PUERTO RICO realizations

Puerto Rico turned out to have an impact on me that I never thought possible. We just got back on the boat- our first port over and done with. Now I’m left here with this strange feeling of change. I thought that going to beaches and rainforests would be fun and exciting (which they undoubtedly were) but these adventures also stirred up the primitive human being inside of me. WE ARE KILLING THE PLANET AND IT’S A REALLY SCARY THING. That’s the message I got from every single tour guide and bus driver that I met over these last three days. When we went to the bioluminescent lagoon in Fajardo I had high expectations. I thought that swimming with electric plankton would be a truly magical experience- and it was! HOWEVER, the tour guide instilled a deep sense of sadness in me. Over the past seven years that he has been guiding people through the mangrove forest to the lagoon, the plankton has significantly died out for the following reasons:

*The run off from storms has increased due to global warming which is a cycle that we have created due to the insane commercialism that has completely consumed our modern society. People want more cars and bigger houses and houses that overlook endangered lagoons and they don’t care if that means wildlife will die and that we are permanently altering our planet and that by 2020 this isn’t going to be a sustainable way of living. We simply MUST stop wanting.

*Because of the runoff from the storms, all of the waste and pollution coming from the construction is contaminating the lagoon and causing irreversible damage. This lagoon is one of FOUR left in the world and soon it will die. Is this really the planet that we want to leave our children?

Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing time. We kayaked through the mangrove forest for a mile and half before we reached the lagoon. Katie and I had a great time paddling around- we tried to hang back since the other 35 kayaks full of SAS kids were crashing into each other and into the bank. It was completely dark and impossible to see which made it that much more mysterious and fun. Once we got to the lagoon, our guide tied out kayaks together and gave us a crash course on plankton and the way they reproduce and proceeded to send us off into the electric water saying “Go make plankton babies!!” Apparently human stimulation causes them to reproduce. We swam around and even got to look in the water with magnifying goggles. Our skin literally glittered. It was wonderful. We kayaked back and after the hour long ride home we all passed out. Don’t even ask what it took to plan this trip- I was in charge and luckily I can say it was worth the stress. So anyway, today we went on a rain forest (el yunque) hike and to Luquillo beach. It was today that I really started to realize the impact we are having on the planet. Our rain forest guide was AMAZING. She was so knowledgeable not only about the rain forest but about Puerto Rico as well. The hike to coco falls was about 50 minutes. When we got there we got to stop and swim in the waterfalls. The water was so clean and fresh- I felt exhilarated. Then we headed back for the 50 minute hike to our bus whereupon we went to a local restaurant for rice, beans and plantains. On the 45 minute bus ride home, someone asked the tour guide to enlighten us on some of Puerto Rico’s problems since all we knew up until that point were all the good things about the island. Here is an abridged version of what I learned:

*There is a huge problem with immigration that is making a really negative impact on the economy. Illegal immigrants are coming into Puerto Rico so that they can attain American citizenship (since Puerto Ricans are American citizens). This wouldn’t be that big of a deal if it weren’t for the fact that the island is starting to become overpopulated. Right now the mark is at about 4.5 millions humans. With these humans come 2.5 million cars. By the year 2020, they expect the number of cars to reach 4 million. Because of earthquakes and tropical storms, highways can’t be built on top of each other like they are in so many places in the US because they will crumble during one of these natural disasters. So now there is the problem is figuring out where to put all these cars since it already takes 45 minutes to get somewhere that should take 10 minutes. This leads me to my next point.

*Development all over the world has already reduced the rain forests on the planet to 7%. This is drastically lower than the percentage from 60 years ago. Condos are already going up all over the coast and as mentioned above, the runoff is killing the natural beauty of the island. If things don’t stop, the island could be nonexistent by 2020.

There was a lot more to what our guide said but this is basically what I can remember. Her point was not to upset us or make us feel guilty but rather to awaken us to the possibility that our generation can be the change that we want to see in the world. Since the 1960s, more and more information has been surfacing regarding what we are doing wrong as a species and how we can fix it. The problem is that people simply don’t care. Very few people are worried about the fact that we are running out of room to dump waste or the fact that not only are we living in excess, we are not living in a way that is sustainable. Eventually we will reach the breaking point and what will happen then is that the human race will die out. The planet, well the planet will be just fine because the straight scientific facts prove that we are going to kill ourselves before we finish the job of killing the planet. This is a very real and relevant problem and all of us really need to start thinking about what has to be done because I know that I don’t want my ancestors living on a garbage dump with no clean water. I’m so sick of hearing “well I don’t care because the world isn’t going to end in my lifetime so it’s really not my job to do anything about all of these environmental issues.” It is our job because this planet gave us life. This planet provides us naturally with all the things we need to survive yet we continue to destroy her and reject her offerings. No one NEEDS plastic or candy or twelve pairs of jeans. It’s a sad life we are headed towards. Soon all remnants of how life should be- active, beautiful, peaceful, enjoyable etc…- will disappear. And when that happens, there will be no more civilization, only robots programmed to want and buy and want and buy. I know I don’t want to be here for that and I plan on doing whatever I can to make a difference.