In the Climate Forward section of October 21st edition of the New York Times, Boise State student Lavanya Seetamraju’s letter is featured!
Here is what she wrote
“I grew up in India. My mother lived a more environmentally conscious lifestyle than I do now. This was in the 1970s and 1980s when buzzwords like ‘sustainability’ didn’t even exist. For us, it was just how we lived, respecting the resources we had. We lived in northwestern India where the summers were hot, water was scarce and power cuts were a part of life.
My mother reused newspapers as book covers. She made her own compost-like mixture which she would add to the soil. Old T-shirts turned into mops and old saris were given to the local tailor to stitch dresses for me. Clothes were passed on to neighbors, cousins, friends or household help.
It is true that this generation is more aware of the impact of our actions, but we need to learn from the past. Sustainable living needs to be part of who we are, not something we do as an additional effort. It is more about relearning who we were, than teaching everyone a new way of living.”
— Lavanya Seetamraju, Idaho
Check out the New York Times article here!