Hola people -
For the past two months, www.ecoloca.com has been on my mind. On the muni (San Francisco’s public transportation system), I thought about becoming the great Latina green blogger – one with an unfiltered voice that would discuss multiculturalism, ecopreunarism and environmentalism. Also, I want to globalize the green lifestyle to promote a collective dialogue about out impact on this planet.
Being green is probably easier to me because of the demographic I belong to – young, college-educated and urban. It also helps a lot that I work for a green media company. Therefore, leading a sustainable life is easier to me than most Latinos. I can choose to be “green” through my transportation choices, diet regimen and my consumption of sustainable goods – from fair trade coffee to organic cotton shoes. Even with all of these options, it has been hard for me to redesign my life around being truly green. Cultural and financial factors have inhibited the process of living a true, sustainable lifestyle.
But I remind myself that I still have the option to be “green” and that the majority of Latinos in the U.S. are not even be exposed to the possibility of sustainable change.
Take the case of Mexican-Americans, Latinos and Hispanics in my city. From the number of plastic bags at my local inner-city grocery store, to the toxic cleaning products my mother uses as a housecleaner (please refer to the article by New America Media on the subject)- this population is excluded from the “green” dialogue and movement, even though there is a wide interest in environmental issues and green jobs, as reported by Green Jobs Now.
Why has the mainstream “green” community failed to include these and other multicultural populations in the movement towards cleaner, sustainable and greener planet? Instead, we clump them in the “green collar” category and forget that they too are consumers, activists and advocates for a better world – socially, economically and environmentally.
Lastly, I hope to address issues on a larger, regional level that includes green issues faced in Latin American countries. The recent ExpoSustentat in São Paulo, Brazil demonstrates the demand of the region for clean energy, waste management and green consumer goods. A recent conversation with two friends of mine in Brazil regarding their carbon footprint reflects a growing trend in environmental change in a country widely known for its rainforest destruction, abuse of animal rights and environmental pollution.
I hope this blog sheds a new light on these and other issues….
