IBGYBG

Familiar with the acronymn IBGYBG? Well the bankers who sent us into the economic crisis are. They ended their emails with IBGYBG- I'll be gone, you'll be gone. In other words, ultimately, the world problems that large industries such as oil, coal and bankers have created will be our (the youth's) problem.

And that's the short term thinking that has gotten us into almost every problem- economic, social and environmental.

Al Gore brought this acronym to our attention when he was discussing climate change. The problems that we face involving global warming are so enormous that the "IBGYBG" way of thinking, will only lead us farther into the mess. It is time we start thinking long term. It is time we stop solely thinking of money, and start thinking of the well being of society. We can no longer ignore signs of climate change- such as the droughts that swept the west or the hurricanes that are wiping out the East coast. In The Inconvienent Truth, Gore states that if we continue on this path of destruction, the city of Manhattan will become flooded. Sure enough, Hurricane Sandy proved just that. Scientists predicted to the date the flooding of New Orleans, and sure enough Hurricane Katrina was on its way.

For the people that deny climate change and say that it is still cold, if not colder than it was last year, I have a few questions for you. Why are the number of record breaking temperatures 1:115 when comparing cold temperatures to hot? Why would 97-98% of scientists agree that climate change is occuring and that it is a serious environmental problem?

This is not something we can just ignore. This is not a problem that we can afford to think short-term about. This is reality.

Gore recommended a way was by learning about the youth-lead Climate Reality Project and checking out realitydrop.org.

As for me, I want to take the next step to learn more about Climate Change by reading his most recent book, "The Future."

Leaf Cutter Ants

Have you ever watched a leaf-cutter ant in action? If not, it's a sight to see. All the ants file in a line to ultimately carry a leaf (and sometimes another ant or two!) back to their home. Its called teamwork, compromise. They all work together to achieve their goal of providing food for the rest of the community.

Even though, these ants may be small, as a human race, we can sure learn a lesson or two from them. They are only able to achieve their goal by relying on each other. Everyone in the community has a niche, speciality, which the ant will work on to achieve the whole populations ultimate goal.

Think about where we would be as a society if we could work together like the leaf-cutter ants.

The Irony

Us, students, fly in to Costa Rica all around the world. EF puts on an amazing show with an incredible agenda and inspirational speakers. And we all bond around one issue- the environment. We speak about the waste we produce and the products we are doing to help stop it.

Yet, the society that we grew up in, and the habits that we formed still hang on to us, and drag us back to the past. Americans grew up in a throw out community- buy a plastic water bottle through it out. Drink a cup of soda, through it out. Drive our car across the street and create air pollution. These habits congregate in the fibers of our blood, and they are so strong that even at a Global Student Leaders Summit centered around the environment, these habits still appeared.

For example, I was fortunate enough to eat lunch with Al Gore. However, when I sat down, what did I find in front of my plate other than a plastic water bottle. Not only this, but when looking around the room, it occured to me that everyone except for three people had opened and used that bottle. So students drank out of their plastic bottles, while listening to a student presentation about the need to reduce the use of plastic water bottles.

The next day, I saw a student through the paper plans of a waste-reduction project in the trash. Trash not recycling.

Ironic. I think so.

I am sharing this with you not to point fingers, but rather to illustrate the negative habits that we so often take part in, without even thinking about them. It's important to remember that EVERY ACTION you take has an impact on the environment around you, and although initially remembering to bring a reusable cup or seeking out a recycling bin may be difficult, if you do it enough, you can break these bad habits and replace them with positive ones.

Gone Bananas

In case you don't know the history of bananas and its global impact let me some it up for you- exploitation. Banana trees were originally planted alongside the railroad that was being built in the late 1800s. Known as the "Jungle Train," this railway was contracted by a British company as an effort to build a train from the Central Valley to the Caribbean Coast. The manager of the project, Keith put in banana trees alongside the train track to feed the workers. However, Keith soon found that he made more money from the bananas than the railway, and changed his mission to selling bananas to the US, and changed the name of the company to United Fruit Company (UFC).

Then came all the benefits of big business. The small farmers could no longer compete, and sold their farms to UFC (also referred to as El Pulpo- "The Octopus"- because it had its tentacles invading other countries). The fun continued. The US demand for bananas increased and large quantities of jungle were chopped down to make way for an increasing railway system. Hardly any money came back to the workers, yet UFC expanded its territory to other poor countries (known as banana republics). The brutality of UFC is portrayed in Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude, when the employers open fire on striking employees and murder thousands- only to erase their names from history the next day. The poor working conditions continue until 1936 when the workers lead a strike, which later ends exploitation....or does it? What if the exploitation of the workers slowed, but the exploitation of land remained. 

With an increased focus on globalization and competition, fast production is beating out environmentally-friendly practices. Especially because Costa Rica has to compete with other Latin American countries such as Brazil, practices such as organic farming are scarce. With a recent push for greater supply, the agriculture sector is starting to use pesticides rather than organic methods. It is estimated that only 5% of the farms are sustainable. When I talked to our tour guide Jimmy, he said the same thing. Jimmy informed us that American Banana Companies such as Dole, Delmonte use helicopters to spray the bananas every 5-8 days in order to increase quantities. There is only one place that Jimmy knows of that you can get true, organic Costa Rican Bananas: Earth University. You can buy these bananas in the states at higher scale grocery stores such as Whole Foods. But Jimmy brings us back to reality. People buy bananas like they buy any other food; they choose it for the lowest cost. Unfortunately, not enough people know about the history of the food they buy. They don't see the American Big Business Fruit Companies who spray pesticides from a plane; they don't see the rain forests chopped down to accommodate the American demand; they don't see the young boys, browned from the pouring sunlight, who have to pull hundreds of pounds of fruit. Instead they see bananas. Yellow. Low Calories. Banana Bread?

In case you were curious, yes, a pineapple does grow out of the ground

Pura Vida

Paint a picture of paradise. Then go to Tortuguero, Costa Rica and I guarantee, your picture will look identical to this setting. You want a word for it? I'll give you two: Pura Vida.

Pura Vida, literally meaning "pure life," makes up 50% of the Spanish spoken in Costa Rica. It is a greeting, conversation starter, and answer to almost any question. But more than that, it describes the people’s way of life.




It explains the mystifying beauty which encompasses Tortuguero.
One morning, Jimmy (our tour guide) took us on a boat tour through the Cano Palma. Lush green trees towered over the rich underbrush. Beyond the sight of the mangroves hid the mystery of the rain forest with over 11,000 birds and thousands of amphibians. If you looked close enough, you could spot the Jesus Christ lizard camouflaged among the emerald leaves. And in this paradise, we heard the hoots of the owls and the mating sounds of the birds.

It was here that we realized that we are just one piece of the puzzle. In suburban Northern Virginia, it is too easy to forget this. We are so busy rushing to soccer practice and cramming for tests that we often do not think about how our small actions affect something on the other side of the world. For instance a plastic bag. Convenient, clean, easy, right? Not for the beaches it washes onto; not for the water receiving harmful chemicals; not for the sea turtles who think it is a jellyfish. We are often forced into this rushed lifestyle where speed is prioritized over sustainable, superficial over natural. But does it really need to be this way?  Imagine if we could change our ways just like Costa Rica has changed theirs, to focus around one simple rule- Pura Vida.
Here, it has not always been that way, but over time the people of Costa Rica realized that if they embraced nature and utilized its resources instead of destroying them, they would be successful, and happy.

They realized that nature is beautiful and irreplaceable, and they worked to keep it that way. For example, over 25% of all land in Costa Rica belongs to state parks. Instead of building a road, people take boats to get around Tortuguero because a road would cut through this serene scene. The men work as boat drivers and tour guides instead of loggers. The live sea turtles act as a larger source of revenue than the dead ones. The sustainable cycle of eco-tourism continues.  

By embracing nature, and taking advantage of the greatest gift it offers, beauty, Costa Rica is able to preserve such vital resources, and maintain a stable economy. My hope is that developing countries throughout the world can learn from Costa Rica. Instead of following the ways of the past which include excessive logging and deforestation, these countries can be a step ahead and recognize that nature offers not only beauty but the path for a thriving economy. Like ants and trees, flowers and bees, success and nature offer a symbiotic relationship.

 
And isn't that what Pura Vida is all about?

 

Many thanks for this picture and many of the others:

 

 

Elizabeth Hurley and EF Educational Tours

Severn Cullis Suzuki

If you replace the "S" with "R" and add some letters to Severn, you can get the word Reverend, and that's exactly how I felt about Ms. Severn Cullis Suzuki. I have never meet someone in my life who was so blunt yet inspiring, young yet sapient. Ms. Suzuki, at age 12 silenced a room of adults at the UN Conference in Rio, opening their eyes to the truth of their actions (See speech here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsNDnII_Wmo) . Yesterday, she did the same with us. Except for us, she had a slightly different message. We are youth, so we have the power to make a change. Adults are most vulernable to us, their children, which is why we have the greatest chance in creating change. With an increasing amount of corrupt government (corrupt in the fact that corporations not people's voices are being heard - aka recent background check bill), the voice of the youth need to be heard. She recommended government protests with 350.org and petitions. She worked with a youth-driven group named Wecanadia to come up with government proposals for change. Here are their recommendations...
1) "Measuring what matters"
the GDP is the measurement used for global rankings, yet it doesn't measure citizen's happiness- only how much money the government is making. For example, when a person gets in a car accident, they need an ambulance, hospital assistance, ect., so the countires GDP increases, but are the people better- NO!
2) Get Prices Right
There needs to be a price on carbon!
3) Fair Trade Certified ProductsThe government would add this into their economic plans to buy from workers treated fairly!
Yet, even though these solutions seem easy enough, nowadays, these solutions are almost impossible. Everyday countries are moving away from mandatory environmental regulations to "suggestions." Basically, we are headed in the wrong direction, and in order for our planet to survive, we need to change our ways NOW.

Tips for tourists!

First of all, if you are reading this post I want to congratulate you because you are thinking of (or planning to) go to Costa Rica! And let me tell you that Costa Rica has so much to offer- so I hope you have a great time! Here are some tips to make your trip even better!

Make sure you bring...

• a light raincoat (VERY IMPORTANT)
• bug spray
• a reusable waterbottle
• bathing suit
• sneakers (hiking boats if you really want to go on an adventure!)
• a journal to write everything down
• lots of socks!

What most tour guides don't tell you...

• Often, toilet paper goes in TRASH CAN not toilets (toilet leads to clogging)