Over this past week, I visited the beautiful country of Costa Rica. As I looked around, I noticed many things that were different than in the U.S. I did not drink out of a single plastic straw, and hardly saw plastic bottles around me. The air felt cleaner there – and this is because 99% of Costa Rica’s energy is renewable. In the U.S., about 20% of our energy is renewable. ¹

There’s a lot that people could say to a lifestyle like this – non-renewable energy gives people jobs, the money to build renewable energy systems would cost the country, the country’s money should be going towards different issues. All these things can be said, but Costa Rica is proof that having a majority of renewable energy is possible if we wish it to be so. Additionally, jobs are created by caring for renewable energy and renewable energy saves money for the people by not having to pay high electric bills. To add on, climate change is an issue that is hurting people and creates problems such as poverty and displacement. Finally, renewable energy keeps the planet cleaner, protecting the environment and the world’s people. 

Sometimes climate change is considered to not be as pressing an issue as poverty, hunger, and disease. While these are problems that must immediately be attended to, global warming is often times the fuse for them. Changing weather causes areas to be drier than normal, so it is more difficult to grow crops, leading to hunger. With a lack of healthy food, disease is rampant because people’s immune systems are not strong. I see many video clips of flooded rivers that are being filmed to illustrate the effects of climate change. This is due to the fact that water is evaporating from bodies of water quicker, so in turn the precipitation heightens. ²

When rivers are flooded because of this increase in rainfall, people are displaced and have to leave their home and livelihood behind, which only leads to more poverty. Climate change is around us in many of the issues we face, and trying to prevent it won’t necessarily end all of the other problems but will certainly lessen them.    

The lesson I learned from seeing how it can be a reality to live in a country that thrives off of almost one hundred percent renewable energy inspired me to write this post, and I think it is important we continue to advocate for changes like these. For me at least, I know I cannot simply convert the U.S.’s energy usage to renewable overnight, but by sharing our opinions with each other and people in power maybe this dream can come true someday.

1. https://www.energy.gov/eere/renewable-energy#:~:text=Renewable%20Energy%20in%20the%20United,that%20percentage%20continues%20to%20grow.
2. https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-river-flooding#:~:text=As%20warmer%20temperatures%20cause%20more,see%20the%20Heavy%20Precipitation%20indicator).