This week my graduate program’s month long course, Global Topics in Environmental Management, in Costa Rica began and this first week at La Selva Biological Station has been quite the experience. The landscape and it’s inhabitants are so beautiful, that learning how to identify the different species of birds, reptiles, mammals and trees has actually been really a enjoyable learning process. My favorite part of the trip however, has been the sustainability aspect of things, which is why I decided to revolve my research proposal around it. My proposal looks at the possibility of analyzing energy use and renewable energy options at the last research station we visit, Las Cruces Biological Station. There are a number of reasons research like this is important, but one in particular is the Paris agreement that was made at the end of this last year, where one hundred and ninety five countries adopted the first ever universal legally binding global climate deal. This agreement lays out a global action plan to place the world on the right path to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to way below two degrees celsius, which is supposed to be enforced in 2020. Costa Rica is a part of this agreement, and they already do so much towards sustainability and being environmentally conscious. However, if there is an opportunity for any organization to strengthen their sustainability measures, they should and Las Cruces has this opportunity with the research I’m proposing. I really want to help them take their sustainability to the next step and become a leader in field.