[mauvaisroux]

I notice that the topics of taking care of the earth and trying to eat ethically and being aware about our choices as consumers have an impact on the environment has come up numerous times in another thread in this forum.

For those of you interested and who can get the channel - the Canadian station CBC has a great program on hosted by environmentalist David Suzuki - it's called "The Nature of Things".

The show this Sunday night (7 p.m. EST) is about how Cuba lived through it's energy shortage and food shortage (due the collapse of the Soviet Union) and reverted to traditional farming methods and transportation methods to solve their crisis.

Should be an interesting show.

[Jayde]

I wish I could watch it... for those that can, please come back and post about it.

[mauvaisroux]

I will! I've actually been to Cuba - it's very different and quite beautiful and the people were wonderful.

It's a bit surreal though as where we were the bus was a large horse drawn cart and the cars were all leftover from the 50's and 60's - with the big fins and tails - it is a car collector's dream. Plus due to the shortage of gas at the time driving a car was a big deal and you would see about 10 people jammed into a convertible and riding around like they were in a parade.

I had a really good experience there and would love to go back someday. I'm interested in seeing how the country has developed and how they changed to adapt to the food and gas shortage. Maybe we could learn something from them regarding fuel consumption and agriculture.

[Suzanne 3FC]

What a great experience that must have been! The show sounds fascinating, I hope it makes it to US television.

[mauvaisroux]

It was a wonderful yet humbling experience to be there.

Things are so different than they are in North America and I came back with a different mindset regarding appreciating the things we take for granted on a daily basis and being happy with what we have. It also left me more grounded and determined to live life more simply and not get wrapped up in consumerism and things owning me.

Don't get me wrong, we need consumerism to keep our countries' economy going but when you look at the grand scheme of things we waste a lot of stuff, destroy our environments and buy things we don't really need.

I'm not well off but I have a roof over my head, food on the table and a loving family. To me these things are more important than a fancy house, expensive car, pricey clothes and jewellery.

The people we met in Cuba didn't have a lot (materiallycompared to some other societies) but they were always talking about their families and talked so proudly of their children. These were the things that seemed the most important to them.

[mauvaisroux]

I watched the show last night - it was great! I just wish all of you could have seen it.

I was there about 4 years after the collapse of the Soviet Block and the Cuba was struggling with fuel shortages, food shortages and shortages of medicine and mechanical/engineering equipment and parts which they could no longer get from Soviet countries.

They have come along way since then in terms of agriculture, healthcare, education and science.

They had to return to traditional methods of farming and created farms in some of the cites because of transportation problems due to a shortage of gas, they developed organic sewage treatment programsby using wetlands. Some of the schools in rural areas rely on solar power for teaching tools such as television and computers.

Healthcare is universal and provided by the state, family doctors are the frontline of healthcare, the doctors do housecalls on a regular basis, they focus on preventative medicine and integrate traditional medicine with naturopathic medicine. They now have one of the highest life expectancy rates and one of the lowest rates of infant mortality than other developing countries and have one of the most comprehensive vacination programs in the world. And they send their doctors to poorer parts of the world to help as well as accepting students from other countries that can't afford tuition into their medical schools where they receive an education, housing, food and books for free during the 6 year program. Apparently many of these students return to their countries and work with poor communities where healthcare is unavailable or unaffordable.

It seems that neccessity has been the mother of invention there and they have made amazing strides by adapting and use what they had.

I think what they have accomplished could be used to teach other countries how to sustain their natural resources and using less gas and energy as well as their agricultural practices.

Granted, they do have some issues too, no place is perfect.

It was a very interesting and informative show. One of the people interviewed was a Canadian man who had lived and worked in Cuba for 15 years and has witnessed the progress that has occured.

I just wish you could have seen the show as there were so many interesting things and it's just too much to describe.