Courtesy of Stephen Brooks
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Right now is all we have…so what should I do right now? How about now? And now? Now is absolutely all we have and we totally ARE in the midst of an environmental catastrophe so what should we do? How can we help improve the environmental state of the world, inspire others to do the same and still have fun and enjoy life at the same time?
My G-Word blog is going to be devoted to sharing the path I have chosen while everyday striving to do more, spread more light and continue to walk as lightly as possible.
I grew up in the suburbs of Miami, Florida and from a very young age became passionate about the ocean and frequently traveled to the island of Bimini, the closest island in the Bahamas. My family was super into fishing and diving and I watched as the big trawl netting and long line fishing began and nearly wiped out the fish off of Miami and in Bimini as well. It felt so wrong and certainly helped me realize how much we were a part of this incredible web of life on Earth.
In 1995, I went to visit a girlfriend in Costa Rica and it was this trip that jolted me from my deep slumber and completely altered my path drastically even to this very day. I loved the touristy parts of Costa Rica that we visited but it wasn't until I arrived on the southern Caribbean coast that I really started to feel some powerful force calling me there. It's an unusual area and if you didn't know you were in Costa Rica you would certainly think you were in Jamaica. The small Caribbean towns are inhabited by Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous Bribri and Cabecar, Costa Ricans of Spanish descent, Nicaraguans, and a great mix of eclectic foreigners. The lush rainforest extends right to the edge of beautiful white and black sand beaches with coral reefs, and the towns have gourmet restaurants, cute bed and breakfasts and a raging nightlife. I was hooked! I absolutely fell in love with the area, especially the town of Puerto Viejo and the small towns south along the coast.
After several days of exploration, we decided to visit the town of Bribri which is the administrative center of the Indigenous people. On my way there I was totally floored by the gorgeous landscape and beautiful thatch huts that dotted the hillsides. All of a sudden, I came around a jungle clad mountain and as far as my eyes could see, well beyond the horizon, were banana plantations. I couldn't believe my eyes. At that very moment out in the distance I watched a small yellow plane crisscrossing the plantation spraying toxic fungicides over this gigantic sea of green. I then decided that I wanted to get a better look at the plantation and began to drive through the heart of it. It was then that I witnessed what changed my life forever. This small yellow plane sprayed right over my car and right over the playground full of indigenous children playing right there in front of my eyes. I was shocked! I thought we could zip across the world in just a few hours, we could have a video chat w/Australia from the middle of the jungle and meanwhile we spray these beautiful children with poisons.
I began to wonder how things got this bad and who is to be blamed. And then I realized that everyday that I sliced my Chiquitas into my Cinnamon Life cereal in the morning that I was helping pay for this type of atrocity. At first, I felt deep, deep anger and decided to turn that negative feeling into energy towards seeking solutions. I immediately thought that everyone needs to experience this and witness this after first seeing the beauty of this country and its people.
At the age of 21 I started Costa Rican Adventures, and with the support of my parents and my sister Lisa, I began bringing high school students to Costa Rica and created an experience where they got to see the magic of Costa Rica but also learn about and witness the rainforest destruction, annihilation of the indigenous culture and the sheer destruction that multi-national corporations were bestowing on this peaceful nation. More on Costa Rican Adventures and more in the posts to come, but to answer my first question, "What should I do right now? Exactly what I AM doing. Actually right now I am in the mountains of Turrialba, south east of San Jose, Costa Rica filming a segment for G-Word. I am at an organic sugar plantation and the goal is to show viewers where sugar comes from and how it is produced both commercially and organically as well as learning about where many other common foods come from. With this in mind, the last thing I want to say today is to vote with your dollars. Support companies that do good things and don't support ones that do harm.
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