Epilogue: Perdido en la Amazonia

And now my personal stories of the Amazon are finished. Some of you may have gotten a giggle from the thought of me trying to talk to a drunk skinny Spanish speaking tall man, others a reminder about an important life lesson taught by monkeys, and still others recalling the confusing times of having two roads in front of you. These stories were all personal and contained life lessons that everyone must encounter, but I think there is something even more important and more pressing than the personal life stories of a girl such as me. I originally stated that I was writing to convince not to entertain or educate and that is what I intend to do directly now. 

You all know that as an individual, I am personally committed to the field of education and limiting the effects of poverty worldwide but as part of the human race I can not ignore what has happened and what is happening to the Amazon. This place is not only a metaphor for life, for innovation, for progress but also a reality of life and of death. Every choice that a person who lives in the developed world makes has an effect on the Amazon, a place that encompasses only 3% of the planets land mass but houses over 50% of its species.The gas in the car you drive now or the 30 minute hot steaming shower you just took may well have been from the 5 hectares in the Amazon that was just cleared of its trees to install a new oil pump. When trees are removed from the Amazon people, very poor people, are displaced, as are animals, types of animals that you can't even begin to imagine, not to mention the ecosystems that die. These are irreplaceable effects that we can control. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have and do enjoy certain comforts of life. In fact the last car I bought was a CRV, I am more than guilty of staying in hot showers for a very, very long time, and if given $100 to spend on anything I wanted I would most definitely buy things that I don't particularly need. However, now that I've been to the Amazon and I've seen its power and its grace I realize how connected all of our decisions are to the rest of the world. I see how very small this very large world is. Now, I ask myself  a single question every time I find myself consuming or wanting to consume. It's a big thinking question, one that doesn't necessarily have just one good answer. I'll write that question down here if you like but if you read it you might not like the answer you come up with. Are you sure you are ready?. Are you sure you can handle it, trying to find and actually sticking to your answer is not an easy task?

Okay, here goes:

Do I really need this?

For me the answer lies in a concept I will borrow from economics, that of opportunity-cost. When you choose to do or buy something that will make your life simpler yes, you  may be gaining time, but time for what? How many of you actually use that time for good rather than fill it with more things to do? Not to mention the opportunity-cost of those that are in the "other" world, those that are supporting your actions through their low-paying and strenuous jobs and that you rarely think about. I’m not saying conserving the Amazon is the only answer, although it plays a big part, but I am saying it is a symbol of something much bigger, a symbol that we are all connected, every single one of us. You, of course, need to answer such a question on your own.

I of course have a couple of suggestions to help you along:

You could perhaps watch a new movie, although biased, about the indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon and the oil companies...I hear it even won some awards at Sun Dance last year.

Much rather read, check out these cool suggestions from a guy called No Impact Man.

Or you could spend your summer months getting involved like my friend and coworker did this past summer in the Brazilian Amazon.

Want to spend some money? You could get yourself some rainforest trees. How cool is that? "Yeah, I own some property. It's in a rainforest." Great opener, I'd continue to talk to you.

And, If you can get yourself to Quito, one of the cheapest South American cities to fly into, you'll only have to shell out  $200 for a  4 day all inclusive trip into the Amazon to see for yourself what I keep jabbering on about.

The answers really are endless. What it really comes down to is choices. Everyday you are handed a million choices, most of which are designed to make your life easier. Today I challenge you to make a harder one. I promise you it is worth, if not for you than for those that have less than you and those that will come after you.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Another detour…A Pinch of Prevention

After my last post on the earthquake in Haiti I've decided to bring the conversation here as a compliment to the conversation I've had in both the classes I teach.

Starting in 2000 I began volunteering at the Red Cross, first as an intern in the Butte County branch, then as disaster preparedness and first aid instructor at the Palo Alto and Santa Clara Valley chapters. Eventually my volunteering led to a job which eventually led to my first management position in a large international organization. Since switching gears and moving into the education sector, something I would not have known to do without my experiences at the Red Cross, I have kept abreast of the field through brief volunteering stints but mostly through the media and conversations with old colleagues.

From this I have come to believe in two things that guide my actions and thoughts when responding to natural disasters such as the Chilean and Haitian earthquakes, the floods in Peru, the hurricanes that will hit the Caribbean and east of the American continent soon and any other natural disaster that may come in one day or twenty years from now. First and foremost, natural disasters are the biggest threat to the stability of any countries people, economically and socially, no matter the current economic and social status of said country at the time of the disaster. And number two, prevention and preparedness efforts can and will reduce those effects.

Our current outlook on prevention must change. Right now there is no ownership over prevention and preparedness. Much like the US's current health care system, we prefer to pay for things after the fact even when we know it would be cheaper to prevent it, especially with disasters. That being said there are many individual and innovative programs out there in all fields, engineering, business, education, design. Who will step up to coordinate these projects, small businesses/nonprofits, and individual ventures? If they operate alone they will not gain the impact that is needed. If they become a part of a larger organization they risk getting lost in a bureaucracy (which I have seen too many a time).

Now is the time for a shift in priorities especially with two of the most devastating earthquakes in recent time still on our collective minds. Whose responsibility is it to lead such an effort? The government, NGO's, the free-market? Any bright ideas or organizations you know of already working on this?