According to United Nations Development Programme’s 2011 Human Development Index, a statistic that measures and compares the life expectancy and measure of living for all countries, Guatemala is ranked 131 out of 187. Over half the population lives in a rural environment which provides the reasoning behind the country’s extreme poverty. The combination of mountainous terrains and forests make farming difficult for the villagers there – a disadvantage Guatemalans must face as they have grown a dependence on agriculture to make means of money and survival. The poverty in this country correlates with the environmental issues that propose many problems to the country’s well-being. The top three greatest environmental challenges prevalent in this society are deforestation, air pollution, and radiation from toxic metals.
Deforestation is the number one environmental issue in Guatemala as its role as one of the world’s most plentiful countries, in the aspect of natural resources, is deteriorating quickly. Guatemala was originally known and widely acknowledged as a country dominated by the richness in its natural resources; however, with the effects of deforestation, it has negatively affected the environment while in turn, positively affecting almost the entire population. Due to the superfluous number of forests in Guatemala as well as the poor farmers’ demands to clear the forests for farming land, deforestation has become a common practice in Guatemala. The annual rate of deforestation is 1.7%, a rate that is more than three times the average rate in Latin America and the Caribbean (Guatemala Country Environmental Analysis). Statistics state that Guatemala has lost 17% of its forest area since 1990 and continues to lose parts of that area today as well (Department of Economics Goteborg University). The obliteration of forests instigates problems in the natural ecosystems already existing within the land, threatening the biodiversities and the ecosystem’s ability to “store water and avoid soil erosion and landslides during heavy rains” – rains that indeed appear very often in this country (United Nations Environment Programme).
Another one of Guatemala’s environmental issues is air pollution, an issue evident in both the indoors and the outdoors. Most of the outdoor air pollution is from the levels of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide expelled from transportation vehicles, and most of the indoor air pollution is from indoor wood fires used for cooking that also produces smoke that is not properly ventilated. Annual reports from Guatemala’s Universidad de San Carlos (USAC) reveal that the main cause of poor air quality is the gas from public transportation vehicles as the buses tend to ignore the recommended replace date (Ordonez). Not only does the car’s gas exhaust and indoor fires produce air pollutants, but the eruptions of Guatemalan volcanoes also contribute to the polluted air as well. Between 1970 and 2000 in Guatemala, it has been recorded that acute respiratory infections (ARI) were the leading cause of death and illness, an illness that is usually acquired from the pollution in the air. The indoor pollution situation was so extreme that the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences funded a randomized controlled experiment in Guatemala called RESPIRE in order to observe the effects of reduction in household air pollution on childhood pneumonia (WHO).
Lastly, Guatemala also faces the environmental issue of radiation from toxic metals near mines stationed around the country. One particular mine called the Marlin Mine was created with the intent of extracting gold and silver with a cyanide leaching process. However, more research was looked into this process and discovered that this leaching practice almost always discharged waste materials that proved to be toxic, contaminating the local environment around these mines. These toxic metals cause much physical damage and negative effects to the residents that live around the mines, producing such health problems like severe skin rashes, hair loss, and respiratory difficulties (Basu, Hu).
These three issues were listed with the intent of ordering them from most important to least important. Deforestation is by far the most important issue as it concerns the majority of Guatemalan land as most of it is dominated by forests – these forests are later destroyed for either farming or industrial purposes. Air pollution was then chosen as the second most important issue due to the reason that Guatemala’s air quality was extremely poor, but has improved in the recent years. Radiation from toxic metals was then chosen as the least important because it only affects the areas around mines as that is the only area where toxic metals are exposed.
Computers with internet access, a particular type of information technology, can be utilized and incorporated in many different ways into solving the issue of deforestation. Computers were originally created to help and alleviate the amount of work that humans put in to accomplishing things. With that, computers can be pivotal items that can help improve Guatemala’s deforestation problem. Having the availability of computers with internet access no longer requires paper and pencil to record data on the statistics of deforestation. Because paper is no longer required, a small percentage of deforestation will shrink as the Guatemalan forests cut down to accommodate and produce paper will no longer be needed. The time and money invested to write and mail the paper will not be a concern with computer access. Everything that was once done manually can be switched electronically, proving to be more efficient and faster in every aspect. On the other hand, internet access will allow faster communication between researchers and scientists between countries, allowing them to have the means of exchanging beneficial suggestions and methods to lessening the deforestation effects. Computers are also beneficial in recording not only data, but also researching other information and statistics. This allows more time efficiency as researchers no longer have to delve into the hassle of visiting a library and rummaging through thick books to gather the information they need. Acquiring information will no longer have to take lengthy and elongated research as access to such information will be available with a click of a key.
Computers will allow easier access to help from other countries, such as the United States, as they already have experience with a similar situation and are currently active in addressing their own deforestation problem; they will be able to guide Guatemala and offer advice on the statistics and information they record while observing the evident destruction of forests occurring throughout the country. Expensive international phone calls to outside countries will no longer be made as the accessibility of either video-chat-calling or emails will allow faster out-going calls and response answers – saving money and the time on the research invested on fixing the deforestation issue. It also allows Guatemalan citizens who feel outspoken about this issue to have easy contact through email with their government to raise their voice about the effects of deforestation that they feel should be fixed and is critical to the well-being of their society. Computer-designed websites also exhibit the extremities of the issues and call attention from the public. It helps broaden the knowledge the Guatemalan people and makes them more aware of the deforestation issue that may one day grow beyond repair and prove to be harmful to their own society.
It is evident that technology by the means of computer and internet access are already developed into Guatemala’s society and issues. The issue of deforestation is merely one of the multiple issues that are present here, and with the aid of technology, issues will be attempted to be resolved. The relationship between computers with internet access and deforestation stands as being beneficial to one another as internet access will help gain more perspective on the methods to fix deforestation and avoid the foreboding aftereffects that it will produce.