As more people and countries look toward the future, they look to try and find ways to make the country more environmentally friendly. Countries who take a strong initiative to be environmentally friendly make me believe there is a strong focus on the purity of the country. I envision a lot of grass and trees with minimal amounts of building and architectural infrastructure. Unlike the United States, I imagine a lot more open land and less unnecessary housing development that destroys any forests or grasslands.
With a focus on sustainability, I think that makes Costa Rica appear progressive, innovative, and elite. For some larger countries, it is hard to get a whole country to reduce their amounts of energy consumption and have a population that is motivated by keeping the environment in tact rather than pursuing possible financial gain. I think it takes an elite group to think about a bigger picture rather than only worrying about themselves. This also makes Costa Rica innovative because they have to create ways to stay with times and provide a good living for their families while being contentious. If we think about our everyday life, think about how many things we do on a daily basis that harm the environment and try to reduce it. To do this everyday is a conscious effort for some and takes some creative thinking to produce the same results. This is also a progressive mentality because not many countries are willing to go the extra step and evoke a drastic change in their lifestyle. Costa Rica and Switzerland are one of the few countries who push to be leading countries for environmental sustainability and alter their lifestyles to maintain this status.
In the 20th century, the United States had taken over Costa Rica and imported cattle to breed and allow to graze in fields after destroying 80% of the forests so that the United States could satisfy their need for meat. To try and replenish their ecosystems, Costa Rica turned to using the land for agriculture and slowly increase their forest percentages. Increasing the number of trees will help the environment and provide better coffee plants since the shade provides the proper habitat for the coffee. The goal is to increase the amounts of trees so the country is 60% covered by forests.
Costa Rica also wants to increase their countries different industries. Recently, there has been a shift in the major industries having tourism as the biggest industry in the country due to the allure of their national parks and different ecologies. Along with the tourism boom brings a need to increase lodges and hotels that would be sustainable for mass amounts of people. Many are located within the national parks where residents could learn about different ways to keep green while embracing the beauty around them. This booming industry is one of the main motivators for keeping the country clean and keeping their environmental impact to a minimal to not destroy any of the national parks.
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