As we were walking through the gorgeous and misty cloud forest, we saw lots of wildlife and greenery. But unfortunately, with climate change being a pressing issue, all that beauty is in danger. Our job as individuals of this world is to help the nature thrive so that it can continue nurturing our planet. In Costa Rica, there is a growing industry of tourism which in turn means growth for the Costa Rican economy but also an increase in pollution. As tourists travel into the beautiful country, they bring revenue for the locals and their businesses. They also bring destruction as they drive more cars and drink more plastic water bottles that eventually end up in the ocean, polluting the planet. This is common throughout Monteverde and other places of Costa Rica as tourists are visiting the scenic spots within the country.

If I were to prioritize a focus, I would centralize my efforts on sustainability. Although conservation and productivity are beneficial in their own ways, sustainability promotes a lasting effect which can have positive long term benefits rather than short term. With sustainability, individuals and communities are working to maintain what is already in place as well as help it thrive so that whatever the problem is does not develop further. Conservation is only working to preserve what is already there and often times productivity promotes profit over what is actually beneficial to nature. I would work to reduce plastic usage and other similar sustainability initiatives in order to keep the earth and forests clean from any pollution and waste. In the end, all the pollution negatively affects people as well so why not do small acts to contribute to the overall well being of our planet.