Welcome

My name is Josh and I am a student at the Robert J. Lister Academy. My mission in this class is to go to Monteverde, Costa Rica to study the native plant and wildlife. The reason I want to study those subjects is because I have always been interested in foreign countries and nature. I also want to study the geographical terrain for my future plans of joining the military when I am of age. We need to raise about $1,800 per person to be able to go. We have done alot of hard work already. This is not a vacation - this is a learning opportunity of a lifetime. We have a class we are taking and we will be studying topics like the economy, ecology, world affairs, etc. Another reason I want to go is because I have never left the country. This will change my life to be exposed to a new culture besides here in America. The reason it will be a life changing experience is because most people do not get the chance to leave the country, and I could be one of them. I also want to see what it is like in a country without a military, unlike America. In a place like America, everywhere you look there is some type of military image. I want to see how the people of Costa Rica live without a military. In Costa Rica, I will study hard, and make the best of the time spent there.



Friday, October 1, 2010

Chapter 4

This post is about chapter 4 in the book Walking With Wolf.




One of the things that I found interesting in this chapter was how long it took to hook up to public water lines. When Wolf and the other Quakers started of in Costa Rica they had to dig wells to get a water supply but even then there was not much water. Another way the got water was by natural springs and streams. Even though it was coming from the ground the were always concerned about pollution in the water. It was after 1962 when they finally hooked up to a public water line.


Another thing that I found interesting was how long it took to get public power rather than a generator powering the towns or having no power at all. Before 1957 people of Monteverde had no power in their homes. In 1957 Reuben Rockwell built a hydroelectric plant just a few miles away. But the only problem was there was no power during the day due to the power going to the sawmill. They did not get public power until 1990.


The reason I find these things interesting is because we have had both for over 80 years now.



Today, here in America, people freak out if they do not have power for more than 12 hours where in Costa Rica they just got it 20 years ago. During the ice storm back in December of 2008, most people lost power for almost a week. I did not have it for three days and it was really horrible, especially where my generation was raised with electronics.



In conclusion, I think that this is important because they are really new to modern technology compared to us.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Josh!
    I"m super impressed with all your classes blogs, and yours is not to be missed in that!!! LOVE the waterfalls behind!
    I think it's interesting that you addressed our dependence as North Americans, to electricity. There are a lot of movements in Costa Rica to change the water systems (read: there BEAUTIFULLY PRISTINE RIVERS) to build dams and get power. My tico friends who live in the small towns along rivers are so against this because the ecosystem dependent on the river's structure and water quality are threatened with dams. It also ends up having a huge impact on one of Costa Rica's main economy- adventure tourism. The rafting, kayaking and river sports are compromised when the dams change any entire river -- rapids that were once there, no longer exist at the same water lever etc....
    These same friends also saw the electricity as less important (than we do clearly) - because they live of the land and have a cookstove and generator when needed.
    Here is a facebook page if you're interested in checking out more on the dam protests:
    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Savegre-River-Costa-RIca/265106427147
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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  2. Here's another link for el rio Pacuare if you're interested:
    http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/costarica/3349.html

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