“Poor Mexico, so far from God and so close
to the United States.”
The
USA to the left and the Border Town of Tijuana, B.C., Mexico to the right
The above quote, which according to popular legend, the
Mexican president of the late 19th century, Porfirio Diaz, said of his
country’s problems, “¡Pobre México! ¡Tan lejos de Dios y tan cerca de los
Estados Unidos!”, as it translates, and the definition of “From Effectiveness
to Greatness”, as it is presented in the late Steven Covey’s The 8th
Habit book, were brought to mind when I read a recent article on a “Historic
Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative Signed in La Paz, Mexico” I found on
the webpage of the International Community Foundation; http://www.icfdn.org/aboutus/pr/2012Nov30.php.
Firstly because I believe it is time
to put the quote to rest for, contrary to what the old quote by the former President of Mexico Porfirio Diaz represents,
the closeness of Mexico to the USA, does not harm us, but rather strengthen us
in many different forms and ways.
For, let’s face, The USA is still
the financial power house to which the rest of the world looks after for
financial and investment stability. That in addition to the fact that most
global philanthropic organizations providing funding for projects involved in
improving man’s condition on earth, are based out of the USA, therefore the
need for Mexico to take advantage of its geographical proximity to the Unites
States of America.
The reason that the late Steve
Covey’s definition of Effectiveness and Greatness in it’s the 8th.
Habit book: Effectiveness and Greatness came to mind is, that it deals with “the
deeds of people that make this world a better place”, which I think is
synonymous with the movement now taking place in the creation of Emerging of
Sustainable Cities Initiatives in Mexico.
And even thought there are many new
projects and efforts promoted by Greenpeace Mexico, an Amsterdam based
Greenpeace International Organization affiliate, an organization born in the
1970 in the USA, initially started as the “Don’t Make a Wave Committee”, and by
other groups and organizations, now taking place, I must also give credit to
the work of organizations such as the International Community Foundation and to
the initiatives that American and Canadian retiree communities, and increasingly group growing in Mexico, for
helping the process for Mexico becoming a sustainable communities awareness
country.
A report by the Greenpeace
Org.-Mexico called Mexico moving towards Sustainability…
México Rumbo a la Sustentabilidad: 40
Propuestas para la Administración Federal 2012-2018
Resumen Ejecutivo
El agotamiento de
los recursos naturales y la degradación ambiental le costaron a nuestro país
$941 mil 670 millones de
pesos en el año 2007 (7.8% del PIB): es decir, el daño ambiental ocasiona una
erogación de $11 por cada
$100 pesos que un mexicano o mexicana produce. Esta crisis ambiental se ilustra
con los siguientes datos:
presents the problem of the derogation of natural resources and
degradation of the ecosystem in Mexico, with an emphasis to the economic costs
of $941,670 mi. pesos in 2007 (or 7.8% of the GPI), which equals to a loss of
$11 pesos per each $100 pesos that each Mexican citizen contributes to the
growth of the economy, and shows additional data to the effect of the lack of a
sustainable cities programs for more areas in Mexico, thus speaking for itself
of the low importance some local governments and communities are still giving
to the creation of more eco-friendly and sustainable communities in Mexico;
You may access this report through the following link:
The above mention report by the
Greenpeace Org.- Mexico simply increases
the importance of the Emergence of Sustainable Cities Initiatives in Mexico.
In particular the Initiative Signed in La Paz,
Baja California, Mexico. And here is their Action Plan:
§
Developing
programs that encourage energy efficiency and renewable energies, including
pre-investment studies for the construction of a solar power plant.
§
Ensuring
adequate water supply for the City of La Paz and improving efficiency of the
water utility, suggesting an assessment of the municipality's water supplies in
the medium and long term.
§
Developing
an early warning system for natural disaster risk avoidance and mitigation,
including emergency response protocols by the authorities and alert
dissemination. The Plan also proposes the modernization and construction of
priority projects for flood protection and maximizing the recreation and water
infiltration areas.
§
Improving
mobility in the City of La Paz by developing a master plan for transportation
and an urban mobility plan, to modernize and improve public transportation
routes. In addition, the plan proposes strategies to adapt pedestrian spaces,
mainly those located downtown, to meet the needs of La Paz residents in
harmonious ways.
§
Improving
the City's public finances by updating the land registry system, adopting best
practices for reporting the City's revenues and expenses, and implementing a
digitization program in the municipal offices, among other strategies.
The Action Plan was preceded by a
comprehensive diagnosis of 140 environmental, urban, fiscal and governance
indicators. The Action Plan includes technical solutions prioritized as a
result of an analytical process and a public survey of over 800 local
residents.
"Upon
receiving the Action Plan for La Paz this morning, we can wholly and formally
embrace the IDB's Initiative for Emerging and Sustainable Cities, confident of
the strong support we will have in our fundraising efforts to further the hopes
of a better tomorrow for our home, La Paz," said Municipal President
Esthela Ponce. "We will responsibly and accurately follow through on all
the generous and professional recommendations." Funding to conduct studies
and projects recommended in the Plan of Action for La Paz will be sought from
municipal, state and federal governments. The private sector and development
banks are also expected to participate.
The La Paz initiative
shows a commitment of a group of government officials, community organizers and
citizens of a Mexican town towards the achievement of, not only Effectiveness
in the process of searching for sustainable cities and communities, but the
search for Greatness in the global efforts for working towards the creation of
more green and sustainable eco-friendly communities in Mexico.
Something that should
be imitated by all other local, state and federal government officials throughout
Mexico as a important aspect for the creation of a better world for our future
generations, more importantly a more energy efficient and sustainable Mexico
for our children.
About the
International Community Foundation:
The International Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1990, whose mission is to expand the level of charitable giving internationally by U.S. donors, with an emphasis on Mexico and Central America. For more information regarding the International Community Foundation, visit http://www.icfdn.org.
The International Community Foundation is a public charity founded in 1990, whose mission is to expand the level of charitable giving internationally by U.S. donors, with an emphasis on Mexico and Central America. For more information regarding the International Community Foundation, visit http://www.icfdn.org.
For more information on Eco-friendly, Energy
Efficient, Solar-Energy Generating New Home Construction, feel free to contact
us at:
Mexico Home Realty Center
Building
the Future of Mexico
Construyendo
el Futuro de Mexico
Bâtiment
L'avenir du Mexique
Enrique (Henry) Saldana
A Sunway Homes Auth. Rep.
Off: (984) 147-1305
Cel: (984) 111-8743
Español, English, Français
No comments:
Post a Comment