“It is an incalculable added pleasure to any one’s sum of happiness if he or she grows to know, even slightly and imperfectly, how to read and enjoy the wonder-book of nature.”
-President Theodore Roosevelt
This month I got to participate in Austin’s annual Clean Sweep, which is a city-wide service day spanning 130+ sites in 31 zip codes hosted by Keep Austin Beautiful. This day of service is estimated to remove over 29 tons of trash! I volunteered with my soccer team as part of St. Edward’s own Big Event day of service, where students are sent to various locations around Austin to provide service and help build the community.
I helped out at the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Park, which is just east of 35 off of Lady Bird Lake. The trees of the park have been over run with an invasive species of bamboo. When we first arrived we couldn’t see through the bamboo to the trees, because of how thick and plentiful the bamboo was. Our job was to cut down and remove the bamboo to allow room for the trees to grow and flourish. With about 50 people, we were only able to remove a small area out of the entire park. The Lead of the project explained to me that the city does not allow for mechanical or chemical removal of the invasive species, which I found interesting. I assumed it was a funding issue. So that only left human power as a removal method. Even then removing the bamboo requires a lot of work to properly ensure that it will not grow back.
The tallest piece of bamboo that I removed from the park!
I have now done two park cleanups and I have really enjoyed both of them. I think I may have found myself a new hobby! The more that I learn in class and from my own readings, the more I have become enthused about topics that I never had bothered with before. Its been a great experience and has opened my eyes to a bigger picture concerning our environment and the future.
I couldn’t be more excited for our class trip to Costa Rica! I have never left the country, so that is in itself is thrilling. Learning about the ecotourism model that Costa Rica adopts is really fascinating, and it will be neat to see it in action when we are there. I am also looking forward to seeing and being immersed in the Costa Rican culture. It’ll give me an opportunity to practice my Spanish… or the little bit I remember at least.
To follow along with the theme of this blog I did a little investigating about the air quality in Costa Rica. While a majority of the country experiences clean and healthy air, major populated regions see a different story. The area of major concerns are bigger cities, such as San Jose. The country’s capitol is facing increased level of air pollutants. According to a study done by the Laboratoria de Analisis de Calidad de la Universidad Nacional, “harmful particles in the air were recorded at 37 micrograms per cubic meter. This number is almost twice that of the maximum contaminant levels set by the World Health Organization (Evans)”. These particles pollute the air and have adverse affects on human health, as we have come to know throughout this research blog. A major source of these air pollutants is car emissions.
In an article published in The Tico Times, journalist Marco Sibaja, explains a downside that the very ecofriendly country has. While Costa Rica is a land of renewable energy, they have a problem concerning their automobile and transportation sector. In places like San Jose, traffic, traffic, and more traffic, fill the roadways with old cars and buses (maybe I’ll get to see this in action when we land in in San Jose). “According to the Environment and Energy Ministry, the transport sector is responsible for 66 percent of hydrocarbon consumption and 54 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions, one of the principle gases responsible for climate change” (Sibaja). Also, the country has upwards to 1.4 million cars for a population of 5 million. And according to the country’s inspection agency, the average age of vehicles is 16 years. Older cars, which get less gas mileage, compound the issue.
Costa Rica has already invested in protective measures to reduce CO2 in the past. These include: mandated emissions testing, catalytic converters on new cars, lead-free gasoline, and development of electric vehicles through its Asociacion Promotora de Vehiculos Electricos (Howard).
You would think that a country like Costa Rica would be searching for ways to further reduce CO2 emissions from cars, and you would be right. There are numerous efforts and initiatives that are working to combat the problem. For instance, Reps. Franklen Corella and Marcela Guerros of the ruling Citizen Action Party have proposed a bill that would provide incentives to electric and hybrid car buyers in Costa Rica. “Those purchasing electric and hybrid vehicles would also be exempt from paying the annual road tax known as ‘marchamo’ for a period of five years, and would not have to pay parking meters” (ICR). Sounds like a sweet deal to me.
Costa Rica is treasure chest full of ecological wonders, and the country has been brilliant in it’s method of ecotourism. Having air pollution threatens this method, hurting the economy and their environment. It makes sense why they are so highly vested in controlling the quality of the air. If the country was filled with smoked filled skies and dirty water, tourists wouldn’t travel and spend money, and their economy would be fractured. Compared to a nation, such as the United States, where our economy doesn’t depend on the environment, creating change doesn’t come as easily. This system has protected a large majority of the country from air pollution. Interestingly, there are opponents to ecotourism who say that in the long run ecotourism will damage the environment, and/or the culture of the region (Kennedy). I’m eager to get some first hand experience with how the ecotourism model functions in Costa Rica, and make my own conclusions on the matter.
Works Cited
Evans, Marcel. “Air Pollution in San Jose Costa Rica Threatens Health.” Costa Rica Star News The Costa Rica Star, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. 08 May 2016.
Howard, Christopher. “Tips on Passing the Annual Car Inspection for Retirees in Costa Rica.” Living in Costa Rica. LiveinCostaRica, 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 8 May 2016.
Kennedy, Rita. “Positive & Negative Effects of Ecotourism.” Travel Tips. USA Today, n.d. Web. 08 May 2016.
“No Import Tax, No Annual ‘Marchamo’ – Bill Offers Big Incentives for Electric, Hybrid Vehicles Inside Costa Rica.” Inside Costa Rica. Inside Costa Rica, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 08 May 2016.
Sibaja, Marco. “Costa Rica Boasts Clean Energy- and Bad Car Pollution.” The Tico Times. The Tico Times News, 19 Nov. 2015. Web. 8 May 2016.