Costa Rica – A Model For The Environment

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting a beautiful country – Costa Rica. Costa Rica is in many ways is ahead of the environmental curve compared with other countries, and has inspired some realizations about travel, our impact in travel, and beyond.

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Eco-Travelling

How can one travel with a lower C02 impact? Perhaps that can be achieved by boat or by carpooling where possible instead of flying. Every single action one takes has some sort of environmental impact that can be quantified through carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, eco-toxicity, etc. It’s important to consider these things when making choices, as these choices have an effect on every single thing or person that is important to you.

Waste Management

Costa Rica’s waste management separates and recycles its waste into many different categories. A crucial but often neglected one is compost, as composting organic waste reduces the creation of methane – a greenhouse gas 30+ times more potent than C02. A good start can be to insist that businesses and high density living spaces like condos have compost bins (green bins) and recycling bins readily available. One approach is to firmly, but gently urge them to change while offering potential, well-researched solutions. This is urgent, and absolutely worth fighting for, as mentioned in the 'To Compost or Not to Compost' article.

Biodiversity Preservation: Both Serene and Vital

”Biodiversity preservation for not only its intrinsic value, but because of its necessity for all life” is a mindset I’ve seen lived by and shared among many people I’ve met during the trip, and is something that cannot be forgotten about even for a second. Have you made sustainable eating choices today that reduce your impact on forests, grasslands, oceans? For instance, what has been done to our oceans lately (over-fishing, waste discarding, indirect climate change effects) is something that cannot continue. A good starting point is to adopt and encourage (fight for) a lifestyle minimizing our consumption of animal products, high carbon transportation and the creation of excess waste.

Clean, Renewable Energy

Costa Rica’s energy source is a 100% renewable mix of Wind, Hydro, Geothermal and Solar. It’s important to look for ways to make your home, place of employment and public spaces have a lower environmental impact – even if the geography of your country isn’t as plentiful in 'renewable-energy-potential' as Costa Rica.

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A project in the near future will offer solutions for such problems in collaboration with leading experts. Stay tuned!