Causecast

Throughout the month of August, Causecast will be posting profiles of some of our organizations’ most enthusiastic volunteers and interns. Today, we highlight interns from Global Green USA.

Below, read an brief essay by Marie Cita on her experiences in New Orleans, LA.

My first visit to Treme during my two month long stay in New Orleans consisted simply of walking with a friend around the school grounds of an elementary school that had been abandoned after [Hurricane Katrina]. The clocks that remained on the walls had all stopped ticking at around six o’clock, and heaps of trash had accumulated in the corners of the rooms of the ground floor and were scattered with decaying leaves and branches. On the top of one of the piles, there was a open file of an eight-year-old boy who had been attending school there in 2005. On the top of a pile sitting diagonally across the room, sat a visitors guide from 2006 that looked almost offensively glossy in the context of the general scene. My friend and I began talking about what it meant that so many outsiders had flooded into New Orleans after the storm and continue to do so four years later, and what it meant that we were touring this deserted school. We wondered if it were possible for a person to help rebuild a community that was never his/her own. We wondered if it were possible for anyone who was not there during Katrina, who did not have ties to New Orleans before the storm, who did not lose a big part of one’s life in 2005, to begin to empathize with those who did, to be deeply affected by a loss that was not directly his/her own.

From LEED rating systems, to rain harvesting systems, I’ve learned more this summer than I can even begin to recount. Through my daily exposure to the green sector working from day to day in the local Global Green Resource Center, I’ve learned copious amounts about the process of weatherizing homes, green architecture and tax credits. Through my summer-long involvement in the Energy Policy Task Force, I’ve learned more than anyone may ever wish to know about New Orleans’ Integrated Resource Planning, as well as finance leveraging and political advocacy. By attending the Central City Community meetings, I’ve learned about all of the different variables that go into building strong communities, about stimulating local economies, promoting neighborhood safety and establishing a sense of communal responsibility. From writing grants to helping in pitching our ideas to the local government, I’ve learned a lot about marketing, and what it means to effectively portray one’s vision.

However, most importantly, Global Green has taught me what it means to be a part of a global community. In many ways, this realization can be attributed to the nature of the organization’s mission. Here, it is impossible to ignore the fact that the deterioration of Louisiana’s wetlands and its ports will continue to drastically affect the economy of the entire nation, never mind compromise the safety of the entire Gulf from storm surge. As a part of this organization, one cannot ignore the fact that the energy policies in my home state of New York were, in part, responsible for the climate change that allowed for the intensity of Katrina and Rita in 2005, as well as that of the tsunamis that struck Indonesia the year before.

However, Global Green did more than help me to recognize my connection to a global community. Every day that I worked with this dedicated staff, I learned a little more about my responsibility and my duty to this community. Everyday, the Global Green staff works ardently, not only toward environmental sustainability, but also to create neighborhoods that are no longer geographically divided by economic disparities, to create safe and secure homes that are affordable for every individual, to create schools that are no longer divided by race, and to make sure that every community is informed about local policies and opportunities. These are the goals the staff considers when building homes and schools, as well as when building the partnerships with politicians, foundations, residents, educators, professionals and businessmen that make this vision a possibility. Global Green, to me, is evidence of what is possible when different parties recognize their commonalities and dedicate themselves to a common goal.

In the beginning of my summer, I wondered what it took to feel a connection to a tragedy I did not witness first hand. Working at Global Green has been an experience that has reminded me that we are all linked to each other, and that whatever may happen in New Orleans happens in New York; and whatever happens on the other side of the world happens to us. Through working with these committed individuals, most of them hailing from cities beyond Louisiana’s borders, I realized how beautiful and fortunate it is that so many have realized this duty and committed themselves to the rebuilding of their new city. It has also become my duty to serve this community, as it has become my duty to serve the global community.

Fortunately, I feel Global Green has equipped me with the knowledge and skills to believe in my ability, as well as my responsibility, to continue to help solve those problems facing us all.

Want to learn more about Global Green and what they’re doing in New Orleans? Check out Global Green’s Causecast page and read our interview with fellow intern Simon Warren.