that people are watching the work we’re are doing (and by extension) Imperial County is being recognized as leaders of environmental protection.”
The Union of Concerned Scientists is an independent national nonprofit whose scientists and engineers work to solve some of the planet’s most pressing environmental and safety problems and seek to move public and federal lawmakers toward strong, swift action on climate change.