Azul in the News
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The Movement to Ban Plastic Production
Azul's Founder & Executive Director, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, spoke with Yes! Magazine about the need for a strong and ambitious global plastics...
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Majority of U.S. Latino voters support candidates who support marine conservation
(Read in Spanish) Eight out of ten Latino voters in the United States support candidates who are in favor of laws that protect the coasts and oceans, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Azul organization, which promotes...
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Marcela Gutiérrez Graudins, founder of Azul: ‘The ocean is the plastic sewer of the planet’.
Azul's director and founder, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, spoke with La Red Hispana as part of their effort to create alliances with organizations dedicated to protecting the...
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Línea Abierta: Plastics in the ocean
(Listen in Spanish) On the eve of Earth Day, ocean conservation advocates, including Azul Founder and Executive Director Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, participated in negotiations convened by the United Nations in Ottawa (Canada)...
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Línea Abierta: The ocean at risk
(Listen in Spanish) Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Founder and Executive Director of Azul, talks to Radio Bilingüe about IUU fishing, plastic pollution and climate change. Listen to the radio interview in...
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Ocean Justice for All requires strong action against plastic pollution
In an op-ed in El Diario NY, Azul calls on the United States to take a strong stance in the global plastics treaty in order to advance ocean justice. Read the op-ed in...
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Assemblymember Bauer Kahan, Senator Blakespear, and Senator Allen Partner on Legislation Addressing Plastic Bag Pollution
Azul joined California legislators and advocates to announce legislation to address California's persistent plastic bag pollution problem. Read the quote from Azul's Founder and Executive Director, Marce...
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Biden Administration announces first-ever Ocean Justice Strategy. What’s that?
The first-ever White House Ocean Justice Strategy was released at COP28. Our founder and executive director, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, spoke to USA Today about why this is an important win for...
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When it comes to the ocean, House Republicans are playing with fire
(Read in Spanish) If it were not for the ocean, average global temperatures would be an unbearable 122°F on...
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The Upwell Conference: Fostering Conversations in Marine Conservation
In this episode, Andrew Lewin welcomes Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš (Founder and Executive Director of Azul) and Kat So (Research Associate for the Centre of American Progress) on the podcast to discuss the results of the...
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Plastic isn’t only a threat to wildlife; it’s also harming people and driving deep societal injustices.
Azul wrote a report with UNEP that was the blueprint for raising the world’s awareness of plastic pollution as an environmental injustice. They continue to bring a voice for vulnerable communities, whether they are in pollution...
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Moving towards marine restoration: solutions to support ocean ecosystems
(Read in Spanish) "I think it is important that not only the administration, but also Congress and individuals understand that the ocean is not only a victim of climate change but also an agent of conservation, which offers many...
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Latino Loop: Azul Rising Leaders Initiative
Azul, the only U.S.-based organization specifically focused on and working with Latinxs to protect the ocean and coasts, has graduated its first Azul Rising Leaders Initiatives 14-person cohort in Washington DC last...
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Unstoppable wave: Plastics infiltrate all systems and affect the planet’s health and economy
(Read in Spanish) Op-ed by Azul's Founder and Executive Director, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, and Margaret Spring, Chief Conservation and Science...
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Open Line: #LatinosMarinos
(Listed in Spanish) Affirming that one out of every two breaths of oxygen we take in comes from the sea, environmental advocates are encouraging Latinos to get involved in the movement to save the ocean from pollution, climate...
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Assemblymember Luz Rivas and Senator Ben Allen recognized as California Ocean Champions
Monterey Bay Aquarium and Azul presented legislators with the 2023 California Ocean Champion Awards for their work to advance measures to protect the health of California’s coast and...
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Launch of the Coastal Justice Lab
(Read in Spanish on La Opinión) Azul partnered up with UCI Law to launch a new world-class law center to advance environmental justice, ecosystem management and community involvement in coastal...
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President Biden Champions Conservation, Takes Action to Protect Lands and Waters
Marce Gutierrez-Graudins, Executive Director, Azul: “Today, the first-ever U.S. Ocean Climate Action Plan was released by the Biden Administration. This groundbreaking roadmap acknowledges the ocean’s power...
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A $100 million boost for environmental justice
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, executive director of Azul — a grassroots ocean conservation organization that works with Latinos — said the grant funding could empower community organizations to implement environmental justice...
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Op-Ed: Latine communities have solutions to ocean and climate challenges
New op-ed ahead of #COP15 from Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Azul's founder and executive...
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Water Why: Do you know what you are drinking?
Azul's founder and executive director, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, speaks to LX News to talk about why some people have clean drinking water and others do not, and why everyone should be concerned about drought in Southern...
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State leaders at La Jolla conference discuss success of a decade of marine protection
A decade after California formed a network of 124 Marine Protected Areas, state leaders gathered Nov. 1 in La Jolla to celebrate the MPAs, discuss their effectiveness and press for strengthened ocean protection. Nonprofit...
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Lessons From My Abuelito: Listen Deeply to El Mar for Life’s Answers
Azul's Digital Strategist, Jessica Itzayana Vazquez Mesta, was featured on the...
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Healing Outdoor Trauma While Advancing Coastal Access & Ocean Policy
This Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, Green 2.0 is featuring Azul’s National Policy Manager Carlos Ochoa. The Washington, D.C.-based Ochoa offers a glimpse into his work alongside Latinx communities, family background, and why...
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Ocean Conservation for La Gente
For Latine Heritage Month, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, the founder and executive director of the only marine conservation group dedicated to Latines in the U.S., shares how her community carries a special relationship to the...
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Column: In a ‘Latinas First’ strategy, everyone wins
Azul's founder & executive director, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, spoke with the LA Times about the importance of investing in Latina leadership & Latinx-led nonprofits, as well as the essential work HOPE is...
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White House Lauds Azul for Landmark Ocean Poll
Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Deputy Director for Climate and Environment White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, delivered remarks at the launch of our 2022 Azul U.S. Latinos and the Ocean...
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California’s Landmark Plastics Law Affects Just About Every Kind Of Plastic Packaging You See
You’ve seen the heart-wrenching photos of marine life trapped and choked by plastic. There’s a laundry list of problems caused by the stuff: it’s filling up landfills, polluting the environment, harming public health, and,...
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A Reckoning for Plastic Pollution
"From California to the UN Oceans Conference in Portugal, it is exciting to see a new focus on environmental justice and equity in ocean conservation. Based on our report 'Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Plastic...
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Women in environmental leadership
"I’ve also been inspired by women such as Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš (leader of Azul, a marine conservation organization) and Veronica Garibay and Phoebe Seaton (co-founders, respectively, of the Leadership Counsel for...
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California Panel Unanimously Quashes Desalination Plant
“The commission showed the environmental justice laws of the state of California and the environmental justice policy of the Commission itself were not just words on a page, but living, breathing pledges to do what was right,...
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Plan for controversial Huntington Beach desalination plant rejected
"Yes we need water, we don't need all the tools in the toolkit, we need the tools that make sense," said Andrea Leon Grossman, director of the group Azul Climate Action. "And the tools that make sense are efficiency,...
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California Ocean Day 2022: Celebrating Ocean Protection
As the impacts of climate change are increasingly prevalent and devastating to our global ocean, the upcoming California Ocean Day will showcase the positive strides and leadership California has taken to safeguard nature, and...
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We Don’t Have a Water Shortage; We Have a Water Management Problem
We are in a drought, a mega drought. Many even claim that California is in a state of emergency, but drought and flooding is now the new normal. What we are experiencing is climate change, exacerbated by severe water management...
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California must take leadership role in reducing plastic
A recent report from the United Nations Environment Program and Azul finds that people are harmed at every stage of the plastic lifecycle, from production to use to disposal. The report rightfully reframes plastic pollution as an...
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Gripped by Drought, Marin Considers Desalination, Water Pipeline Over the Richmond Bridge
Andrea León-Grossmann, director of climate action for the ocean conservation group Azul, advocates against desalination because the high costs are shouldered by ratepayers. “Proponents claim it will be a few dollars a...
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Desalination advances in California despite opponents pushing for alternatives
Andrea León-Grossmann, director of climate action for the ocean conservation group Azul, says better alternatives include conservation, repairing leaky pipes, capturing storm water runoff and committing to more recycled...
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In California’s Drier Future, What’s the Best Investment for Securing Water?
“First and foremost, it’s just not needed,” said Andrea León-Grossmann, climate action director at the nonprofit Azul. Indeed, though 41 counties across Northern and Central California are under a drought emergency,...
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Conservation policy must include more diverse voices
I like to say that I used to sell the fish, and now I save them. Growing up blocks from the U.S.-Mexico border and the Pacific Ocean, I ended up working for an international seafood company at the start of my career. But that...
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Regulators Allow Controversial Desal Plant to Run in Huntington Beach
“Over two days of hearings, advocates pushed the Regional Water Board to heed the cautionary tale from Carlsbad, where Poseidon built and began operating a desalination facility,” wrote the coalition, which included...
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Should Poseidon Be Able to Start Running Its Desal Plant Without Starting to Make Up for Marine Life Loss?
“What’s been alarmingly absent from the Regional Water Board’s deliberations today is the project’s impact on low-income ratepayers,” said Andrea León-Grossmann of environmental justice group Azul, in a statement after...
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Break Free From the Plastic Death Cycle
"It's important to look at the big picture, because it's easy to make grandiose, yet non-detailed announcements while at the same time continuing to ship the waste to places where people have to deal with them," says Marcela...
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LA City Council approves ordinance to reduce plastic foodware waste
"Single-use waste is an environmental justice issue that needs to be addressed at the source," Andrea Leon-Grossmann said in January. "We commend the LA City Council for introducing the motion to reduce waste by enacting an...
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Will Desalination Come to Huntington Beach?
Andrea Leon-Grossmann, deputy director for environmental justice group Azul, warned of the project’s impacts on surrounding, poor households and pointed to this figure: State officials say there’s a combined $1 billion in...
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LA council votes to make plastic utensils only available upon request
The motion was praised by Andrea Leon-Grossmann, who serves as climate action director for the environmental justice organization Azul, which focuses on ocean stewardship. “Single-use waste is an environmental justice issue...
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Permit terms might kill Poseidon desalination proposal in Huntington Beach
The environmental group Azul is among those calling for Kerr, Peterson and Murray to recuse themselves from voting on the project. “Secretary Blumenfeld, or any member of the governor’s administration, could have gone on...
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Plastic is Killing Us! The Plague of Plastic
My guest is Andrea Leon Grossman from Azul, an environmentalist/activist and expert on PLASTIC. We talk about what plastic is made from, the devastation it is having on the People, Planet, Animals, and what we can do to STOP this...
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‘Plastic Pollution Is a Social Justice Issue,’ New Report Warns
Plastic pollution isn't just a threat to non-human life like turtles and whales. It's also a major environmental justice problem. That's the conclusion of a new report released Tuesday from the UN Environment Program and ocean...
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Plastic pollution a huge threat to marginalised groups, UN report finds
The UN Environmental Programme (UNEP) has released a report that addresses the human and environmental damage that plastic pollution...
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Ocean Activist Wants to Change Narrative on Environmentalists
"My grandmother had [a reusable grocery bag] before Whole Foods existed" — This ocean advocate wants to change the narrative of what an environmentalist looks...
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Plastic Is Creating an Environmental Justice Crisis
There’s growing awareness that plastics are an environmental disaster for marine and terrestrial ecosystems alike. A new United Nations report published shows they’re also a huge problem for human beings—and that they...
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How protecting the ocean can save species and fight climate change
“There’s this false narrative of conservation versus the economy,” says Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, who worked for a commercial seafood company...
Read MoreLA Council wants restaurants to stop automatically giving out plastic utensils
The motion was praised by Andrea Leon-Grossman, who serves as climate action director for the environmental justice organization Azul, which focuses on ocean...
Read MoreClimate Change Policy: Bigger Picture Policies
"We need to embrace a Green New Deal that is equitable and we must put indigenous communities and people of color front and center. If you’re not sitting at the table, you’re on the menu. Our communities have been on the menu...
Read MoreThe Poseidon Desalination Plant is bad for California
Andrea León-Grossmann, Azul's Director of Climate Action, went on Kuci 88.9 FM to talk about the Poseidon boondoggle and why the desalination plant is bad for California's environment –and tax payers.
With Democrats in power, an emboldened environmental movement confronts them
The tension between the old and new guards is spilling over into one of the most sensitive areas: funding. The grass-roots groups now compete for large philanthropies’ donations. “There’s been a marked shift in...
Read MoreGov. Newsom Ousts Key Poseidon Desal Critic
Andrea Leon Grossman, who has spoken out against the project on behalf of the Latino environmental justice group Azul, said the project goes “into direct conflict with environmental justice, with the human right to water and...
Read MoreSierra Club reflects on its racist roots and looks toward a new future
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš of Azul, a group based in Oakland that aims to bring more Latino voices to coastal issues, said the Sierra Club’s reckoning with its history “was a long time coming, and it’s sadly a reflection...
Read MoreLiberal, progressive — and racist? The Sierra Club faces its white-supremacist history
We’ve finally started to recognize it,” said Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, a founder and director of the ocean conservation group Azul, the Spanish...
Read MoreThe beach isn’t for the chosen few; it’s for all of us
"The prevailing image of the California beachgoer leaves many people outside," says Marce Gutiérrez-Graudins, founder of and advocate for Azul, a Latinx coastal conservation nonprofit that raises awareness of the barriers faced...
Read MoreEngaging Latinos in supporting coastal conservation
Latino Conservation Week kicked off July 16 with 17 nationwide events aimed at highlighting and promoting the beautiful public lands available to Latino communities. The weeklong event was a fantastic opportunity to explore our...
Read MoreOil money flows for black and Latino Democrats
It’s not often that interest groups call out public officials by their race, but as environmentalists evaluated state lawmakers’ voting records last year, that is just what they did. Black and Latino Democrats “must do...
Read MoreGo beyond collaboration to build lasting power
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš doesn’t view questions of equity, fairness and privilege as hypotheticals. She was often the only person of color in rooms of people working on sustainable fishing issues in southern California....
Read MoreSocial Justice Groups Demand Inclusion in Coastal Commission Decisions
On Wednesday at its Santa Monica meeting, the California Coastal Commission will appoint an interim executive director, and discuss the process for hiring a permanent leader. Social justice, environmental, and indigenous rights...
Read MoreInterview: Marce Gutiérrez-Graudins on Latinos and Conservation
In January 2016, The Verde Paper: Latino Perspectives on Conservation Leadership was released by La Madre Tierra and Resource Media. Between 2014 and 2015, over thirty environmental activists in the Latino community were...
Read MoreWar of words, battle for power after Coastal Commission firing
Charles Lester signs a poster for Merle Moshiri of Huntington Beach at the Morro Bay Community Center in Morro Bay , Calif. on Wednesday, February 10, 2016. The proposal to fire California Coastal Commission Executive Director...
Read MoreMarce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš: Bringing Latinos to the Environmental Table
In January 2016, The Verde Paper: Latino Perspectives on Conservation Leadership was released by La Madre Tierra and Resource Media. Between 2014 and 2015, over thirty environmental activists in the Latino community were...
Read MoreStopping pollution saves money, creates jobs: Guest commentary
Cleanup crews remove oil-laden sand from the beach at Refugio State Beach, site of an oil spill, north of Goleta. A broken onshore pipeline spewed oil down a storm drain and into the ocean for several hours May 19 before it was...
Read MoreBlatantly disregarding public will, Coastal Commission votes to fire executive director
Morro Bay, CA, February 10 – Today, more than 1,000 concerned citizens, elected officials, former commissioners, staff members, and environmental and social justice advocates attended the Coastal Commission hearing in Morro...
Read MorePress Inquiries
If you are a member of the press who would like more information about our work, please e-mail media@azul.org.
Blog
We Won’t Be Fooled By Big Oil’s Promotion of Drilling To Our Communities
By Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš Last month, the American Petroleum Institute (API), largest U.S. oil and gas lobby group, launched the “Explore Offshore” campaign targeting Black and Latinx communities in the Southeast region of the country. The idea is to build support...
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#LatinosMarinos: Pedro Nava’s Journey from California’s Inland Empire to Being A Champion for the Coast
Pedro Nava, the former 35th District California State Assemblyman, representing the Ventura and Santa Barbara areas, and currently the Chairman of the Little Hoover Commission, revealed a glimpse his childhood when he spoke to Azul recently. Growing up in the...
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#LatinosMarinos: Erica’s Journey From Child Advocate for Clean Beaches to Professional Policy Advocate for Clean Air and Water
Erica Fernandez Zamora recognized and established her relationship with Mother Earth as a small child in Michoacán, Mexico. Her mother encouraged her to embrace life’s lessons through environmental nurturing and self-discovery. In her early years, Erica’s mom was both the...
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Ocean Day 2018 Was a Resounding Success With Over 70 Participants
Last week over 70 Latinx activists descended upon the state Capitol to advocate for environmental policies that would protect marine life, expand coastal access, lessen the impact of plastic pollution, and to stop President Trump’s proposed offshore oil drilling expansion....
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