These past three weeks have been an enlightening whirlwind. It’s incredible that this course took the overwhelming topic of climate change and carefully and thoughtfully broke it down into meaningful and digestible coursework and experiences (ignore how many ands are in that sentence). I am so so very thankful for every challenge, conversation, and minute in Costa Rica. For this blog post, I want to focus on the macro side of climate change; my thoughts and experiences in the environment, and their place in the topic climate change.
I have never been deeply concerned with nature until I saw people not care.
What is the point of being outside if you do not want to experience outside things? If you do not want to sit at the bottom of a waterfall and stare into its eternal flow, why are you hiking a waterfall trail? The point of these questions is to point out a disconnect that became alarmingly clear in the ecotourism and climate change section of our class. Most people only appreciate nature at a surface level; a checked box of going to see the hanging bridges, or a great photo op in front of La Fortuna Waterfall. Giving it a good 45 minutes then speeding out of the area like you have somewhere better to be and never thinking about it again. I think we have all been guilty of this, trying to complete the trail faster, prioritizing post-hike lunch over the current moment, and more. It’s a term that I have given the name ‘instant gratification hikers’ and the world is full of them. Even during my experience at the Hanging Bridges, the goal became to pass as many tourists groups as possible rather than actually taking time to leave no leaf unseen. Another time was during a hike a few of us did at the Monteverde Research Station. The pace we were going at was so fast I didn’t have time to search the forest for birds and critters (don’t worry Amanda and I ended up slowing down and taking twice as long so we could take it all in and this is where many of the thoughts I’m writing about came from).
All this to say, I hypothesize that people being out of touch with true nature is proliferating the aspects of climate change.
Why is it that books like 6 degrees and other climate change findings are not resonating with the public? I truly believe that at least part of the answer is that a lot of people’s relationship with nature is fractured. Take Costa Rica for example. Every single one of the guides at La Selva, Sarapiqui(the food tours), Tortuguero, Arenal, and even Life Farm, 1)speak with such pride and joy when talking about the hard work that goes into what they produce, 2)hold such respect and enchantment of the nature around them, and 3)have a deep understanding of the word coexist. This priority of coexisting is even reflected in Costa Rica’s government, with green policies, recovering forests, and aiming to go carbon neutral. Even the President, Oscar Arias, wrote a foreword for a Costa Rican mammal identification book. They are an example of a nation, culture, and individuals who have a deep relationship with nature. And with this unfractured relationship with nature, the warnings of climate change are heard and proactively addressed more effectively than any country in the world.
While the rest of us outside of this eco-friendly contemporary model fall short and I think part of the reason is that we have forgotten what it means to coexist with nature. Unlike the Costa Ricans, an average American’s daily life does not require them to remotely think about how important nature, biodiversity, ecosystems, etc. are to us. We are so enthralled with current day to day problems that a long term problem such as climate change is just labelled as bad. We care that climate change is a thing but do know or understand the layers of creation behind it. Our relationship to nature is more distanced therefore we are not as roused into action as the Costa Ricans are. I for one, was not until I spent 3 weeks understanding their way of life and living like a Costa Rican.
The moment I flew over Orlando from Costa Rica I became sad, disheartened, and disturbed by the sight below. Paved roads for miles, cleared plots of land with no purpose, only tiny parcels of land with natural forests, random ponds for aesthetics, and lots of lawns and golf courses. I was horrified. How do we change a problem when it is a part of every fiber of American life? I wish everyone had this Costa Rican experience to put things into perspective. To realize how ridiculous it is to clear a plot of land that will remain empty. To realize all of the lives affected by clearing even an acre of land. Bacteria, bugs, birds, mammals, shrubs, wild grass, trees, all lost in a fraction of the time it took to create that life-giving ecosystem. In a way, I’m in mourning. Mourning the fact that we all have to reassimilate to the consumer-driven fast, cheap, easy, human-centered lifestyle. Being without air conditioning for weeks has made me realize how RIDICULOUS maxing A/C out is. Why on Earth does the security guard for the airport have to bring a sweatshirt everyday to work? There is utterly no reason to create a freezing microclimate other than US’s unsustainable social culture. Even the idea of maintaining a home to a consistent specific degree…it’s almost like rejecting the way life was meant to be, which could be said for a lot of modern human developments. I think I will keep churning over this idea for as long as I can and hope I never become lulled into the vast amenities in the US that make life less ‘pura vida’. Thank you Dr. Libby, Dr. Wasserman, and Dr. Johnson for burdening me with knowledge and deep reflection. Here’s to more discussions about the world.
Entering a needed existential crisis,
Alaina DeVille
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