Sustainability activism requires passion and ability to go against the grain. It is commendable and inspiring. As humans we learn and grow from those who lead by example, so with this edit we hope to direct the spotlight on the ones who dedicate themselves to the vocalization of global issues and actively propose solutions in the name of a safe, thriving planet for us all.
Our solutions must reflect humanity’s interdependence with the natural world, and elevate the voices of frontline communities who have been at the intersection of environmental and social justice movements for generations.
Tell us about yourself and your commitment to increase awareness about sustainable topics. How did you begin to approach environmental issues?
I’ve found that we create the greatest ripples when we move from a place of doing what we love. I’ve spent the last 15 years in lots of different roles doing climate justice work, as a speaker, a published author, an organizer. The one thing I’ve consistently loved, and that has kept me afloat amidst the turbulence of growing up in movement spaces at such a crazy time in the world is my music. I was really young when I began to understand the power that music has to create change and shift culture, and in the last couple years, I’ve doven deep into so many creative projects that have expanded my understanding of our potential to create change through our art. My music has become the best way I can tell my story, and uplift the stories of my community, and our visions for the future that the world needs to hear.
Do you see a link between environmental and social issues? How can the two be tackled at once?
Allowing ourselves to overlook the deep connection between social and environmental issues is one of the greatest failures within environmental organizing & sustainability spaces. Not only is a conversation around the environment that excludes social justice issues incomplete in its analysis, it’s also just harder for people to understand, relate to, and contextualize in our own lives. I’ve seen the climate and environmental space struggle for over 10 years to create compelling narratives to grab the public’s attention and get people to care about sustainability, and until very recently, the approach has been dominated by white voices telling a very narrow version of the story of what’s going on.
Last year, the Indigenous Environmental Network published a study that researched the tangible impacts of many frontlines Indigneous efforts to resist fossil fuel infrastructure projects in the US and Canada, and found that “Indigenous resistance has stopped or delayed greenhouse gas pollution equivalent to at least one-quarter of annual U.S. and Canadian emissions”. Indigenous leaders fighting to defend their homelands are paving the way towards a future beyond fossil fuels. This is one of the most beautiful and quantifiable overlaps of social and environmental justice I’ve seen in the last couple years. The exploitation and destruction of the land and natural resources has always been intertwined with the exploitation of Black, Brown, Indigenous and poor people. Our solutions must reflect humanity’s interdependence with the natural world, and elevate the voices of frontline communities who have been at the intersection of environmental and social justice movements for generations.
For someone who is just starting out their journey towards a more sustainable consumption, what is one advice you would give, and where is the best place to start?
A good starting point is to understand the impacts of the products we consume, and points you to alternative brands with better track records. Definitely do your own research and tap in with locally owned businesses, support Black and Indigenous owned brands whenever you can & get your threads secondhand as much as possible. Generally buying and consuming less is a good way to start. And most importantly, as you do work to lower your personal impact, remember that individual actions alone aren’t enough to create the change we need in the world. It’s just the first step.
Tell us about yourself and your commitment to increase awareness about sustainable topics. How did you begin to approach environmental issues?
Starting with my own history: growing up in the Amazon, between Bolivia and Brazil, in a village inside the forest, I come from a lineage of strong shaman women. Sent alone at the age of 15 to study in Rio de Janeiro and scouted at 17 by one of Brazil’s most well-known Creative Directors, I became the first indigenous model in Brazil signed by renowned International agency Ford Models.
Quickly featured in major international campaigns for many brands, I then used my voice to amplify awareness on the situation of indigenous people in the Amazon and Latin America, and the important topics on which they find themselves at the forefront: Preservation of the world’s richest biosphere against private interests, recognition of their role and Importance in a society that barely represents them.
Do you see a link between environmental and social issues? How can the two be tackled at once?
Many of our environmental issues derive from a lack of personal awareness, which we can say is one of the biggest social issues today. Many people just don’t know or more or less consciously choose to ignore the problems facing our global society. They accept whatever the system throws at them – they no longer try to change it. It’s as if they have lost any hope to change anything both on a societal and environmental level
At a global level , we see people each day more and more enslaved to their devices through the tech that rules our everyday life ….And less and less do we see people connecting with the world around them, both at a human and ecological level.
Connection with nature should be the start of a grounding process that help people raise their awareness to the human issues around them and allow them to use technology as a tool that can foster their moving forward towards sustainability practices instead of numbing them.
For someone who is just starting out their journey towards a more sustainable consumption, what is one advice you would give, and where is the best place to start?
From an indigenous perspective I see my ancestors continuously fighting to keep the Amazon forest alive, for the greater good of human mankind. We need to teach the next generations something that every indigenous child learns, which is that the forest is sacred, and that we are part of it. What we do to the planet, we ultimately do to ourselves. Sustainability is a collective struggle, to design a healthy system for all. It’s not sustainable products that will save the earth, but sustainable attitudes.
Several industries strive to create sustainable technologies and we collectively think that this might be enough but the reality is that it’s just the latest incarnation of the capitalist system that drove us in this situation in the first place.
My sister and partner Dayana Molina always says “The dying planet outside is reinvented inside urban jungles. Inventing is an effective way to distract our minds. However, we have the opportunity to fully dive into our consciences and improve the life of humanity on the planet. And this is a challenge that deserves our attention”
Creating real transformations that will generate a great sustainable impact requires a new way of thinking, where traditional indigenous wisdom meets the promises of technology.
The best place to start for someone that is not directly connected to tribes or indigenous teachings would be for me to ritualize little by little their own relationship to nature through daily efforts of gratefulness and presence. Then see how around them they can start to structure local efforts that will serve as powerful tools of community reflection, engagement, and self-determination. And then ask themselves how they can connect their first efforts to other initiatives, in the Amazon or more locally..we are in this together and it’s by bringing awareness to this collective aspect of the effort that we will make ourselves accountable and will grow together on this path that will ultimately allow us to save our future.
To me , solving any social or economic challenge linked to the environment starts with solving the environmental problem first.
Tell us about yourself and your commitment to increase awareness about sustainable topics. How did you begin to approach environmental issues?
I am a 22 year old Kenyan Environmental advocate and eco digital influencer from the Maasai tribe in Kenya. My passion (which I discovered after high school at the age of 17) and love for the environment saw me put up a team of friends and followers from my social media pages under my organization, SpiceWarriors, at the age of 18 with an aim of advocating for a safe environment. I’m a 2021 Tedx speaker, Author of “The Green War” and an aspiring Member of parliament in Kenya’s general election, 2022. I work with different organizations and eco-friendly companies as a digital influencer and have been selected to attend high level conferences including COP 26, UNEP @ 50 , UNEA 5 among others. Passionate about politics and environment conservation, I intend to push the climate agenda in the corridors of power.
I discovered my passion for environment conservation when familiarizing myself for the first time with the Sustainable development goals. With no class knowledge on environment conservation, I made it my responsibility to self teach myself online where I read and research different topics in the field.
As a digital influencer, I have used my social media platforms to create more awareness on every new thing I learn. I also earn a living from sustainability through digital influencing
Do you see a link between environmental and social issues? How can the two be tackled at once?
There’s a very big link between environment and social issues. e.g. gender issues where climate change and environmental degradation affects women more than men, Food insecurity causing fights in homes , climate refugees resulting from destruction of the environment among others. To me , solving any social or economic challenge linked to the environment starts with solving the environmental problem first. Borrowing from the Words of The Late Professor Wangari Maathai , “ We tend to put the environment last because we think we need to eradicate poverty first but we are not eradicating poverty in a vacuum, we are doing it in an environment.’
For someone who is just starting out their journey towards a more sustainable consumption, what is one advice you would give, and where is the best place to start?
I would love to tell anybody starting their journey towards a sustainable consumption that it’s one step at a time, you don’t have to know everything on what is sustainable and what is not but you learn everyday. Also an advice to the other online communities of “cancel culture” who are always trying to bash or cancel people in sustainability for not knowing everything on what’s wrong to give people chances. In this world nobody was born having knowledge but we keep learning even from our mistakes. If the goal is to bring everyone on board then this includes those who are not with us at this moment , it means educating and convincing them.
Tell us about yourself and your commitment to increase awareness about sustainable topics. How did you begin to approach environmental issues?
My interest in these topics began many years ago, but I only started talking about it publicly a year and a half ago. I have been working in the advertising industry for several years. I have always been in love with the world of communication but I was deeply torn. My job was to create digital strategies for companies, to help them sell more and more, often things that we don’t need. I was deeply dissatisfied with being somehow part of the problem, in the midst of the climate crisis. So I gave up everything and traveled for three years where I met situations and people that changed my life. I have decided to use social media for a higher purpose, which is to help people embrace a more sustainable, ethical and conscious lifestyle that improves their life and that of everyone.
Do you see a link between environmental and social issues? How can the two be tackled at once?
We need to develop a “ONE HEALTH” vision. Everything is connected, we are one big living thing that should live in harmony on this Earth where we all are guests.
For someone who is just starting out their journey towards a more sustainable consumption, what is one advice you would give, and where is the best place to start?
We need to start understanding what we can change in our world. We observe our daily actions: what do we eat? How do we dress? How many things do we buy? How often do we change them? By what means do we move? What do we use for the care of our person and the home? How much waste do we produce?
sustainability is a personal journey of continuous learning and discovery. it must be approached in a prepositive way and without the fear of wanting to be perfect immediately. everything will come in time, but it’s a really nice journey!
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A very special thank you to “X” Martinez, Zaya Ribeiro, Anita Soina, Alice Pomiato.
