Environment and Sustainability
Information and Resources
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Environment and Sustainability Experts
The following is a list of recognized Cuba experts who are not affiliated with the Cuba Study Group
Articles, Opinions and Papers
March 2013
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 3/3/13 | Cuba registra un sismo de 3,5 en provincia oriental, sin daños ni víctimas El Nuevo Herald |
November 2012
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/13/12 | Cuba says drill rig to depart after 3 failed wells, as dreams of deep The Washington Post |
| 11/13/12 | Cuba oil dreams on hold as drill rig set to depart Bloomberg Businessweek |
| 11/1/12 | Cuba leader Raul Castro says island 'hard hit' by Sandy BBC News |
October 2012
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 10/29/12 | Cuba's 2nd city without power, water after Sandy Bloomberg Businessweek |
| 10/29/12 | Santiago, Cuba's 2nd largest city, still without power or water in Hurricane Sandy's wake The Washington Post |
| 10/28/12 | Cuba and Haiti struggle to recover from Hurricane Sandy Miami Herald |
| 10/26/12 | Cubans start cleanup of Hurricane Sandy destruction Sun Sentinel |
| 10/25/12 | Cuban state media say 11 deaths in Hurricane Sandy Bloomberg Businessweek |
| 10/25/12 | Cuban state media announce 11 people died when Hurricane Sandy crossed island's eastern end The Washington Post |
Suggested Books
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Toward a Culture of Nature: Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development in Cuba
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Description -
Pamela Stricker
Lexington Books (2007)
Toward a Culture of Nature is a comprehensive study of Cuba's environmental policy, specifically the response of the Cuban government to the collapse of the Soviet Union and subsequent shortage of petroleum products. Pamela Stricker analyzes Cuba's transition to sustainable models of agriculture, efforts toward energy independence using renewable resources, the adoption of "green" medicine, a framework law on environmental protection, the impact of tourism and foreign investment on the island, incorporation of environmental education, and the crafting of a culture of nature, that is, a Cuban environmental ethics of sustainable development. Going beyond the standard accounts of formal legislation and executive institutions, Professor Stricker pays special attention to the scientists and activists who worked in all capacities (governmental and non-governmental) to bring about change to the environmental policies. Spanning the second half of the twentieth-century, Toward a "Culture of Nature" is an important case study of environmental policy, ethics, and sustainable development. -
Conquering Nature: The Enviromental Legacy of Socialism in Cuba
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Description -
Sergio Díaz-Briquets and Jorge Pérez-López
University of Pittsburgh Press (2000)
Conquering Nature provides the only book-length analysis of the environmental situation in Cuba after four decades of socialist rule, based on extensive examination of secondary sources, informed by the study of development and environmental trends in former socialist countries as well as in the developing world. It approaches the issue comprehensively and from interdisciplinary, comparative, and historical perspectives. Based on the Cuban example, Díaz-Briquets and Pérez-López challenge the concept that environmental disruption was not supposed to occur under socialism since it was alleged that guided by scientific policies, socialism could only beget environmentally benign economic development. In reality, the socialist environmental record proved to be far different from the utopian view. Between the early 1960s and the late 1980s the environmental situation worsened despite Cuba’s achieving one of the lowest population growth rates in the world and having eliminated extreme living standard differentials in rural areas, two of the primary reasons often blamed for environmental deterioration in developing countries. The government’s approach was to “conquer nature” and under its central planning approach, it did not take local circumstances into consideration. This disregard for the environmental consequences of development projects continues to this day despite official allegations to the contrary—as the country pursues an economic survival strategy based on the crash development of the tourist sector and exploitation of natural resources. An underlying conclusion of the book is that the environmental legacy of socialism will present serious challenges to future Cuban generations. Conquering Nature provides, for the first time, a relevant analysis of socialist environmental policies of a developing country. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Cuba and those interested in environmental issues in developing countries.