Through the years he has served with many other organizations, including Amnesty International, the Educational Equity Working Group and the New Mexico Men’s Council for Boys and Young Men.
In May 2013 Carver was elected to the Young Democrats of New Mexico and serves as president of the New Mexico Green Chamber of Commerce Board.
Carver visited UNM last week, and the Daily Lobo caught up with him to ask a few questions about the conservation and health of the state.
What got you into this line of work, and what are the biggest rewards/stresses?
“I grew up in a small working family that placed high value on working hard and giving back. I still remember my dad waking up early every day to go build other people’s houses; and my mom dedicated her days to ensuring my sister, myself and our classmates got the best education possible. My parents are my earliest examples of what it means to be an activist, to participate in society. Throughout the years I learned more and more about social justice and found ways to discuss the disparities we observe in our communities. Our systems have not been set up for or by those who are most marginalized, and interacting with those systems can be stressful. It is, however, the largest reward to see communities and community members convene, gather strength and capacity and exercise their rights to participate civically.”
What are the best ways New Mexico residents can contribute to the future health of the state?
“We must assert our rights as community members to get involved in the development of solutions to improving health in our state. It is our job to understand the things that make us healthy and to fight against the powers that marginalize and contaminate our communities. The best way to contribute is to get educated, get involved, and hold elected officials accountable to the decisions they make.”
What is the biggest threat to the health of our state in terms of climate and conservation?
“Looming on the horizon in this state is a movement to sell off state public lands for oil and gas production, to obstruct the Gila River and a failure of governments to embrace renewable energies into our production portfolio. An underlying cause to some of these movements is Congress’ failure to re-authorize the Clean Water Act. As of now, the only navigable waters are protected — i.e., the Rio Grande. Currently, places like the Otero Mesa, our aquifers and other wild streams have been largely deregulated to a point that opens them up for contamination. We must work to protect public land, keep wild rivers free and emphasize the importance of renewable energy.”
Is there anything to be learned by other states on the ways rural farmers irrigate and ration water?
“New Mexico has a rich heritage of agriculture that dates back centuries. These traditions of conservation and environmental stewardship have served our communities for generations. Other states must learn from these practices, as informed by local cultures, to protect the environment. New Mexico has a long history of being innovative with the use of water, evaporation and crop selection in agricultural practices. Rural farmers in New Mexico have a unique and important perspective in how other communities across the continent can leverage scarcity for prosperity.”
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Are you working on any new projects?
“The Central New Mexico Chapter of the Green Chamber of Commerce recently released the ‘Think Local First Guide.’ By using this guide to shop locally, you are ‘voting with your dollars’ — you send a signal that we are a community that invests in itself. This guide will inform you of purchase goods and services from neighboring local businesses, you contribute to the prosperity of our economy. Because New Mexico lags behind neighboring states that have begun to pull themselves out of the Great Recession, residents of Bernalillo County must rebuild our economy from the ground up. It is our collective responsibility to help small and medium-sized local business to thrive. Beside the Guide, I am in the planning stages of Organizing Youth Engagement, the state’s largest grassroots youth advocacy conference. Providing an opportunity to increase the volume of youth voice in addressing youth issues here in New Mexico, OYE is centered on developing youth leadership and policy advocacy.”
Matthew Reisen is a news reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo.
