As of 2008, Latinos make up the largest and economically most influential minority group in the United States.Hispanic populations currently is 15.5% of the total population and is projected to grow by 6 million in the next two years.

According to Poder magazine Hispanics can be broken into 5 groups:

• Americanizado (English dominant U.S. born) 15.15%
• Nueva Latina (English preferred) 26.46%
• Bi-Cultural (Bilingual first generation) 26.67%
• Hispano (Spanish preferred) 17.12%
• Latino Americano (Spanish dominant) 14.60%

Source:Poder Enterprise Magazine, Nov 2008

 

Coming on the heels of the state’s ambitious plan to reduce greenhouse gases and address global warming by cutting carbon emissions, California announced this week a package of regulations aimed at consumer and industrial products.  The “Green Chemistry Initiative” implements recently adopted state law authorizing the California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control to identify and prioritize chemicals of concern in a public online “toxics clearinghouse.”  Another law enacted this year establishes a California Green Products Registry for manufacturers to voluntarily enter chemical ingredients of products and their environmental and health effects, as measured under state-approved standards.

 

The overarching goal of the initiative is to reduce or eliminate hazardous chemicals in consumer products.  The new regulations may impose new labeling requirements and/or restrictions on use of certain chemicals in consumer products.  As the regulations are implemented, the real challenge facing companies and their branding experts is how to legally and appropriately comply with this new regulatory climate while still maintaining the viability of their products. 

 

View the report here: http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/PollutionPrevention/GreenChemistryInitiative/index.cfm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new study has been released by Ceres, a coalition of environmental advocates and investors, ranking 63 of the world’s largest businesses based on the company’s efforts to minimize the impact of their operations on the climate.

The biggest public relations white hat goes to IBM with the highest overall score. Abercrombie & Fitch received the lowest score possible – 0! According to the report Abercrombie “has not made public a formal strategy to address the risks and opportunities posed by climate change.”

The report focused on analyzing consumer products and information technology companies in 11 industry sectors – apparel, beverages, big box retailers, grocery & drug retailers, personal & household goods, pharmaceuticals, real estate, restaurants, semiconductors, technology and travel & leisure.

It is no big secret that consumers like doing business with companies they can feel good about and investors don’t risk their dollars on companies with a poor public perception or potential government regulatory issues.  It will be interesting to watch how large companies and small businesses recognize these realities and create or enhance their own green identity.

 View the entire study here: http://www.ceres.org/Document.Doc?id=398

 

HispanicBusiness.com reports that about 30 outstanding Latinos were quickly found to serve on Obama’s transitional teams to help choose candidates deemed White House material, but less than 10 names have been publicly discussed for possible consideration. . . Now that Rep. John Salazar from Colorado has been named to the powerful House Appropriations Committee he has taken himself out of the running for Sec of Ag.

Nearly 200 residents from Montgomery County, Texas located north of Houston attended a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) hearing on November 19 to protest against a proposed nonhazardous wastewater injection well http://hcnonline.com/articles/2008/11/24/woodlands_villager/news/wv-n_texcom.txt.

 

The bottom line from the hearing is TCEQ commissioners refused to grant the permit (pending additional data) sought by TexCom Gulf Disposal to inject nonhazardous wastewater into an existing well located in an old oilfield. The commissioners agreed with Montgomery County authorities that TexCom did not fulfill its burden of proof to show the injection wells are safe from infiltrating the underground aquifer, which Montgomery County residents depend on for drinking water. So far so good for the opponents – they have delayed the progress of TexCom and their efforts to secure a permit until the company can submit additional testing that will ensure the soundness of the wells.

Community associations, city councils, and county commissions representing a combined 250,000 residents joined local and state elected officials in strong opposition against TexCom’s permit. Opponents say the injection wells could contaminate the underlying aquifer and leak to the surface through hundreds of abandoned oil wells in the area. The company maintains that waste won’t end up in the drinking water.

The opposition (www.stopthetoxicwells.com) was successful in characterizing the nonhazardous water-based liquid waste as “toxic” and coordinated a tremendous grassroots initiative that captured the attention of the community and engaged the active participation of the public with multiple “calls to action”. Four chartered buses brought 100 residents to Austin for the hearing.

 

We may have a final decision by the TCEQ commissioners regarding the permit by mid-2009.

 

Not surprisingly the recession is prompting consumers to look for cheaper fast-food alternatives http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-value9-2008dec09,0,1382996.story.

However, the $1 Jack in the Box junior bacon cheeseburger has been ranked as “the most unhealthful” value item available among the offerings of national fast-food chains - Taco Bell’s Cheesy Double Beef Burrito was a close second.

 

When it comes to the fast-food industry getting beat up on the content of their menu they usually fall back upon the consumer choice argument.  But  more could be done by the industry  to support tangible, community outreach initiatives that will help their customers more easily identify nutritious choices - this is especially important within minority communities where African Americans are 1.8 times more likely to develop diabetes than whites and Hispanics are 1.7 times more likely to develop diabetes than whites.

Take a moment and think about the audience or potential audience that could be taking a peek at your Facebook or MySpace http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/164/story/681965.html. The consequences of an embarrassing photo or crude comment could not only be a PR black eye for you and/or your employer – but it could cost you the opportunity to land a job or secure a client in the future.

 

 

This Week:   1. Obama Transition Frustrates Latinos

                        2. Most Influential Latino Politicos

                        3. Trouble in Dixie Land

  

1.  OBAMA TRANSITION FRUSTRATES LATINOS

As President-elect Obama’s transition team plows through stacks of résumés to fill almost 10,000 federal jobs — from the high-profile Secretary of Commerce to the less glitzy director of the Office of Personnel Management — Hispanic groups have mobilized to ensure that the nation’s fastest-growing electorate is well represented in the new executive branch.

But as Latinos continue to get passed over for major appointments, few Latino leaders think the transition is inclusive of Latinos. Latinos were crucial to Obama’s electoral landslide, helping to deliver the margin of victory in several Western states, and flipped the key battleground states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and Virginia. The President-elect earned 67 percent of the Latino vote nationwide, up almost 10 percentage points from John F. Kerry in 2004, even as the number of Latino voters increased by nearly three million.

Democrats Not Responsive - When asked “if the Obama team was adequately including Latinos in the transition process, 32 percent said ‘no’, 46 percent were not sure or didn’t know, and only 22 percent said ‘yes.’ 53 percent said that the Democratic Party was not being responsive to the needs of the Latino community, as opposed to 21 percent who said it was responsive.

 http://feetin2worlds.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/latino-opinion-leaders-skeptical-of-obama-transitions-responsiveness-study-says/

2. MOST INFLUENTIAL LATINO POLITICOS

The National Institute for Latino Policy surveyed American Latinos last month and asked who respondents perceived as the most influential Latino leaders in the nation. The results confirmed that Governor Bill Richardson, now Secretary of Commerce, is a favorite among his own: 48 percent consider Bill Richardson the most politically influential Latino today.

“Following far behind with less than 4 percent support,” NILP said, “were Chicago Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Bronx Congressman José Serrano, NCLR President Janet Murguia and businessman and former Clinton Cabinet member, Federico Peña.”

The National Latino Opinion Leaders Survey was conducted between November 8 and 14, 2008. Over 900 Latinos in the U.S. and Puerto Rico — community leaders, activists, government officials, business people, and members of nonprofit organizations, religion, academia and the media — took part, according to the institute, which published a summary of the study through its electronic newsletter.

http://feetin2worlds.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/latino-opinion-leaders-skeptical-of-obama-transitions-responsiveness-study-says/

MOST INFLUENTIAL LATINO POLITICOS

1.      Governor Bill Richardson, New Mexico

2.      Congressman Luis Gutierrez, Chicago

3.      Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles

4.      Congressman José Serrano, New York Bronx

5.      Janet Murguia, NCLR

6.     Federico Peña, former Cabinet member

Source: National Latino Opinion Leaders Survey, November 2008

3.  LOOK AWAY DIXIE LAND?

Republican anxiety grows as does the need for geographic & ethnic diversity

 

As the GOP wrestles with criticism that it is in danger of becoming a regional party rooted in the South, rather than one with broad appeal across the nation, the contest for chairman is shaping up in no small part as a referendum on just how much Southern flavor the party should have at the top in the wake of a sound electoral defeat in every other region of the country.

 

“There is a perception that we are a regional party and that we are a party from the South because that’s the region we’re consistently winning today,” said Michigan Republican Party Chair Saul Anuzis, the first declared candidate for the GOP’s top political job. “I do think we need to have our version of the 50-state program that [Democratic National Committee Chair Howard] Dean had.”

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16269.html