A recent study by The New York Times, Stanford University and Resources for the Future show that Latinos are more likely to be concerned about climate change than non-Latinos.

The study shows that Latinos feel that global warming is an issue that affects them personally.

Alfredo Padilla, an insurance lawyer in Texas who grew up as a migrant farmer, says human activities are the leading cause of climate change.

"It's obviously happening, the flooding, the record droughts," he said. "And all this affects poor people harder. The jobs are more based on weather. And when there are hurricanes, when there is flooding, who gets hit the worst? The people on the poor side of town."

The study shows that 54 percent of Latinos rated global warming as extremely important compared to 37 percent of whites. Sixty-seven percent of Latinos said they would be personally hurt if nothing was done to fix climate change, compared to 50 percent of whites.

Only 49 percent of whites say the federal government should act to address climate change compared to 63 percent of Latinos.

"There's a stereotype that Latinos are not aware of or concerned about these issues," said Gabriel Sanchez, director of research at Latino Decisions, a survey firm focused on the Latino population. "But Latinos are actually among the most concerned about the environment, particularly global warming."

Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster discussed the monetary issues affecting climate change mitigation.

"The real issue here is whether a dollar spent fighting climate change is better than a dollar spent improving schools, health care or national security," Ayres explained. "Most Republicans are going to find greater political advantage in promoting credible plans to strengthen the economy, improve education and make progress on a host of other issues, including immigration, rather than climate change."

Nicole Hernandez Hammer, a sea-level rise researcher of Cuban-Guatemalan descent, said, "we're not at rallies."

"Latinos in immigrant communities are more concerned about putting food on the table," she continued.

Hammer added that the Latino community knows they are at risk to climate change and makes their voices heard on issues when it comes time to vote.

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