Sustainability Leadership From The Grassroots: Ruben Vargas

KGNU is partnering with FLOWS, a sustainability leadership and climate action group based out of CU Boulder for a new series on grassroots sustainability. We’re sharing the stories of FLOWS leaders and how their culturally diverse and often international backgrounds make them, and the communities they work with, valuable assets to the sustainability movement.

Ruben Vargas is a FLOWS student technician. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico, where the expectation was to use as little water as possible.

Ruben says the positive ripple effect from his family’s minimal water use routine extends beyond the issue of water consumption, they were laying the groundwork for a wholly sustainable lifestyle and mindset.

“Living simply, that’s the best philosophy I think, living as simple as possible, consuming less in general. It’s important to conserve not just water and energy but to also have that mindset of being a minimalist. Be humble. Humble yourself down because that ultimately governs how you approach life. Because a lot of people don’t take into account because you have it great here there has to be some imbalance or disorder somewhere else.”

This FLOWS radio series is made possible by a grant from Boulder County.