The Golden Toad has become a story well known to some people. Its name almost mythical and so is its history. It was discovered in 1966 in Costa Rica in the forest of Monteverde, at that time being an abundant species, but has not been seen since 1989.
Having grown up in a country (Costa Rica) where we have witnessed the way several species have disappeared it is impossible for me to sit and not wonder about the reasons why these beings have become extinct.
Many of us grew in rural areas where we could play in rivers, climb trees and had lots of contact with nature, and most of us have seen that same nature being destroyed, by pollution, over population and mass growth of tourism, hotels, international real estate. For us it is sad to see how the beauties that we once treasured so much are coming in to second place when it comes to economy and wealth. We have seen the species suffer and migrate, and when unable to do this, have massive drops in their population.
It is hard to ignore the massive changes in our weather, the fact the 10 years ago we had millions of beatles coming out in May, and now we only have a few each month, all confused when they are supposed to come out of the ground due to weather variations. It is hard to ignore that we lack all those butterfly clouds we used to have, and so many less birds, so many less colors in the sky.
I guess many people are not aware of the consequences of what they do or simply don't care. In my country I think it is very hard to ignore since the facts are almost punching us in the face. It is frustrating to know that this is happening because we are allowing it to occur.
In other countries I guess so much is destroyed or deprived of life, of nature, that people are incapable of appreciating it's beauty, and I'm aware of this by looking at how the gardens are shrinking and how the houses are growing, at how many people enclose themselves in their rock cold cement lives and do not go out to appreciate the freshness of a cool breath of fresh air.
I wonder what we can do to let the people know the importance of life, of growth, of beings other than humans. How can we restart that spark of interest for people to go to the wilderness, to fight for beauty? How can we convince people that an ideal vacation is not to go to an artificial resort, but a place that was created by nature during hundreds of years? And how do we fight the odds and try to save it, and us?
Having grown up in a country (Costa Rica) where we have witnessed the way several species have disappeared it is impossible for me to sit and not wonder about the reasons why these beings have become extinct.
Many of us grew in rural areas where we could play in rivers, climb trees and had lots of contact with nature, and most of us have seen that same nature being destroyed, by pollution, over population and mass growth of tourism, hotels, international real estate. For us it is sad to see how the beauties that we once treasured so much are coming in to second place when it comes to economy and wealth. We have seen the species suffer and migrate, and when unable to do this, have massive drops in their population.
It is hard to ignore the massive changes in our weather, the fact the 10 years ago we had millions of beatles coming out in May, and now we only have a few each month, all confused when they are supposed to come out of the ground due to weather variations. It is hard to ignore that we lack all those butterfly clouds we used to have, and so many less birds, so many less colors in the sky.
I guess many people are not aware of the consequences of what they do or simply don't care. In my country I think it is very hard to ignore since the facts are almost punching us in the face. It is frustrating to know that this is happening because we are allowing it to occur.
In other countries I guess so much is destroyed or deprived of life, of nature, that people are incapable of appreciating it's beauty, and I'm aware of this by looking at how the gardens are shrinking and how the houses are growing, at how many people enclose themselves in their rock cold cement lives and do not go out to appreciate the freshness of a cool breath of fresh air.
I wonder what we can do to let the people know the importance of life, of growth, of beings other than humans. How can we restart that spark of interest for people to go to the wilderness, to fight for beauty? How can we convince people that an ideal vacation is not to go to an artificial resort, but a place that was created by nature during hundreds of years? And how do we fight the odds and try to save it, and us?
