San Blas Islands are part of Panama and it is an archipelago with around 370 islands and small sandy islands part of coral reefs. Only 49 of them are inhabited and mostly by the local Kuna Indians.
It is easy to get to.
The San Blas Islands are located in the Northwest of Panama, which borders Colombia in the East and Costa Rica in the West. You can fly from Panama straight into the San Blas Islands or you can take a boat from either Cartagena or Capurganá.
The San Blas Islands are remote but don’t feel overwhelmed by getting here.
If you don’t want to cross the jungle or open waters of the Caribbean Sea you can use a plane to get to San Blas. You can book flights at Air Panama or Aeroperlas, but make sure you book in advance.
Discover the pristine and untouched archipelagos in the world
Most of these impressively pristine islands have few roads and even fewer people. Here you can discover many new species that are unknown to the science in some of those uninhabited islands. If you are searching for that desert island feel, San Blas is the perfect destination.
San Blas is also known to have some of the best spots for snorkeling in the Caribbean of Central America. Many of the islands are ringed by healthy coral reefs and gorgeous water. The coral reef attracts many stunning species. The best time to go snorkeling is from June to October because the water visibility is better and there are fewer currents.
Photo credit: Markus Leupold-Löwenthal / Wikipedia
The Kuna People
The real name of San Blas is Kuna Yala – Land of the Kuna. The Cuna are famous for their bright molas, a colorful textile art form made with the techniques of appliqué and reverse appliqué.
About 50.000 Kuna’s live on the 49 major islands of San Blas and are controlled by their own community leader called a Sahila.
The island is picture-perfect with lapping waves, swaying palm trees, and gentle breezes and no Wi-Fi or TVs. Evenings are leisurely, with everyone relaxing and enjoying the slow Caribbean pace.
San Blas is an indigenous territory located northeast of Panama. Discover the San Blas Islands and relax in a typical rustic bungalow over water, hosted by a native Guna family. The San Blas Islands are popular with eco-tourists due to their pristine natural state.
Featured image photo credit: Marc Veraart / Flickr
San Francisco boasts a range of practices and policies to achieving sustainability, as both the City and County of San Francisco. The southern California city is well known for banning plastic bags, plastic bottles, and Styrofoam take-out containers, and San Francisco International Airport was the first to install carbon offset kiosks.
Here is a quick overview of the 5 Reasons San Francisco is a Sustainable City
Eco-Transportation
San Francisco’s public transportation system, is one of the top systems in the country with its mix of rapid rail, commuter rail and bus lines that span the city, that runs on biodiesel.
San Francisco is a pedestrian-friendly city, and walking is the best option to see everything, it’s zero-emissions, and you’ll get the health benefits of exercise.
If you want to get around more quickly than walking on your feet, but skip the public transportation you may consider renting a bike from one of the many rental shops in the city-including Bay City Bikes and Blazing Saddles or sign for a bike tour.
More than half of MUNI buses and light rails are zero-emission, and the remains will switch to hybrid diesel by 2020. After the city’s Healthy Air and Smog Prevention ordinance in 1999, more than 700 “cleaner air vehicles,” which are compressed natural gas, hybrid, and electric, have been introduced to San Francisco’s public transportation. There are a large number of LEED-certified companies and many buildings are eco-friendly certified.
Sustainable Food
Vegan cuisine is a really popular in San Franciscan food. City agencies maximize fair trade and organic food purchases from local farms that grow and harvest food sustainably. Restaurants maintain this habit and often times have menus that vary by the season and are locally grown ingredients. Even some sushi restaurants serve sustainably-sourced seafood. More grocery stores and restaurants are opting for sustainable options. The food production within the city has increased and farmers’ markets have become less pricey.
From coffee to cheese to other exceedingly valuable crops, California clearly has the climate and drive to grow its own produce. And having the nearby, hungry U.C. system as a customer willing to save money and operate more sustainably could seal the deal
Eco-Friendly Things to Do
With more than 220 green spaces in San Francisco, it’s easy to escape the City by the Bay without ever really leaving it. There are over 30 miles of hiking trails, residents can enjoy.
Hiking trails accessible by both walking and driving, offers breathtaking views of the city and East Bay, Bernal Heights and Brooks Park also have access to gorgeous views, as well as Bayview Park and Glen Canyon Park.
Reduce Waste
Waste reduction or prevention is the preferred approach to waste management because waste that never gets created doesn’t have waste management costs. Waste reduction also helps conserve resources for future generations and contributes to a cleaner environment.
San Francisco plans living waste-free by the year 2020. The Bay Area city is already over 78 percent achieved the goal and continues to make significant progress in reducing the impact in the landfills.
Back in 2007, San Francisco was the first US city to ban plastic bags! Grocery stores offer compostable bags as an alternative. The containers for waste subdivision in San Francisco are located in convenient locations such as stores, restaurants, campuses, and residential streets.
Greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 12% compared to 1990 levels. Local farmers use the city’s nutrient-rich compost to produce food.
Water Conservation
Californians have made great strides in their commitment to water conservation and are embracing wise water use as a daily habit. From taking shorter showers to transforming landscapes with California friendly plants, Californians are showing that conservation still matters and that even the smallest changes can have a big impact.
In this battle to conserve water, San Francisco stands out as the area that has reduced its water consumption the most dramatically. San Franciscans use the least amount of water in the state of California. Residents use 49 gallons of water a day on average, compared to 100 gallons a day in the rest.
Photo credit: pexels.com
Check our others blog posts and learn more about other sustainable cities.
With so many people /over 7.5 billion people/ sharing limited resources on our planet is important and people have to do whatever they can to help conserve and protect the environment.
How to Become More Environmentally Friendly
To help you get started on going green we put together just a few ideas on how to be environmentally friendly.
According to Wikipedia,
“Environmentally friendly, environment-friendly, eco-friendly, nature-friendly, and green are marketing claims referring to goods and services, laws, guidelines and policies that inflict reduced, minimal, or no harm at all, upon ecosystems or the environment.”
Here are some of the practically effortless ways you can become environmentally friendly and show more care to our earth.
Photo credit: nature.com
Reduce your meat consumption
Adding alternative food, such as more eco-friendly protein sources, to your diet — beans, nuts, and soy products are a few options. Today more and more young people are adopting a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. But if you are struggling with switching your diet and reducing meat consumption, a good start would be flexitarian diet, where you reduce meat consumption to two or three days a week. This is a painless way to consume less meat and improve your health, reduce your carbon footprint and protect the environment.
Dispose of Chemicals Correctly
There are many different types of hazardous waste, such as ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, toxicity. And some chemical products can be hazardous after they’ve been disposed of.
Hazardous chemicals like paint, oil, ammonia and other chemical solutions when disposed openly, can cause pollution in the air and water. The polluted air and water can have serious consequences on human health.
Many household cleaners, including medications, aren’t safe and environmentally friendly to put down the drain. These things cause pollution that is more difficult for water treatment centers to remove from the water. Keep your water supply clean and free from pollution!
Reduce Energy Consumption
Make sure you turn off what you aren’t using
To save energy, make sure lights, TVs and other electronics are turned off when you aren’t using them. You can further save energy by unplugging the appliances you don’t use frequently. Use LED bulbs.
You can help to reduce food waste by simply, using a stainless steel lunchbox to keep your leftovers for your next meal. This way you not only save time and money but also cut down on waste.
Swap plastic water bottle with a stainless steel bottle
This not only helps you save some money in the long run but also helps reduce plastic use.
The plastic ends up in the ocean, where it damages marine life and forms enormous plastic islands with the size of Texas. A simple stainless steel water bottle is a sturdy and cost-effective alternative to buying bottled water.
Buy Recycled Products
When you shopping, online or from the store, try to buy products that are made up of recycled materials with minimal packaging i.e. the product should be environment-friendly. Check if the product was made from recycled materials or the use of plastics or chemicals was involved in its production.
Use Your Car Less
The average American puts more than 10,000 miles on their car each year, with the largest share of miles coming from commuting to and from work most days of the week. All of that adds up to some serious pollution and lasting environmental damage. Many cities have or are in the process of adding improved public transit systems. Using public transit and going green means fewer vehicles on the road, lower emissions, cleaner air, and — bonus — a chance to avoid feeling road rage when someone cuts you off in rush hour traffic.
Use a carpooling service like BlaBlaCar to find other travelers going in the same direction. Not only you are helping the environment, but it also allows you to split travel costs.
Photo credit: Freepik
Use Reusable Shopping Bags
Plastic grocery bags are really harmful to the environment and wildlife, and it can take over a century to break down. Next time you go to the store bring with you environmentally friendly reusable grocery bags. If you forget to bring your reusable bags and end up using plastic ones, take them to a drop off area where they can be recycled properly. Plastic bags should not end up in the landfill or on the ground
Replace Paper Tower with Cloth
As Oceanconservancy stated more than 13 billion pounds of paper towels are used in the United States alone each year. Unfortunately, paper towels cannot be recycled because they are usually made from already recycled paper pulp. So next time when you think of reaching for a paper towel to wipe up a spill, use an eco-friendly dishcloth.
Turn off the tap
Get rid of the bad and start turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth or shaving. It saves a ton of water in the long run.
