I like to think of myself as a very environmentally conscious person. When I see the negative impact that the human race has been having on the planet I get upset, not only because it’s our world and we haven't been taking proper care but mostly because there are people who do nothing about it and some still deny that global warming is happening. I try to do my best as a minor age individual to help the plant, but I still think it is not enough. That is why this year I decide to be part of Decarbonize.

   When I saw my results, I thought that my footprint will be lower than the average, that’s why I got really confused when I found out it was actually higher. In Costa Rica, the average is 4,025kgs and I got 5,403kgs. When I was analyzing it, I realized that in all the areas it was lower than the average except in transportation which got inflated because of my trips to other countries. It’s very disappointed how something I love so much to do makes my carbon footprint higher. Now that we are in quarantine it has lower il say like a third in terms of transportation, right now I don’t have a solution, but I am open minded, and I am sure I’ll find one.

How does your footprint reflect the economy/ status/ location/ politics of your country?

   Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America. If someone starts comparing different carbon footprints including mine without knowing anything about Costa Rica, he/she will start noticing certain patters and will acknowledge some of my country’s attributes. Like in how much money you spent on clothes and food, I see as the average consumption high at least compare to mine showing the luxury life that most of its citizens live. That is why you could deduce that or Costa Rican people are well pay or is a very expensive country, which is both.  

   The carbon footprint in transportation I’ll say is high if you look at our geography , because is a very small country transportation shouldn’t be that big of a deal but because of how many cars are in the highways the traffic is enormous causing the consumption of gas higher than it should be. Of course, depending on the status of the citizen you are looking at there will be different answers. On my behalf I am part of a medium status; I have all my needs and most of my luxuries satisfied.

   In a political way Costa Rica is not that radical. Our ideas are more homogeneous, so it doesn’t change that much. Still there are some groups and politicians that are more environmentally sided or the ones who doesn’t care to step on the environment for the purpose of achieving another goal like the trawling that is a topic highly discuss in this moment.

How does your footprint relate to power imbalances & justice when it comes to carbon mitigation plans in your country?

   As I said previously, I am part of the middle status which allows me certain luxuries that increase my footprint, but also helps me compensated by decreasing other places. An example could be how I can buy LED lights and other people with less resources cannot, but also, I travel in car rising my carbon footprint from the ones who use a bicycle or walk.

   In general, I think that Costa Rica is doing a great job in trying to mitigate the carbon emissions. We still haven’t obtained the Paris Agreement ideal temperature, but we are getting there mostly protecting the forest and reforesting zones that are scarce of trees.

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