Thoughts From My Vacation

Traditional and Modern - View of Old Acapulco from Roqueta Island

I just got a link to this month's Women's Press and see that the article on my blog is featured and I haven't written a thing in 10 days.  I'll blame vacation for that.  We've been back from our trip to Acapulco for a few days but I'm only getting back into the swing of things now.

I have no idea how my carbon use impacted the world during our vacation, but I certainly thought about it a lot.  Like everything, there were ups and downs.  On a daily basis, I expect that our carbon use was lower.  We walked a lot, took cool showers, slept in an unair conditioned - unheated room and ate at restaurants (so the heating of the stoves was shared with several people). We didn't shop much and had little waste. On the other hand, we were located on a high hill and it was hot, so we took a taxi home from our walk almost every day - and the taxis are old and battered and stinky- so I assume they pollute a lot.  And, of course, we had that very long plane ride guzzling up gas for which I have previously bought a carbon offset to allay my guilt.

Nothing is simple.  Walking around Acapulco,  I thought about our impact on the earth.  We were staying in the old town and I am sure that in very many ways the carbon use of residents must be lower than here - warm weather, fewer car owners, poorer people, so there can't be as much consumption and waste.  But still, the impact by people on this area is clear.  Noisy buses and taxis and cars fill the bay side street and buildings cover the hills, with few parks in between. The bay has struggled with pollution, though it looked quite blue/green and clear when we were there so I hope that the city has been successful in its efforts to keep the water clean. Hillsides are still a dumping spot for garbage, though I've seen worse.

Acapulco is one of those cities where you can clearly see how the city has changed with time.  It is located on a long curved bay and if you stand in the old town at one end, you can see how the buildings become more modern as the they progress along the curve of the bay, from the 1950's to the 70's to the 80's and 90's and then the 2000's directly across the bay a few miles as the crow flies and 10 or more along the bay front. (The newest development is further away still - out of sight.)  On the modern end, there are fewer taxis and more personal cars.  The cars are newer with more pollution controls, I assume, the buildings taller and air conditioned.  The stores are fancier and full of gift shops and boutiques.  It would be interesting to make a comparison of the ecological impact of those two ends of the city - the modern, airconditioned, polution controlled newer end and the old, noisy, poorer end where taxis clatter, buses roar with boom boxes pulsing but people have less money to spend.

Riding The Black Pearl Bus - Buses are privately owned and carry their own unique decor and sound system.  Choose carefully before boarding!  The "music" was so loud on this one that we didn't last more than a few blocks before having to get off.

Unfortunately, I don't speak enough Spanish to have the slightest idea what is going on in Acapulco and Mexico generally for that matter, but I can GOOGLE it!  Here's an interesting link to Mexico's National Climate Policy.  Hmm, Mexico has set a goal of reducing carbon emmisions by 50% of the 2000 level.  They are also implementing pricing for electricity and water that reflects actual costs and ecological costs of their use.  Hmmm.