S1: This week on roundtable the political process in San Diego from those deeply committed to seeking change to the reasons why so many of us refuse to participate. We look at both sides of this coin from one of the city's most diverse and often underrepresented neighborhoods. I'm Christina Kim , and this is KPBS Roundtable.
S1: Right ? That line really stuck with me. She says it's been 40 years of struggle. It seems like I should get a little more time. And I think in some ways you introduce her as a way of kind of setting the scene. S2: And she controlled the shrink. Yes , my name is Maria and I was giving this phone number in order to make complain about the air pollution right across from us. Okay. What is the name of the endearing summertime ? I'm not exaggerating. It's like you put a deck or two or three dogs inside a plastic and then the sun boils them. And that's the kind of smell we get. It's it's unbearable. And it comes from outdoors inside.
S3: So there are old family photos or they were friends photos , you know. So I just I talked to a lot of people in the community and I was just like , who who still has old photos of people living in Barrio Logan ? And , you know , I thought it was super important to include the history because this isn't something new.
S2: As negative as pollution is. There's just so much positive in our lives. This is my first child. I think something that's fueling me to want to change all this , because I do want it to change for my kids. I don't want them to have to be in so much pollution. They'll have a better chance to live in a healthier neighborhood. If we keep fighting now. But also they will be able to grow up in the same kind of love and community that I grew up in.
S5: It's all part of reducing emissions in port areas , as port areas emit a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. And the reason why is because generally speaking , they use diesel fuel. So when you've got all that diesel fumes that really affect places like Barrio Logan and also National City that are right next to the port , and they've had traditionally for a long time had a lot of problems with particulate pollution , air pollution.
S1: Right. You're bringing up something that I wanted to ask you about next. You cross-referenced voter turnout data with census information and found that demographics and economics , to your point , really influenced voter turnout. I think we've always heard , you know , whiter , wealthier communities have higher voter turnout. But you found some outliers.