The good side and the bad side of paradise

I've really enjoyed myself on this trip to the surf camp. After having spent a couple of months re-acclimating to life by US standards, it was refreshing to get back to Central America. I haven't really even left WRSC the entire time I've been here. Why would I, except for the daily surf sessions out in front. I totally lied to you about the web cam. It is now Tuesday morning and it still hasn't gotten working, the new reason is now that we need some special router which has been ordered and is being air shipped from magic routerlandia. Actually that too is a lie, as the router man just showed up while I was enjoying my morning coffee and says it should be show time shortly. After living in Central America for this long I have learned patience, it will happen when its ready I suppose. The new Witch's Rock surfboards are here, and we've begun retrofitting the original board cage area to house the new boards. They are totally beautiful. I've been surfing on a 9'6 longboard, really really fun. Its kindof a shame to surf such a beautiful thing, almost like these boards should remain hung on the wall in the trophy room of your house, but thats a sin and surfboards were made to be surfed. The rain stopped and it was nice most all of this past week, which has been great. Right now its pissing down rain as I write this, but it seems to only be lasting for a short while. The countryside here has been devastated with rain. Its been crazy. The Tamarindo River literally takes a left turn at the beach and flows right in front of the camp now, and at low tides you can see tons of lava rock that never used to exist in front of the camp before. The Tico Times called this year as having more rain than in the last 30 years. I was surprised to see that the local papers had picked up the blue flag report, which was testing the local water quality at the storm drains. As if nobody realized that the overconstruction of Tamarindo would have any negative effects, it was made apparent that all of this growth has the negative side affect of pollution. no kidding. I'm quite happy that this is the case though, as I hope that the people of Tamarindo who never thought about this before take the time to reflect upon the future. The ocean is such a beautiful thing, lets try and keep it that way. If it floats, it ends up in the ocean sooner or later. I remember that phrase from a high school assembly, which motivated me to later start a Surfrider group called the Ocean Awareness Club at UCSD. Now I sit in the Skybox and I think about how Otis is going to grow up at the camp, and how special the surf camp is, and how much I want to fight to keep things the way they are. Having grown up in San Diego, we always knew that when it rained one wasn't supposed to go surf for 72 hours. However sad it may be to have to apply this lifestyle to Central America, a lack of infrastructure (due to a lack of government involvement and missing tax dollars) is to blame. I actually believe that people are inherently good and that if they knew options to do good, they would do so. I have therefore written up a list of ten things that I can do to save Tamarindo (and the planet for that matter). Wherever you live, these principles should apply to you to. I feel like God is watching over us right now, and telling us its up to us to step up and stop all of this bullshit on earth. Seriously, I'm ashamed to be a human being sometimes. There is some unit of time used to describe how frequently species of animal life are going extinct from planet earth, and its in the seconds. Should I be stoked to be having another child or scared? I feel like that guy on the original Terminator that had to go back in time to procreate my own son so that in the future he could destroy the terminator machines and all of the humans could go on living (and it didn't look like that cool of a future either). So, back to my point, if this list makes sense to you, and I hope that it does, pass it on to someone you know. Email me anything to add to this list, and I'll update it all on the website http://www.zephyrecoproject.com I am trying to collect as much information as possible, to write as many articles as possible, and to send as many people as possible to zephyrecoproject.com in an attempt to explain what every person can do to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem. Next week I'm flying to Chicago to attend the Greenbuild Expo, http://www.greenbuildexpo.org. This is really exciting, not only for Tamarindo but for Costa Rica and the rest of the world for that matter. I'm very stoked to read "At Greenbuild 2007 we'll explore "Accelerating Green Communities" with outstanding educational sessions, exciting speakers, special events and tours, and our largest exhibit hall ever." That means I'm there. My plan is to return to Costa Rica with as many sustainable technologies as possible, ones that can be implemented quickly and inexpensively, ones that can be used to explain to developers that they can build something sustainable AND profitable. I guess the part of this whole situation that bothers me more than anything is the cycle I've seen since living here for 7 years. Every rainy season, for about 8 weeks or so in September and October, people realize that "hey, its rainy a lot, and the rivers are flowing out into the ocean (as they've always done), and the water quality isn't as good as it normally is (duh), and I don't like it". Hey, I don't like it either. In fact, I'm quite sick of being at the end of the chain, at the lowest elevation in Tamarindo. Everyone upstream dumps and it gets sent downstream, right past us, and out to the ocean. This simple feat of gravity is still foreign to most, who don't consider the impact of theri actions. Unless you're part of the solution, you ARE the problem. Sadly, in another 2-3 weeks the rainy season will be long forgotten, and people will hang up this issue until next September and October. I could see it even last night, even in October our restaurant/bar was packed full of customers and standing room only. I can only imagine what it will be like in the high season, when this town is packed full of tourists and everyone is smiling and everyone is selling real estate and everyone is talking about how much bigger town is etc etc. Maybe everyone should be talking about organizing a beach cleanup, or a car wash using recycled water, or going to the city and asking what is happening to the millions of dollars in tax revenue that isn't being reinvested in infrastructure. What about going to these HUGE development projects, with 300 construction workers and no septic system, and demanding standards? What about resolving only to buy a home or condo that has a treatment plant or at least some sort of logical means of existence. I don't mean to ramble on and on atop my soap box, I'm still very much happy to be here instead of most anywhere else. I do think that it is time however for us as human beings to start questioning our actions and telling ourselves "I will be part of the solution." Pass it on please.

Obviously this applies to residents of Tamarindo, Costa Rica, but it could just as easily be Tamarindo, Texas.
START TODAY
1. - Outsource your laundry service
If you live in Tamarindo, the chances are that you live close to the ocean. This means there isn't much earth under your house and the town's water table. There are no detergents that are 100% friendly, so the less water that is processed along our beach, the better. Unless your laundry service provider uses a water treatment plant, if they are close to a water source (quebrada, stream, river, estuary, ocean, etc) they are contaminating the water table to some degree. Laundry services with treatment plants or those located further inland are best.

2. - Plant more vegetation around your home
Vegetation helps absorb rainwater and general runoff. Vegetation also helps prevent erosion. It is also much more beautiful than just concrete, be it a personal preference. Without vegetation, water flows easier downstream and out to the ocean, picking up everything in it's path.

3. - Oversee construction projects personally
Are you planning on building a house, commercial building, condos, etc? You have more control than anyone else! Uphold strict standards throughout your construction site. Pay for a temporary toilet service for your construction workers (even if your construction company doesn't offer to pay for it), complete your septic system before it is being used, and make sure that trash is being properly disposed.
If you're not building something, chances are someone you know is. Demand construction standards from everyone. Don't be afraid of trying to work positively with those you don't know to help implement positive change. Take a walk around the neighborhood and make notes of home and business owners that appear to be a gross polluter. Working together in a positive fashion yields better results then aggressive behavior.

4. - Report illegal dumping
After that truck pumps your septic tank, do you have any idea where it goes?
If you witness a septic service truck dumping illegally in an estuary, quebrada, or any zone not designated for this purpose, report them to city officials immediately. If you suspect a local home, business, condo building, temporary structure, etc. dumping illegally, take photos. Request to speak to the administration for an explanation of the situation. Be pleasant and unassuming unless it is proven. Take any legal means possible to end anything like this, such as using the denuncia process.
Report any gross polluters' activity to ZEPHYRECOPROJECT@GMAIL.COM
As a community we can shine light on both those helping the community and those hurting the community.

5. - Don't litter. Pick up someone else's trash. Feel good.
Consider your neighbors downhill/downstream/down the street!
When you have the mansion or condo project on the top of the hill, all of your trash, sewage, and building chemicals go downstream and out into the ocean unless you dispose of them properly. This town wasn't put here for your development project, please treat the rest of us with some respect. If you didn't realize this simple principle until now, consider yourself educated and please stop so we can go surfing without getting sick. REMEMBER- IF IT FLOATS, IT WILL END UP IN THE OCEAN.
Try picking up ten pieces of trash everyday (trash that someone else threw on the ground).

6. - Visit your government office and demand more
Where do our tax dollars go? When will the country decide that Tamarindo's growth (Santa Cruz municipality has more growth than any other municipality in the country) deserves a central treatment plant? When will Coopeguanacaste offer utility credits for homes/business wanting to tie into the grid and feed electricity back to the community? When where there be incentives for green construction? A sad fact is that most developers are only interested in how much money they make in any given project, so to connect to them you must show them the financial benefit to sustainable development. The government isn't doing anything about this, and the result is this current chaos.
It is a FACT in this country that the more you visit government officials, and the more of a pain in the ass you are by showing up every day/week and requesting phone service, electrical service, etc, the greater your chances are of getting what you want. Dedicate 4 hours/week to visit the Santa Cruz municipal offices, and talk to anyone who will listen about what is happening to Tamarindo and beach communities in general. Our combined efforts lobbying for change will ultimately create change. Talking about what needs to be done is energy wasted.

7. - Don't spread Tamarumors
Make sure to educate yourself instead of simply believing what others may tell you. Ask questions for yourself. There is nothing more frustrating then having to combat this form of ignorance. Only education can change this, so start learning and start sharing positively.
We are all part of this community and the sooner we start working together instead of against each other, the sooner we can shine.

8. - Pick up after your pets
Pretty simple, huh? Yeah you may have to carry some plastic bags with you and pick up dog shit, but its better than swimming in it or drinking it.

9. - Dispose of trash properly
Dumping trash in the same location over time, then covering it with dirt, does not equal new land. We all remember the Tamarindo hillside property where this was done, and the landslide that ensued. Where do you think all of this trash ended up? You got it, in the ocean.

10. - Install a treatment plant for your home or business
Even if you've bought your home or business as an investment that you plan to sell, some of us want to live in Tamarindo for a long time. Installing a treatment plant is inexpensive compared to the loss of our beaches to poor water quality. Treatment plants purify grey and black water (dish water, laundry water, toilet water, shower water, etc) and return this water 99% pure. Uses for this water include irrigation of your yard. More advanced uses include recycling this water to flush toilets in your home. Treatment plants can be shared between homes/businesses and can be very beneficial, not to mention you never have to pay for septic tank cleaning or worry about how it is disposed.