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Published on 04/28/1999 All articles from this issue

Duo brings environmental conscience to MVHS

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

David Harris said he never thought much about the environment until he visited Cairo, Egypt, last summer while on vacation.

The city's pollution and overcrowded conditions inspired the Mountain View High School senior to look at the impact of his own lifestyle on the environment, he said.

Harris' classmate Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi decided to live a more earth-friendly lifestyle after a similar revelation while working last summer as a volunteer park ranger in Utah, where there was little pollution.

The two teamed up to take their environmental concerns one step further and started the Mountain View High School Environmental Club at the start of this school year.

"People have to learn that every action they take, no matter what, has an effect on the environment," Harris said. "I think it's easy for us not to see environmental problems because we don't live in a polluted area, but we create more of the problems because we're so affluent and consume so much that harms the rest of the world."

The club's approximately 20 members meet weekly to discuss environmental issues and frequently work on environmental projects in the community. They also go on overnight trips to places such as Big Sur and the Pinnacles.

"I want people to experience nature so they will appreciate it," Harris said.

On campus, club members helped to launch a paper recycling program.

Every classroom contains a box for paper that members recycle on Tuesdays.

Harris said they fill about five, 30-gallon cans each week.

Harris and Darrouzet-Nardi celebrated Earth Day April 22 by organizing activities at Mountain View High throughout last week that would increase awareness about current and approaching environmental challenges, they said.

They raised $500 for the weeklong event, which included an assembly, a field trip to a solar-powered house in San Jose, biking to school, a free organic lunch, and the planting of native California plants on campus and along a portion of the Stevens Creek Trail.

Harris said about 100 seniors came to school on their day off to help with the planting.

Harris said he hoped that during the week students would be inspired to learn how they can make a difference toward creating a more sustainable future.

He said it's difficult for the environmental movement to build momentum among his peers.

There's no curriculum at the high school and the movement is generally "very elitist, very white and middle-aged," he said.

Harris said he hopes to change that by talking to students on their own level.

"There's a lot of simple things people can do," he said. For example, people can switch to a plant-based diet, not drive their cars as often and use Green Mountain Energy - a company that uses wind and solar power to provide household energy.

Harris and Darrouzet-Nardi said they hoped to raise enough money during the week to allow the school to run on 100 percent recycled paper during the next school year.