4 USA
4 USA August 1 2022 | World and Press A rural county in Iowa turns to Latinos to grow IMMIGRANTS Greene County, Iowa, a mostly White, mostly Republican stronghold, has concluded that the only way to grow is to recruit Latino residents. Downtown Churdan in Greene County, Iowa. By Maria Sacchetti 1 FOR THE LASTseveral years, officials here have tried desperately to attract new residents to Greene County, a sea of corn and bean fields about 60 miles from Des Moines. They brought in a Hy-Vee supermarket, a career academy, a hightech workspace, and a second bank. A glitzy casino anchors one side of the highway, a brand-new high school is on the other. Nothing worked. The population kept dropping. 2 Greene County – like much of rural America – is sinking into a demographic hole, down from more than 15,500 residents after World War II to an estimated 8,717 last year, with the population now falling by about 100 every year. Factories have dozens of job openings, schools have closed, and villages are crumbling. Deaths have outpaced births for so long that the hospital stopped delivering babies. 3 In a series of public meetings that started last month, the community has been weighing how to stop the decline, and this mostly White, mostly Republican stronghold has concluded that the only way to grow is to recruit Latino residents. “It’s the only game in town,” consultant Carlos Argüello said at one presentation. “I’m sorry to tell it to you that way. But it’s true.” 4 Latinos are the largest minority group in Iowa, and one of the fastest growing, projected to more than double to 407,000 residents over the next 30 years. The White population, in contrast, has declined in almost every rural Cattle graze beneath turbines in Greene County, Iowa. | Photos: Bonnie Jo Mount /The Washington Post county, according to an analysis of census estimates by demographer William Frey of the Brookings Institution. 5 Republicans and Democrats agree that the situation is dire. But the question is whether a county that voted for President Donald Trump and former congressman Steve King, both Republicans who denigrated Latin American immigrants, can welcome Latinos and their families, and whether those families will be willing to come to Greene County. 6 In Iowa, Latinos account for 6% of all residents, less than half the national average, and nearly 30% are immigrants. In Greene County, only 3% are Latino. “In rural Iowa, people are moving to the city. If you do nothing, you’re going to die,” said soon-to-retire schools superintendent Tim Christensen, who has had to close several schools during his 15-year tenure. “There’s no guarantee that this is going to work. But the writing’s on the wall if you don’t try.” 7 The story of Greene County is the story of much of rural America, where falling birthrates, an aging population, and an exodus of young people to the cities have depleted the population, said demographer Ken Johnson, a professor at the University of New Hampshire. 8 But demographers caution that the decline is not universal or inevitable, and that many rural areas also have found new ways to grow. Greene County is a quiet, safe, and tight-knit collection of seven cities and towns along the vast, wind-whipped prairie. Grain elevators dot the skyline, drivers wave at one another on the road, and the vibrant county seat of Jefferson has a pair of theaters, a bowling alley, and real root beer floats at the A&W. Greene County hasn’t had a homicide in nearly 20 years. “It’s peaceful,” said County Sheriff Jack Williams. “It’s a good place to raise your kids.” 9 It became clear two years ago, however, that the county’s future was in jeopardy when New Way Trucks, a garbage-truck manufacturer and one of a half-dozen major employers, located 150 new jobs to Booneville, Miss., because they could not find workers in Greene County. 10 Stunned, Ken Paxton, execu- tive director of the Greene County Development Corporation, a nonprofit that promotes growth, huddled with board president Sid Jones, a longtime banker, and board member Douglas Burns, co-owner of the local newspaper, the ‘Jefferson Herald.’ Burns connected them to Argüello, an immigrant from Nicaragua whose mother, Lorena Lopez, is founder and editor of the area’s largest Spanish-language newspaper, ‘La Prensa de Iowa.’ 11 Together, they assembled the “diversity project,” named “Nueva Vida en Greene County,” or New Life in Greene County. The corporation hired Argüello, 37, who moved from California to rural Iowa in middle school, and it decided to apply for a 0,000 federal grant that would be used to recruit new Latino workers and residents. … 12 For Latinos, adjusting to rural Iowa can be painful, and Trump’s policies and rhetoric made families fear being deported or harmed. Heads swivel when they speak Spanish, and some children are picked on in school. 13 Jesus Valles, 51, an immigrant from Mexico, said he and his Consultant Carlos Argüello speaking during a town-hall meeting in Jefferson, Iowa. wife moved to Iowa in 2019 after years in Colorado to be closer to her family. He bought a threebedroom fixer-upper for under ,000 in Churdan, a fading hamlet in Greene County. But on his first week on the job at a Walmart in another county, he said a customer angrily took issue with his name tag, thinking he had taken the Lord’s name in vain. The name is common in Latin America. 14 He soon found a job at the Greene County Medical Center, which has hired seven Latinos so far, said human resources director Mary Nieto, also a Latina – proof, she says, that change is possible. Valles said he earns less than he did as a pipe layer in Colorado, but said his new job is safer. “I’m getting old,” Valles said. “I don’t want to get caught in a job where I’m tired every night, working in a ditch 20 feet deep.” He said he thought more Latinos would come to Greene County if employers raised wages. “The wages are what’s going to bring more people or lose more people,” he said. … © 2022 The Washington Post 0 – 2 STRONGHOLDHochburg — to conclude “k´n"klu…d‘ zu dem Schluss kommen — desperately “"despr´tli‘ verzweifelt — Des Moines “d´"mOIn‘ — career academy berufsbildende Schule — glitzy glanzvoll; schick — to anchor … “"œNk´‘ h.: auf … stehen — job opening offene Stelle — to crumble verfallen — to outpace h.: schneller steigen 3 – 5 to weigh abwägen — consultant Berater(in) — minority group “maI"nÅr´ti‘ Minderheit — to project prognostizieren — county (AE) Landkreis; s.w.u. c. seat Kreisstadt — census estimate aufgrund der Volkszählung geschätzte Bevölkerungszahl — dire gravierend — congressman Kongressabgeordneter — to denigrate “"denIgreIt‘ verunglimpfen 6 – 7 to account for ausmachen — schools superintendent “Æ-- In"tend´nt‘ Schulamtsdirektor(in) — tenure “"tenj´‘ Dienstzeit — the writing’s on the wall (fig) die letzte Stunde hat geschlagen — aging alternd — to deplete “dI"pli…t‘ dezimieren 8 to caution “"kO…S´n‘ einwenden — inevitable “I"nevIt´b´l‘ unvermeidlich — tight-knit “ÆtaIt"nIt‘ eng verbunden — windwhipped windgepeitscht — grain elevator Getreidesilo — to dot sprenkeln; h.: prägen — vibrant “"vaIbr´nt‘ pulsierend — bowling alley Bowlingbahn — root beer float Root Beer mit Vanilleeis — homicide “"hÅmIsaId‘ Mord 9 – 10 in jeopardy “"dZep´di‘ in Gefahr — garbage-truck manufacturer “Æmœnj´"fœktS´r´‘ Müllfahrzeug-Hersteller — to locate to … nach … verlagern — stunned fassungslos — executive director “Ig"zekj´tIv‘ Geschäftsführer(in) — development corporation Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft — nonprofit gemeinnützige Organisation — to promote fördern — to huddle with die Köpfe zus.stecken — board president Verwaltungsratspräsident(in) — founder Gründer(in) — editor Chefredakteur(in) 11 – 12 to assemble “´"semb´l‘ zus.stellen — federal grant Bundeszuschuss — to recruit anwerben — to adjust to “´"dZøst‘ h.: s. einleben — to deport abschieben — heads swivel (fig) Leute drehen s. um — to pick on s.o. auf jdm. herumhacken 13 – 14 fixer-upper renovierungsbedürftiges Haus — fading h.: schrumpfend — hamlet Weiler — to angrily take issue with s.th. auf etw. verärgert reagieren — to take the Lord’s name in vain den Namen des Herrn missbrauchen — medical center Klinik — human resources director Personalchef(in) — pipe layer Rohrverleger(in) — ditch Graben — 20 feet ca. 6,1 m
World and Press | August 1 2022 USA 5 Why can’t smoggy Southern California improve air quality? POLLUTION Local regulators blame the federal government. mit Audiodatei By Tony Briscoe 1 WITH SMOGGYSouthern California poised to miss a critical clean air goal next year, local regulators are now threatening to sue the Environmental Protection Agency, saying the federal government has made their job “impossible.” The South Coast Air Quality Management District recently notified EPA Administrator Michael Regan that it intends to sue the agency for violating the Clean Air Act unless it agrees to adopt new regulatory strategies that would curtail pollution from federal sources, including oceanfaring cargo ships, trains, out-ofstate trucks, and airplanes. 2 The notice marks a tense new chapter in the district’s 20-year struggle to meet a federal standard set in 1997. If Southern California fails to meet those standards in 2023 – which is all but certain – federal authorities may impose severe penalties, such as the withholding of certain transportation funds. 3 Although state and local regulators have made considerable progress in curbing smogforming emissions since 1980, that progress has leveled off in recent years. As a result, Southern California has sought repeated deadline extensions from the EPA. Three years ago, when it was evident the air district would fall short of the Clinton-era benchmark, AQMD called on the EPA to set cleaner standards for trucks, trains, and ships visiting California. The EPA has yet to act on that request, however. 4 “Even if we were to have zero emission for all of the stationary sources in our region, we would not be able to come into attainment,” said Wayne Nastri, the air district’s executive officer. “And so this really speaks to the need for the federal government to stand up.” 5 Although new federal emission reductions would be welcomed by environmental groups, some observers criticized the move as an eleventh-hour gambit that was unlikely to result in substantial air quality improvements by next year. “If you’re a breather in the region, it’s pretty outrageous what’s happening,” said Adrian Martinez, senior attorney for Earthjustice, an environmental nonprofit based in San Francisco. “In 2007, these agencies came together and put together a plan saying, ‘Hey, trust us, we’ll solve this problem.’ Fast forward 12 years, they say, ‘Oh, here’s our contingency plan when we don’t meet the standard.’” The smoggiest region in the nation 6 The South Coast air district – a 6,700-square-mile basin spanning Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties – has long held the title as the smoggiest region in the nation. Since 1979, the air district has not been in compliance with any of the several federal standards for ozone, the lung-searing gas commonly known as smog. 7 The air district’s legal threat Smog covering downtown Los Angeles in September 2020. | Photo: Getty Images has highlighted the unique challenge of regulating air pollution in Southern California. No fewer than three government agencies are tasked with overseeing air quality for the region’s nearly 18 million residents. They include the local air district, which regulates emissions from major polluters, such as power plants and oil refineries, within their borders; the California Air Resources Board, which regulates in-state cars, trucks, and off-road equipment; and the EPA, which has oversight over interstate and international travel and commerce. 8 Failure to comply with federal standards could result in a variety of sanctions. In addition to the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal highway funds, businesses could face new challenges when they seek permits from the district. “These (permitting) hurdles are pretty high – so high we think it would effectively result in a permit moratorium in our areas,” said Sarah Rees, a deputy executive officer at the air district. “That would mean new businesses or existing businesses that want to make modifications would be unable to get permits to be able to do that.” … 9 Southern California’s legacy of unhealthy air is owed, in part, to bustling ports, warehouses, airports, and congested highways. The region’s bustling economy and infamous traffic have always contributed high amounts of nitrogen oxides. The situation is compounded by the region’s perpetually sunny climate, which effectively cooks vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions into lung-damaging smog, and a mountainous terrain that confines the toxic haze over the region. 10 And now, in addition to pollution, regulators are contending with climate change, conditions scientists say could lead to a smoggier future. Sunlight and heat are the catalysts for smogformation. As the levels of heattrapping greenhouse gases have spiked due to burning of fossil fuels, Southern California has witnessed record-breaking heat. 11 “As the temperature increases – everything else being kept the same, like emissions of pollutants – then it’s going to be harder for the South Coast to meet their ozone standards,” said Anthony Wexler, director of the Air Quality Research Center at the University of California, Davis. The air board must also achieve even more restrictive targets for ozone by 2031 and 2037. Until the federal standards are met, residents will continue to brave unhealthy levels of smog. 12 “It’s like at some level I think we’ve been lied to,” said Martinez, the Earthjustice senior attorney. “Like from the beginning that this is just a sham. It’s fantasy. … And who suffers? It’s breathers. It’s the people in the Inland Empire who have 100 days of summer blanketed in smog.” © 2022 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. 0 REGULATOR “"reIgj´leIt´‘ Aufsichtsbehörde; s.w.u. regulatory Kontroll- — federal- Bundes- 1 to be poised to do s.th. “pOIzd‘ im Begriff sein, etw. zu tun — to sue verklagen — Environmental Protection Agency “"eIdZ´nsi‘ US-Umweltschutzbehörde — administrator Leiter(in) — agency; s.w.u. authority “O…"TÅr´ti‘ Behörde — to violate s.th. “"vaI´leIt‘ gegen etw. verstoßen — act Gesetz — to curtail “k‰… "teIl‘ einschränken — ocean-faring ozeantauglich — cargo ship Frachtschiff — out-of-state aus anderen US-Bundesstaaten 2 notice Ankündigung — to mark h.: einläuten — tense spannungsgeladen — to impose penalties “"pen´ltiz‘ Strafmaßnahmen verhängen — severe “sI"vI´‘ weitreichend — to withhold vorenthalten — transportation funds Finanzmittel für den Verkehr 3 – 4 to curb drosseln — to level off s. (wieder) abschwächen — to seek s. bemühen um — evident offensichtlich — to fall short nicht einhalten — benchmark Richtwert — stationary ortsfest — to come into attainment “´"teInm´nt‘ die Ziele erreichen — executive officer “Ig"zekj´tIv‘ Leiter(in) 5 eleventh-hour gambit Hauruckaktion (at the e.h. in allerletzter Minute) — breather atmender Mensch — outrageous “ÆaUt"reIdZ´s‘ ungeheuerlich — senior attorney “´"t‰…ni‘ leitende(r) Anwalt/Anwältin — nonprofit gemeinnützige Organisation — contingency plan “k´n"tIndZ´nsi‘ Notfallplan 6 to span s. erstrecken über — county (AE) Landkreis — to be in compliance with s.th. “k´m"plaI´ns‘; s.w.u. to comply with s.th. etw. einhalten — lung-searing lungenschädigend 7 legal threat “Tret‘ Androhung rechtl. Schritte — to be tasked with s.th. mit etw. beauftragt sein — to oversee kontrollieren — polluter “p´"lu…t´‘ Schadstoffverursacher — power plant Kraftwerk — oil refinery “rI"faIn´ri‘ Ölraffinerie — California Air Resources Board staatl. Kommission Kaliforniens zum Erhalt gesunder Luftqualität — in-state zum Bundesstaat gehörend — off-road equipment geländegängiges Gerät — oversight over Aufsicht über 8 billion Milliarde — hurdle Hürde — moratorium “ÆmÅr´"tO… ri´m‘ Stopp — deputy stellvertretend — modification Veränderung 9 legacy “"leg´si‘ Altlasten — to be owed to s.th. e-r S. geschuldet sein — bustling “"bøs´lIN‘ pulsierend — warehouse Warenlager — congested “k´n"dZestId‘ verstopft — infamous “"Inf´m´s‘ berüchtigt — nitrogen oxides “"naItr´dZ´n‘ Stickoxide — to compound verschlimmern — perpetually “p´"petSu´li‘ durchweg — exhaust “Ig"zO…st‘ Abgas — mountainous “"maUn tIn´s‘ bergig — to confine einschließen — toxic schädlich — haze Dunst 10 to contend with s.th. gegen etw. kämpfen — catalyst “"kœt´lIst‘ Katalysator — formation Bildung — heat-trapping wärmespeichernd — greenhouse gas Treibhausgas — to spike rasant ansteigen — to witness erleben 11 – 12 pollutant “p´"lu…t´nt‘ Schadstoff — restrictive “rI"strIktIv‘ einschränkend; h.: ehrgeizig — to brave ertragen müssen — sham Heuchelei — Inland Empire Metropolregion in Südkalifornien — to blanket einhüllen
