People of Richmond: What’s your biggest environmental concern?

“People of Richmond” is a regular series in which reporters pose a question to people in the community. Answers are presented verbatim, though sometimes edited for brevity.

Q: What is your greatest environmental concern in Richmond?

“My greatest concern is Chevron and air pollution. The air is not good here and causes diseases, and Chevron is the greatest cause. They have to find a solution for that because our lives matter.” (Hector Maguna, mechanic)

“The other day we had a game at another park, and I was so embarrassed, there was trash everywhere. And I felt like that was not us, like we’re not the one. So I was heartbroken about it because we need to keep our city clean.” (Rosa Salazar, housekeeper)

“There’s the plant right there, the Chevron plant. We didn’t live real close, but we lived close enough where we could see the smokestack fumes coming up, and just, you know, respiratory problems and things like that. My younger son has asthma. That’s probably a shared concern with a lot of people in the area.” (Jesús Arciniega, electrical engineer)

“Air pollution. Over the years, it has gotten better. I am 58-years-old. Growing up it used
to be worse. I think it got a little bit better. I’m sure it could be better.” (Raul Garcia, founder of Cal Ink)

“The droughts and the wildfires. … I worry about the fires burning my house down and about having enough water to continue to live up here.” (Mike Higgins, retired)

“Air quality, because we have the refinery here so close, and I’m always thinking when I hear the noises of the refinery, all these fields, and all the burning areas around our area, the air quality has been really bad lately. I think they need to have more supervision and more fines when they do something against our environment.” (Teresa Delgado, school district worker)

“How high is the sea going to rise? And the sea rise is going to be releasing stuff that’s been under. … So, toxicity that will result from the sea level rise, and what that will mean for human habitation all along the coast.” (Mary Ann Furda, chiropractor and yoga instructor)

“I guess the homeless issue probably. Just like them not being taken care of and then them being on the street, and the issues that come along with that — trash and, you know, they just cleared out the street behind Costco, which is where they used to have all their stuff. And they cleared it out and left a bunch of trash. I guess we see it as trash but those are their belongings.” (Natalie Cisneros, audit administrator)

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