I returned from a trip to Cuba and Costa Rica. I couldn't help but compare the approach to the environment and nature in the two countries, a comparison between Cuba and Costa Rica and of course a comparison to Israel
I returned from a trip to Cuba and Costa Rica. I couldn't help but compare the approach to the environment and nature in the two countries, a comparison between Cuba and Costa Rica and of course a comparison to Israel.
Cuba is known for its volatile history and as one of the last surviving communist regimes. As such, the traveler expects to find a backward, dirty country where the preservation of nature and the protection of the environment is not at the top of its mind... and it is not, in the country poverty is evident everywhere you turn and yet... Cuba is clean and orderly. The authorities take care of the nature reserves professionally and efficiently, the streets are clean and there is no trash or dirt on the roadsides. It is true, smoking almost everywhere and yet there are no cigarette butts (and cigars) polluting the beaches. There will be those who say that cleanliness stems from poverty, since there is nothing to throw away and everything has a use.
Costa Rica is considered an ecological symbol, the flag bearer of nature conservation and environmental protection, at least according to the publications. Indeed, the nature in Costa Rica is stunning in its richness, everything is green, green forests slide down to the water's edge on sandy golden beaches, turquoise waters rich in fish. Most of the activities wherever you turn are related to nature: cruises for dolphin sightings, hiking and horseback riding in forests and beaches to observe wildlife and flora, even challenging activities such as omega surfing or bungee jumping, are carried out in the heart of the forests without harming the environment. In every place and in every corner, the presence of the dedicated containers for waste stands out: separate containers for paper, glass, plastic, metal, organic or biological waste. At first glance "green like me"... great! But then driving the winding roads that pass through equatorial evergreen forests, crossing green valleys spectacular in their green beauty and ridges covered with clouds, anyone who drives the roads of Costa Rica with their eyes looking up at the heights, will be thrilled by the richness of the vegetation and the beauty of the landscape.
All the praisers will forgive me for lowering my eyes to the roadsides and roads, as these are polluted. Garbage is scattered all along the roads of Costa Rica, every bay (which is intended for emergency parking) looks like a dump. One gets the impression that the residents and visitors of the country need a "balance" and to balance the exemplary cleanliness in the reserves and beaches... they pollute the sides of the roads.
After the comparison between two countries that are considered "Third World" comes the comparison to our country. Like Costa Rica, we also boast (justifiably) of considerable achievements in the preservation of the environment and nature. Like Cuba, we also have alligator farms that you can visit, like Cuba, we are happy to receive tourists from the wider world, but like in Costa Rica, we do not know how to avoid attempts to engage them.
As in Cuba, we also have different bodies that work for cleanliness, almost like in Costa Rica where the green forest kisses the turquoise sea, here the sea is kissed by concrete blocks. As in Costa Rica, our natural environment (reserves and gardens) is (almost) clean, but our city streets, beaches, roadsides and most open spaces... are dirty.
So maybe we will try to learn from two "Third World" countries, we will learn from Costa Rica how to sort waste and garbage, we will learn from Cuba how not to dirty and pollute our environment.
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There is not enough enforcement in Israel because there are very few policemen. In the USA, for example, you see a policeman at every corner, including on highways and on the sides of abandoned roads. As for the concrete monsters…. The State of Israel grew up as a ghetto state. There is nowhere to hide. So there is no choice. After all, Jews are not allowed to build outside the green line. It is one-sided apartheid. It's voluntary suffocation. And besides that everyone knew that beyond the green line the European Union contributed a great deal of money to the construction of oxidation tanks, but the Arabs used the funds for other purposes. They pollute the environment because they feel that they are harming the Jews.
As someone who has been lucky enough to live for about 8 years in Cuba and also in Costa Rica, I am not surprised. Cuba has a central government that has been ruling with a heavy hand for many years. This is an ideological rule - like the revolution itself, and the Cubans themselves are: people of culture, without posturing, money is important but not the main thing, the main thing is the family and the love of others. As an Israeli I don't get into political problems!! And there is a lot to fix.
Costa Rica and also Israel are captives in the hands of rich American money, a weak central government, without an environmental agenda. The money men lead the politicians and support them.
K. empty about 4.5% nature reserves - many private - wealthy people bought the people's property. This thing is the worst because the forests continue to be cultivated. K. Rika has suffered for many years from deforestation and a continuous decrease in primary and secondary forest areas.
But, not everyone who goes to Cuba or Rica for a week's trip understands the mentality and way of thinking. A point to think about - Costa Rica is in a rapid process of transitioning to hi-tech from huge Intel factories and the number of students studying technological computer studies at the university increases every year.
Go travel because these countries are constantly changing!
http://www.zaida-centralamerica.co.il
Respondent 2 is indeed racist but not stupid.
Poor populations protect the environment much, much less!
Commenter 2, where did you get the stupid conclusion from the depths of your racist and stupid mind?
Correction: our reserves are also contaminated.
Go to a typical picnic site - everything is full of garbage. And it's not that they don't clean, the vacationers simply don't bother to clean up after themselves. No ads.
Visiting open areas - everything is full of industrial garbage, criminals who whistle at the law throw garbage in the wild without account, and there is no enforcement.
And we haven't even mentioned the industrial pollution to the air, water and soil. Factories that no one checks.
How do you do that? In my opinion, educating the public through campaigns at any age and for years + enforcement.
Also, regulation and legislation that will cause there to be no consumer garbage (no disposable dishes, no bags, no plastic packaging, etc.).
I have a power of attorney from the Ministry of the Environment to give a report to whoever pollutes.
To date, my friend and I have submitted reports worth thousands of shekels.
No problem to join, for those who are willing to invest one evening of their free time.
But how do you do it?
Legislation?
Education?
What makes clean places clean?
The weaker populations in Israel (Arabs and ultra-Orthodox) are a generation away from any feeling for the preservation of the environment.
The problem is not in the specific relationship to nature but in the general attitude towards all things