Thoughts of Sustainability entering Costa Rica
It’s just a few short days before we venture to the beautiful country of Costa Rica. While it shares in many western ideals and lifestyles of the US. We can see a large divergence in the perception of sustainability. Within the United States, Sustainability is seen as a hot political issue and in suite, is seen as a luxury, rather than a universal truth. In the past years, it has become a “trend” to participate in sustainable lifestyles and invest in often overpriced sustainable measures.
However, Costa Rica , a country that relies on its nature for majority of its income, relies on its greenery for economic sustainability. Thus, as a country, they are much more invested in sustainability of its natural areas.
As an avid lover of nature and the ideals of sustainability, I am excited to travel to Costa Rica. The country’s dedication to sustainability was one of the main reasons I wished to go on this trip. I think it’s important to take a glance at a country that has far better sustainability and commerce balance than the United States. Its a goal that I hope one day the US could reach. However, it is a quite a lofty goal. Though Costa Rica is admiral for their conservation efforts, I can’t help but think that it is without ignorance. The reason that Costa Rica is able to emphasize sustainability so much is that their land doesn’t hold many other resources (such as oil, fine metals,etc…). The US is a country that is very focused on the output of oil, coal, meat, and other resources that take away from land and sustainability. Costa Rica is able to make an economy around their sustainability, the US, due to its size and other, much more expensive resources, would never be able to achieve.
Sustainability Initiatives in Costa Rica
The main sustainability initiatives that I was able to find about Costa Rica center around things like renewable energy and reducing plastic consumption. With agriculture being one the larger components of the Costa Rican economy, it was interesting there was no commentary on the often unsustainable practices farming takes. I am interested to explore when we are in country to see how this is addressed by individual farmers or if it is even considered by them.
What I am looking forward to…
There are few things about this trip that I am not looking forward to ( jetlag to name one). However, to name a few it would definitely be the fresh fruit. As a fruit lover, I am beyond excited to try all the freshness the country has to offer. I am also excited to get to know and connect with local tikos. I can’t wait to land and get to connect with everything this country has to offer.