This Boat Called "Earth"

As I approach my one year mark here in Nicaragua, I’ve begun to notice things that aren’t so apparent if you’re just passing through as a tourist. For example, it’s caught my attention recently how often people die in accidents here, mostly in cars and motorcycles. It seems like every weekend there’s a pickup truck with a loudspeaker passing through each neighborhood announcing the death of yet another person, usually under the age of 40. I think this is the case for a number of reasons: a) drunk driving, b) driving without a seatbelt, and c) riding a motorcycle without a helmet. I think there are laws against all of the above but rarely are they enforced. It’s just really sad to me how often young people die here. It makes it more apparent to me that someone I know here can die at any point in time. Granted, this happens anywhere, but it seems much more prevalent here. This observation is not meant to scare any of you, it’s just something I’ve realized is out of the norm.

I don’t know if the above is a problem of too few law enforcers, low budgets, or that the police are just preoccupied with other things, but this seems to be a theme with the environment, as well. Reading through a book of Nicaraguan environmental laws, I noticed that many things that have become common daily sights for me, like trash burning, are actually illegal here. But how can it be illegal if they’re even practicing it in the schools – a place that is supposed to set an example for future generations to follow? There are many species of plants and animals that are under protection by law also, but their numbers are still dwindling because nobody knows and hardly anything is enforced. Many people have a type of bird called a “chocoyo” in their houses that are kept as pets, and yet these birds are endangered in Nicaragua. My research group in Costa Rica found this to be the case, too, so it’s not just happening here.

Issues like these make it more and more apparent to me how important my job is here. Just improving the overall awareness of people about these laws and why they exist can make up for, in part, the lack of enforcement. Of course it’s hard to know if the kids I’m teaching today are going to remember as adults what it means to live sustainably, but I continue to treat my job as if they will. I came into the Peace Corps with big ideas and ambitions of wanting to save this environment and help its people, too. I’ve still held onto these ideas, but I know it’s something that will take many, many more years, with the help of not only outside organizations but also the Nicaraguan government and its own people. After all, how many years after scientists discovered global warming did it take for people to finally pay attention and actually do something about it? And we’ve STILL got a long way to go.

I highly suggest the book Collapse by Jared Diamond to anyone who’s interested in this topic. It’s not exactly beach reading since it’s about the size of a textbook, but definitely interesting nonetheless. And I want to remind you that we’re all in this same boat called “Earth”, and it’s sinking. And developing countries aren’t the only culprits – statistically, they’re actually less at fault. But keep positive – environmentalism is no longer all “gloom and doom” – it’s the new fad, baby! Anyway, I welcome, as always, any comments or feedback on my blog (I changed a setting so that now anyone can post – you don’t need to make an account first).