By Carol Blair Vaughn

Friday, April 22^nd, is Earth Day, an international celebration of education about environmental issues that began in the United States in 1970, marking the birth of the environmental movement. It is now celebrated by over 1 billion people worldwide, including here in Costa Rica, as a day of action in support of environmental protection of our planet.

The year 1970 was the height of the counterculture era in the U.S.: Jimi Hendrix died, Simon and Garfunkle sang “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”, and the War in Vietnam raged on with students overwhelmingly opposed to it.

Earth Day was the idea of Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, who was inspired by the student anti-war movement, and thought that he could harness that youthful energy to raise public consciousness about environmental protection of our planet. The date was selected to fall between Spring Break and final exams in the U.S., to have the most student activists available for protests.

You could be forgiven if you felt that every day is Earth Day in Costa Rica – 23% of Costa Rica’s total land is protected in parks and reserves, and we have among the most extensive and well-developed national park system in Latin America. It is said that we hold 6% of the world’s biodiversity, a natural wealth in both animal species and ecosystems. Yet Costa Rica has come under criticism recently for not enforcing its wildlife protection laws as vigorously as we should, and not addressing pollution challenges as forcefully as we could. Each and every one of us can help with these issues.

You might not have an organized Earth Day event in your part of the country, but you can certainly participate individually, in one of the following manners. Even the smallest actions count: every aluminum can you recycle saves enough energy to keep your TV running for 3 hours. Here’s how you can help:

Stop buying one-time use items like paper towels – use rags instead, and wash them out after use.

• Decline plastic bags at the grocery store – buy a reusable bag, like a chico or saco, and tuck it in your purse.
• Be meat and/or dairy free at least once a week.
• Buy second hand clothes – “ropa americana” stores are everywhere, and you can save money and the planet.
• Stop drinking bottled water – invest in a reusable water container instead.
• Take public transportation or ride your bike to the store or office.
• Plant a tree.
• Invest in a solar-powered phone charger, now available in various stores in Costa Rica.

The United Nations Secretary-General chose Earth Day 2016 for world leaders to sign the historic Paris Climate Agreement at U.N. Headquarters in New York City. 150 world leaders are expected to sign, making it the largest single signing of an international agreement in world history.

Costa Rica’s own Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, had a vital leadership role in the creation of this agreement. It is her final legacy achievement as she has recently stepped down, leaving the world a memorable gift for Earth Day and beyond.

About the Author

Carol Blair Vaughn holds a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts and is a retired college professor from Washington, D.C. She inherited her love for Latin America from her father, the former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia, Panama, and Director of the Peace Corps, Jack Vaughn. Carol writes for the Association of Residents of Costa Rica (ARCR) and for an English language club in the southern region of Costa Rica. In the past, Carol served as Editor in Chief of What’s on Tap magazine.