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 Editorials | Environmental | November 2007 
Getting Green by Going Green
 Angel Luna - New America Media
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 |  | Since I was little, growing up in Oaxaca, Mexico, I was taught not to waste anything and that applied to food, clothes and money. My grandparents were farmers and they taught me how to care about the environment, by showing me how to work the land in a way that didn’t abuse it. |  | |
Even though, saving the environment is more popular than ever – the stereotypical green movement youth is white and privileged.
San Jose, Calif. – Al Gore just proved what we all know: going green is the thing to do. From environmental cars that don’t damage the ozone to organic, energy-saving refrigerators, this world is just trying to stay chill instead of having global warming. For me, being environmentally conscious isn’t so much a new thing, but more of a family tradition and a way to make my own green (money).
Most people probably wouldn’t think of me as an environmentalist. The majority of my friends equate environmentalism with white privilege. I’m not white, or privileged. Even my own mental picture of environmentally-conscious youth is that of a college student, who wants to appear like they care and they have purpose. But from where I’m coming from, I’ve been environmentally friendly out of necessity. To me, being environmental is about being economical.
Since I was little, growing up in Oaxaca, Mexico, I was taught not to waste anything and that applied to food, clothes and money. My grandparents were farmers and they taught me how to care about the environment, by showing me how to work the land in a way that didn’t abuse it. Every summer, I worked for my grandparents at their house in the countryside of Oaxaca. We used natural fertilizer on the trees and the plants. I remember my grandparents telling me: “If you water a plant, the plant is going to grow and is going to give you fruits, but if you don’t water the plant, it is going to die and you are not going to receive anything.” Simple, but it was a lesson in always taking care of what is taking care of you. My grandma used to tell me these lessons as she was making tortillas in a comal (oven) that was fueled by wood that my grandpa collected from the land.
Now, here in the United States, my family is still deep in the environmental business, and what I mean by being deep is that almost all of my uncles work for the recycling and sanitation department of San Jose. As a kid, my cousins and I would always get yelled at if we didn’t put the recyclables in the right container. My tios used to take lunch at my grandpa’s house and roll up in their big garbage trucks. Man, it was cool how they used to bring stuff that they found in the garbage. They had stuff that ranged from new CDs to brand new furniture sets and almost brand new appliances. I did a couple of trips to the landfill with my uncle, and I felt really proud of the service that my uncles provided to our city. I used to tell people that I would rather be a garbage man than a cop just because everybody loves their garbage man.
I remember how my Tio Jessie used to make us crush cans that he brought back from work during the weekends. We had to straight up hustle. We would go with my Tio Rey to the recycling plant to cash them in. We had our bags full of smashed cans and our penny saver coupon to get a good price for the aluminum. It was a process that took almost the whole day, but it was all worth it because – at the end – I had money in my pocket.
As a grown person that works two jobs and parties like a rock star during the weekends, I still embrace the idea of recycling and getting cash. I collect the cans where I work and I collect the cans from my homies. People tell me money doesn’t grow on trees, but you can find it on the floor, the garbage can at the park, and in the back of your car, too. I might not have a Nobel Prize for my environmental work, but I got enough cash to keep me staying conscious.
Angel Luna is a content producer for Silicon Valley Debug, a collective of writers, artists, workers and organizers in San Jose. |
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