ALDO LEOPOLD, THE TROPICS, AND SOME ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

As Aldo Leopold predicted in his book (A Sand County Almanac), today it is rather difficult to find a really wild place to be in, with no contact with other humans, without seeing a house, a cow, a piece of trash, and where nature continues its path untouched.

Even here in Costa Rica, that people normally imagine as a beautiful virgin paradise, things are seen every day that make you look at human presence in a different way. On my way to the tower, after passing a dusty road that takes all the colour and brilliance out of the plant leaves, I enter the woods, filled with cocoa trees, fruit trees, pigs, dogs, houses. At the same time, you do see some wild animals, a lot of birds and sometimes snakes, frogs and agoutis. And up there at the tower, besides the occasional sound of a generator, a chainsaw or a bus passing faraway, nature does seems clean, green, as it has been for millions of years. The migratory birds still pass over our heads, in an evolutionary step that was taken so long ago; it steals your breath away every time you think about it.

But because we are here, because we have all this impact, and simultaneously all this growing knowledge about the effects we have on nature, should we still close our eyes to our every day actions, and still throw a can or plastic bottle into the trash? If there is an organic option for some of the food items we buy, why not support local initiatives and environmental friendly products? Why not save money just for that and be proud of your groceries, eat well and be healthy? There are countries where eating organic is impossible or way to expensive for the majority of people. But today, in Europe, the US, Canada, and many other countries, like Costa Rica, there is the possibility of buying products that support nature and at a reasonable price.

Also, why should we value our cars so much and take them for 10 minute drives when we could use public transportation? Why shouldn’t we support local NGO’s and their conservation projects, if we feel we don’t have the time to participate ourselves in those actions.

The world would be such a better place to live in if all of us thought a little bit less on our own nose and comfort, and gave more to the earth that created us. There is a reason for our intelligence; there is a reason for our versatility, imagination and creativity. We are the stewards of this world, of the plants and animals, of the beautiful geographical features of our little blue planet.

Please be thankful for everything that surrounds you and think about how you can help yourself and future generations of humans and wildlife by changing just little things in your daily comfortable life. It doesn’t take much, does it?

Finally, thank you for taking the time to read this text and have a nice day, wherever you are...