In Costa Rica this weekend, hundreds of tourists swarmed to Ostional
Beach in canton Santa Cruz – most steered there by paid tour guides – to
witness the migration of female sea turtles crawling
from the water to lay their eggs in the sands of this national wildlife
preserve. But instead of quietly observing the movements of one of
Earth’s most ancient creatures, a mostly shirtless mob stormed the
beach, completely disrupting protected habitat, preventing the animals
from crossing the beachfront, and trampling vulnerable nests.
Local authorities were alerted, sending in three National Police
officers to supplement the park’s two rangers, but they were unable to
push back the crowd. The Tico Times reported that tourists splashed
alongside the pregnant animals to pose for turtle selfies. Refuge
administrator Carlos Hernández told the daily La Nación he had never
before seen that many people on the beach. They touched the turtles, and
more than a few parents set their children atop the turtles’ backs for
impromptu rides and more photos.
...
What is happening to us? Have we reached a tipping point where we no
longer have real connection to nature? Have we lost all respect as to
what holds this planet together? We fail to control our personal
consumption, and generate unrecyclable waste at unprecedented volume. We
commodify basic resources like clean water, while allowing
environmentally catastrophic exploitation in pursuit of more fossil
fuel. All the while tightening political boundaries, as if water and air
and all planetary life respect lines on a map.
You can read the entire horror story
here; photo also from the same source.
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