Reason #271: Latin Low-Consumption Lifestyle
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
I have written before about my view that “American-style” consumerism is at the root of many problems the world faces. Often I have contrasted that with what prevails here in Costa Rica, which, comparatively speaking, is a low consumption society…although the influx of gringos the last few years threatens to change all that. Now granted, low consumption isn’t for everybody, I understand that. But if, just if, enough people lived this way, I believe the earth would be a better place. What exactly am I getting at with this idea of L-cubed, or a Latin Low-Consumption Lifestyle? Let me provide some examples…and as always, there are exceptions! But exceptions don’t make the rules. In Costa Rica, we don’t use appliances such as dishwashers and clothes dryers that consume an inordinate amount of electricity. We use ”suicide showers” rather than energy wasting hot water heaters. In the higher altitudes of Costa Rica, like the Central Valley, no one uses air condition, nor heat. Down on the coast that may be a different story, at least for A/C, but not really if you live high enough to cool things down a bit while enjoying an ocean breeze at the same time (yes, there are places where you can ”have your cake and eat it too” in Costa Rica). In Costa Rica, we grow our own fruit, or it may just be growing on its own, right in your backyard. We don’t need to buy our fruit and produce from industrialized farms that are depleting the soil and poisoning it and us with pesticides. In Costa Rica we get most of our energy from renewable sources, like wind, water and solar. In Costa Rica we generally buy used cars of the compact variety and then drive them to the last kilometer…this is in large part due to the ridiculously high cost of new imports, but it helps keep our consumption rate low compared to other “more developed” societies. In Costa Rica we protect the environment because we realize it is the main reason we get up every morning with a smile on our faces, not to mention the dollars it brings from others who would like to enjoy a similar experience. I could go on, but you should catch my drift. Now, mind you, those living in a place like Detroit can’t do some of these low consumption things and probably don’t even want to. Great, as part and parcel of a low-consumption and earth-friendly attitude of life, is maintaining a non-judgmental mindset of live and let live. But those of you who are intrigued by what I am talking about, come on down, the water is very very nice!
So Obama didn’t change his colors last night and “move to the center” as many predicted in the face of relentless political pressure. Maybe that is because he really does believe in what he is trying to accomplish. After all, the U.S. elected him to do just that, didn’t they….that is, bring about “change.” I am afraid what you have with Obama is a bit of a horse of a different color. Sure he is savvy enough to know how to play the Washington political game. But his assertion last night at the end of the speech that “I don’t quit” is telling. More than likely it sent a shiver up the collective spines of his most stalwart detractors. It also signals a degree of backbone that is rare is Washington, D.C. I am not talking about a tough-guy swagger that stems from an air of superiority, as in a George Bush. I am talking about a genuine belief that evening the playing field and making things better, not just for those who already are more than well off, but for everyone is the right course of action to stick to. A belief that will not yield to political pressure from any side, left, right or center. Because in the end that conviction is not about politics, it is about justice, social justice. It is about simply doing the right thing. It is about coming into office with a set of unbending priorities and seeing those through no matter which way the political winds might be blowing. It is a rare and refreshing thing to see in a Washington politician. Maybe, just maybe, Obama is another one of those rare politicians that appears once in a generation, usually when the nation needs it most. But, then again, we’ll just have to see, now won’t we? Just remember, Glenn Beck would have probably had even a harsher opinion of Franklin Roosevelt, maybe even of Lincoln, if he had been around at the time. Think about it.
From my experience it seems that as soon as you feel satisfied with the status quo, that things seem to be “running on all cylinders,” suddenly and unexpectedly weird things begin to happen. It seems at times that these random events derive from forces that are conspiring against you. Investing in the stock market is a good example. Sometimes it seems that a stock goes down in price simply because I chose to buy it! In science and mathematics, “chaos theory” states that “small differences in initial conditions (such as those due to rounding errors in numerical computation) yield widely diverging outcomes for chaotic systems, rendering long-term prediction impossible in general.” This is known as the “butterfly effect.” An example would be rolling a ball down a steep hill. Where it ends up depends on very minute differences in its initial positioning. Lately at work things have gotten a little chaotic. Although I am not sure if my business meets the literal definition of a “chaotic system,” it certainly seems apt to widely divergent outcomes that defy the ability for accurate prediction. That can be very frustrating. What is the answer? Well according to the theory one has to look closely at the “initial conditions.” How things are initially set up seems to go a long way towards establishing and maintaining order in the system. I, being a “loosey goosey” or “fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” sort of bloke, often experience chaos in things I initiate. Therefore, I believe the answer lies in initiating them more wisely by establishing systems of order that work to combat against the inevitable chaos. A very simple example is a checklist that is consistently followed. Ensuring that things are done the same way every time, much like a Tiger Woods golf-swing, helps keep the ball on an even and straight trajectory. Problem is that no one likes a checklist…they are boring. But the results of allowing chaos to reign on your parade can be far more painful than enduring a little bit of boredom. What does all this have to do with Costa Rica? Well Costa Rica is a place where chaotic forces work overtime. In a place so overwhelmingly “natural” that should not come as a surprise. The natural world has always mystified us and usually does defy accurate prediction. But if you look closely there is amazing order and purpose in the behaviour of ecosystems, much more so than in us humans who often do things for wacky or utterly senseless reasons. An it is in our erratic doing that we often become undone. Intermittent bouts of order and chaos are contrary forces that we are destined to experience and I believe it is a great lesson of life to learn to manage them wisely. To go through life suffering the illusion that “it is all under control” is the height of arrogance and delusion…it isn’t (at least not under YOUR control) and admitting as much can serve you well.
You probably don’t know this, but Costa Rica is on the verge of electing its next President. One of the candidates, Luis Fishman, who entered the race to replace Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier, who was convicted in a corruption scandal and is now under house arrest, has adopted a campaign slogan of “menos malo,” which basically means I am less bad than the others. Still bad, mind you, but less bad. That is kind of like when you hear someone say it’s the “god’s honest truth.” Well, what other kind is there? And all those other things you said, I guess they weren’t? I am not too keen on this Fishman guy, who is about as environmentally savvy as, say, Donald Trump. The prospect of a Fishman administration (which will never happen as his ridiculous campaign slogan has made him a virtual joke among the ticos), inspires visions of Costa Rica becoming a tropical parking lot, with a few trees left standing to give it that rain forest feeling. I am not going to pick sides (although I do have my favorite in the race) because not being tico, nor a resident, I actually am not supposed to. But I will use this absurd attempt to get elected to point out my disdain for politicians who run more for the power than for the people. The big news in the U.S. is the election of Scott Brown as the first Republican Senator from Massachusetts in a long time (I think like 40 years). Brown seems like a nice enough guy (and, hey, he does drive a truck). But what’s funny, no actually cynical, is the media’s reaction (primarily Fox News) to the whole thing. Boy the Democrats are in trouble now. Health care reform has been declared “dead on arrival” because after the Brown victory politicians will be deathly afraid to touch it and spoil any hopes of re-election. Well, that assumes that getting re-elected is more important than actually accomplishing something. It appears that Obama is taking the Brown victory with a grain of salt and nevertheless pushing forward with the idea of health care reform. Is he nuts? No, he is just determined that his administration will be more about doings things that matter, than it is about staying in power. Health care reform has never happened before because there was no one willing to take the heat from opposing forces. Forces that don’t care if the poorest have access to the finest health care system on the planet, but are more concerned about avoiding any pinch to their purse strings in order to fund a massive government program. Of course it would be massive, the country is massive and massive solutions are needed to cure massive problems. I hope that Obama continues the course and does not take the road of “menos malo.”
Yesterday I spent the day at the Maleku Indigenous Reserve in Guatuso. My guide for this adventure was a Maleku Indian with the Spanish name of Elias Elizondo Castro, but whose Maleku name is Jaquima, which means lover of nature. And Jaquima really did love nature. He took me on a walk through a nature preserve that the Malekus are trying to reforest and restore to the condition that their ancestors enjoyed. Jaquima was able to explain the medicinal and dietary qualities of a whole host of plants. The Malekus are a tribe known for their love of nature. There are only about 650 left in Costa Rica. They are extraordinary artisans. At the end of the visit, Jaquima and other members of his family put on a ancient ceremonial demonstration. It was a ceremony in homage to the natural world that sustains them. At the end Jaquima made a little speech, in Spanish, that basically points out that all humans are basically the same…the only difference is what we hold in our hearts and heads. The truth in that simple statement startled me and made me think. All the destruction that takes place in this world at the hands of human beings really does come down to differences in the way we think, doesn’t it? The way we think about politics, or religion, or our different customs, habits and traditions. We don’t like people who think differently and often that dislike manifests in an attempt to either change those thoughts, by force or persuasion, to be in conformity with our own, or to just eliminate the difference altogether. The fact that there were once thousands of Malekus and now only a few hundred is a testimony to that. The fact that the virgin forest they once hunted and gathered in is now gone, is a testimony to that. A pattern of thought and action that is both in harmony with what we all have in common and in harmony with the natural world that sustains our very existence, may be a better way than a competitive pattern that proclaims “fall in line, or be defeated.” For the truth is when one group of humans suffer defeat at the hands of this Draconian drama of life that we impose upon ourselves unnecessarily, we all suffer. In the little village near Guatuso, the prophet Jaquima speaks words of wisdom and harmony that should resound in the hearts and minds of a divided and defeated humanity.
My very first post to this blog was on July 3, 2008, over a year and a half ago. With this post I begin the last 100, the march towards completion of my 365th reason! Writing this thing has been a real labor of love for me. It has kind of morphed into something I never intended it to be. I started off with marketing ploy visions dancing through my head, but as I began to write the exercise turned into one of personal catharsis. Sure I could have made it more marketable and likely have attracted more readers in the process, but you know I am happy with what I have done and I think that’s more important. One thing I will “pat myself on the back about” is that what once was an idea actually became a reality….and that is sometimes a rare thing, especially for me. I wrote a daily distinction today that addresses the long list of things I have thought about doing, but just never quite seem to get around to…it goes like this: Great ideas without follow through aren’t worth the paper they’re written on AND are a waste of the “grey matter” that conjured them. All too often I am much better at thinking laudable thoughts than doing laudable deeds. Ever get that feeling? Wonder why that is? Certainly doing generally entails a certain amount of perceived pain…be it fear of falling flat on one’s face, or some other conjured calamity. But achievement without action usually just doesn’t happen in the real world we live in. If it does happen for you, the results are usually a bit fleeting and certainly not very rewarding (take a look at what happens to most lottery winners…they end up poorer than they started). So I hope (no, I expect) that in 2010 I will stop thinking so much and begin doing a little more. Oh, what will I do once I reach the 365th reason, you ask? That’s for me to know and for you to find out! How’s that for a marketing ploy?
I can remember on one of my first trips to Costa Rica, back in October of 2001, I believe, when the owner of the university I was working for paid for me and my assistant to take a trip over to the Caribbean side. I wanted to do a little surfing and they chose for me the tiny village of Cahuita (which has since become one of my favorite beach spots and a place I have written about often). We stayed in a little thatched roof bungalow. It wasn’t “shangri la” by any means and one of the most interesting things about this early tropical experience was the shower. The water was heated right at the tap with a contraption I am now quite familiar with….the so-called “suicide shower.” I remember being completely ignorant about what it was, what it was for, or how it worked. It scared the crap out of me. I started fiddling with the thing and received a nice shock….okay I decided, better just to go shower-less for this experience. After learning what these devices were for and that they were quite common in the country, I vowed as a citizen of the U.S., not in my house! As I moved from place to place in the course of the last nine years I have always demanded to have a traditional U.S.-style energy guzzling hot water heater. That is, until now. I currently live in a nice home in San Jose that came equipped with suicide showers in every bathroom. I liked the place so much that I conceded that maybe I could live with these things. And you know what, they aren’t that bad. I don’t really believe they deserve their nickname. I haven’t seen any hard data, but I doubt anyone has actually died taking a shower in one. They are also much easier on the environment. You only receive hot water “on demand” rather than having a tank that is working to replenish a supply of hot water 24/7. Also, in order to get the temperature “just right” you have to turn down the volume a bit, thus conserving water as well. Could you imagine how much energy and water could be saved if everyone in the U.S. switched to one of these? I know there are other ways, such as solar heated tanks, but what if the sun isn’t shining? Judging from the typical tourist reaction to the contraptions, I don’t believe my suggestion would go over that well. In fact, I am not so naive as to believe any suggestion I make in this blog would ever actually be followed…..I just get a kick out of being outrageous! Certain things are simply taken for granted in the U.S., such as a great big old electricity sucking hot water heater. I guess the rest of us down here in the “third-world” will have to keep taking up the slack of American-style consumerist environmental damage risking our collective lives while taking suicide showers. They’re actually kind of cool, once you get used to them.
First of all, my heart goes out to the people of Haiti who have experienced a disaster of unfathomable proportions. It is the earthquake of Cinchona, which hit home right here in Costa Rica this time last year, times 1000. Costa Rica certainly has its share of Haitian immigrants (no it is not just to the U.S. that people run to escape misery). One in particular that I know personally is Jonas, who is the security guard at the commercial complex where my office used to be (and where Lily still has her business). Jonas is a humble and soft-spoken man of about six foot five and two-hundred fifty or more pounds. The delinquents that used to cause havoc around the complex suddenly disappeared when Jonas arrived. I have not had a chance to speak with him about the disaster, but surely someone in his or his wife’s family has been affected by this widespread tragedy. There is probably no one who is connected with Haiti who has not been affected in some tragic way. Obama’s swift reaction to the disaster is a testament to his sensitivity and connection to all people of the world. He, like Bill Clinton, is a true compassionate leader. And then we have those, like Rush Limbaugh, whose counter-reaction was just as swift. Of course, anything Obama does will be roundly criticized as if it were their jobs to find something to gripe about, even a compassionate response to a horrific disaster. What could possibly be the motive for such an idiotic reaction as when Rush implied that Obama’s compassionate response was an attempt to “curry favor with blacks in the U.S.?” The absurdity of such a statement needs no further explanation….the motives behind it warrant some investigation. Of course, pundits like Limbaugh and Beck are rewarded financially by being outrageous and fomenting similar outrageousness in their viewers…it boosts ratings and contributes to the addictive attraction of those who tune in regularly. There is also this element of pandering to a feeling of U.S. superiority, as if the U.S. were the only nation on earth either willing or able to help out the Haitians (of course completely untrue, I read yesterday that Arias has also pledged support). Finally, there is the always present appeal to the almighty dollar. An appeal that questions whether the U.S. should help when times are tough, jobs are few and government budgets are in the red. Well, the answer to that is that natural disasters usually aren’t timed to coincide with economic prosperity. What is the implication? That the richest nation on earth can only help in an up economy? How absurd and how shameful. Obama’s reaction was exactly the right one and I can only hope that even the faithful followers of Rush Limbaugh can see through his ulterior motives as being entirely un-American, even un-human.
I have written often and quite fondly, generally, in this blog about the culture of Costa Rica. However, there is a rich and diverse culture that to my shame I have neglected to mention, until now. It is often said, and even taught in schools here, that when the Spanish arrived, the so-called “conquistadors,” they found mostly virgin forests, towering mountains and beautiful coasts. That, in contrast to other parts of Central America, there were very few in the way of indigenous groups inhabiting this wild and exotic new frontier. Well, that perspective of past events really belies the truth. In reality there was a diverse population of indigenous living in almost all parts of the country. In fact, an excellent short synopsis of Costa Rican history entitled aptly, Historia de Costa Rica (in both English and Spanish versions), by professors Ivan Molina and Steven Palmer, claims that around the year 1500, when the Spanish first arrived, there were like 400,000 indigenous in the territory now known as Costa Rica. Well, these days those numbers have diminished a bit, as one might imagine. Nevertheless, there is a rich and diverse indigenous culture that remains in Costa Rica, although it is often neglected and forgotten by the rapidly growing tourism industry. One of the best ways to get to know this culture is through the incredible quality of arts and crafts they produce. From the ornamental and terrifying masks of the Brunkas that inhabit the territory south of Buenos Aires to the pre-columbian style ceramic pottery of the virtually extinct (or, assimilated) Chorotegas on the Nicoya peninsula, the indigenous of Costa Rica were and still are true artisans in every sense of the word. While Costa Rica’s indigenous do enjoy government protection, they nevertheless suffer some of the most extreme poverty known to the country. The largest group is the Cabecares that inhabit diverse small villages deep in the Talamanca Mountain range. Just getting to these people is an arduous adventure, which is why they tend to remain isolated from the rest of Costa Rican civilization. Other groups include the Malekus, Bribris, Guaymies, Huetares and Terrabas (eight groups in all). I am currently developing a project to display their beautiful works of art online and increase awareness of this forgotten culture of Costa Rica. Stay tuned for more.
I was having a discussion last night over a few cold ones with an old friend that turned philosophical. He was explaining to me that the difference between the likes of a Che Guevara and, say, a Mohandas Gandhi, is that the former is more human and the later more spiritual. At first blush the statement seemed cogent, but upon reflection it began to bother me….to the point I got up this morning ready to write! No, my old friend, you cannot separate the two. I believe one of the great fallacies of humankind, and the one that probably did Che in, is the attempt to separate them, the human and the spiritual, that is. Why? Because we are both. Che’s ideals were borne of his spirituality. His attempt to carry out those ideals with harsh practicality and realism were all too human. When we deny our spirituality we suddenly become capable of abject meanness, cruelty, even sadism. The Nazi regime is a testimony to just how far our “humanness” can be taken in the context of a spiritual void. I believe it is our spiritual side that recognizes and upholds the sacred and the sanctity that gives human life meaning. A human life is never a means to and end, but the end itself and therefore it can never be right to extinguish it….no matter how different it may be from yours, in action, belief, or characteristic. Men like Gandhi and King realized that and therefore we elevate them to a level of human sainthood, while Che remains on a much more controversial level. I believe the ideals of Che were right on…it was his means of carrying those out that I question…a means that attempted to separate their spiritual birth and the human action he perceived necessary to implement them. The spiritual side whispered, “all life is valuable,” whereas the human side shouted “patria o muerte.” In so doing many lives were lost, as is usually the case, and that is an unjustifiable consequence, in my opinion. Could those same ideals have been implemented differently, even more successfully? Ask Gandhi….ask King. Despite our vast differences, there is a spiritual element that unites all humanity with immortality and it is that element that provides hope and light to a sometimes dark world.
