The Addiction of a Lifetime

Since forever, we have learned about all the world’s grievances. Poverty, water scarcity, racism, the list goes on and on. However, there is one to pay particular attention to.

Climate Change. 

A lot of you may ask why? Well, Naomi Klein, a Canadian journalist and author of This Changes Everything, gives us a pretty good explanation. 

It starts with her struggle to understand our complex and ever-changing climate. What world are we leaving to our future children? Will they appreciate the beauty of the Great Coral Reef off the Australian coast? Will they see the beautiful animals roaming Africa’s savannah?

Her explanation of the ongoing Keystone XL pipeline debate gives the reader a good understanding of the local fight in the US and Canada. 

To give a little background, the Tar Sands in Alberta, Canada, are much more difficult to extract than conventional crude. They are Bitumen, a type of fossil fuel that is much more carbon intensive. The burning of bitumen, as you can imagine, would lead to more emissions, more sea-level rise, to more storms, and so on. Besides, the method of extraction is extremely damaging to the surrounding environment. Just take a look for yourself below. 

Published by onearth.org

To turn the page a little, Klein also talks about the curious fact of lower emissions by developed countries. It turns out that due to free trade rules, more manufacturing is being done overseas. This means emissions produced in making a product are instead factored in either at that the site of production and not where they end up – usually the developed countries.

Additionally, the transport of these products causes additional emissions, as tankers move across oceans to deliver their merchandise. Do these emissions get factored into a country’s annual rate? Absolutely not. So this means that while developed countries’ emissions may be going down by recent reports, they may actually be the same or rising.

Lastly, Klein exposes the work some big environmental groups in the United States do. Particularly with The Nature Conservancy, she states that a purchase of a prairie reserve in Texas with donation money from ExxonMobil resulted after a few years in drilling permits to extract oil.

This has caused the endangered prairie chicken – which was the supposed to be protected by The Nature Conservancy – to disappear from the site, as a New York Times article recently stated.

Losing our addiction to cheap and dirty energy is turning out to be very difficult. Unless presented with reliable and affordable alternatives, our governments will continue to cave in to corporate interests and elections to maintain coal jobs and the like. Informing ourselves of the local struggles against oil extraction and of our governmental policies on the environment are the right step to ending our ever-damaging addiction.

Link to NYT article on The Nature Conservancy:

Group Earns Oil Income Despite Pledge on Drilling

The Search for a New Life

As a child, I never knew why we left our home country.

Here I was, 10 years old in a new country that spoke a different language, looked at us differently when we spoke ours, and was – as I heard – the best country in the world.

I was, honestly, perplexed at how clean everything was on our drive from Miami – where we landed – to Orlando. The sleek road, the flashy signs and the big cars. Everything.

That is just one story, but there are countless out there.

Imagine all the people crossing international borders into their new lives. Why are they crossing? Who are they with? Will they make it?

Something that I have learned to appreciate throughout the years, are peoples’ stories. Why are they who they are? Where do they come from? Why do they love apples? Why do they hate oranges?

That’s why, it is all too important to be aware. Not just looking, or listening, but also aware. 

The recent news of people fleeing persecution in Myanmar on boats, and where they’ll end up is a distant and, to some, an “unimportant” issue. Picture yourself on a boat packed with people, little to no food, no heating and missing all the luxuries you have back home. Not pretty, is it?

African migrants in Mediterranean. Source: http://time.com/3827557/migrant-boat-capsizing-mediterranean-europe/

Or the news of African women fleeing rape and genital mutilation either in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or in the north of Nigeria where Boko Haram is rampant. Their route to freedom is not as easy as a plane ride, but rather a long trek to Ceuta or Melilla in Spanish territory found in northern Morocco that often entails sexual labor to pay smugglers or even food.

What if you make it to Ceuta or Melilla? Are you safe there now? No.

Just last April, over 800 migrants died when their boat sank in the Mediterranean. Suddenly, the dreams and aspirations of these people vanished, with only 28 left to tell the tale.

Stories like these remind us that migration is a dangerous, and blinding endeavor. Either we safely arrive at an airport and continue on, or risk our lives by crossing open waters or scorching deserts.

Whatever the outcome, people the world-over seeking a better life take the leap and prefer that to the misfortunes at home.

Let’s be aware, and support peoples’ right to a better life.

A Different Cartagena

The weather in Spain has been beautiful in May. 
Now, it may seem that we spend a lot of money by traveling on a regular basis, but everything is so cheap and affordable that it makes sense to take advantage of the time here.

By booking discounted bus tickets, we made our way to Cartagena, Spain with ALSA and their Supra Economy bus loaded with free water and movies. As some of you might have heard, there is a different Cartagena, one that has recently been acclaimed as a new top destination in South America and Colombia

Honestly, I knew little of Cartagena in Spain. So are a few things that we learned:

 - It is in the region of Murcia
 - Its main economy comes from its Port
 - There are lots of wonderful cats

Photo taken from carnets.parisdescartes.fr

Yes, cats! Locals give stray cats shelter, food and water all year long - so they're everywhere!

The city is small, so it is very easy to walk around in. Plus, the locals are friendly and will help you with anything you need. 

An hour's drive you can find the famed, La Manga beach strip with water on both sides. However, the Cala Cortina beach cove was our winner. It is only 4 km from Cartagena, and as you can see from the picture, it has clear water, rocks surrounding it and a sense of privacy from the world.

Cartagena was wonderful and sunny, and we would recommend it to anyone touring the south of Spain during the warmer weather. 

Ice Cream, Hiking, and the Sun

This past May 1^st we took the opportunity to explore the south of Spain for a change. This time our travels took us to Malaga. 

Traveling can be cheap, but with added bonuses of course. What I mean are the cockroaches – yes those little critters that we all love – that rode with us from Madrid to Malaga on the bus we took. Constant thumping was heard, and a few shrieks as well, but at the end we made peace with the critters and continued on our way to the south of Spain. 

It is often said that arriving somewhere early is convenient, but not when you get there at 5 a.m. after a crazy bus ride by the driver. 

It was cold and empty. We tried to sleep at a mall and were told not to. We contacted our Airbnb host prior and said he would let us in at 6 a.m., but he fell asleep and did not respond for three hours. Ok, it sounds like the trip started on the wrong foot, but it got better – trust me. 

The weather was a blessing, with beautiful skies and a warm beach sun with some sun burn to follow. Ice cream was enjoyed – on several occasions, and we visited the famous Alcazaba and Gibralfaro. The views were great but the hike to the Gibralfaro was exhausting – too much ice cream I know. 

At the end, Malaga was what Andalucía offers to the rest of Spain – a break from the stress of life.