Cuba
In 2006 the World Wildlife Foundation published its WWF Living Planet Report that said there was only one country in the world that met even the minimum standards for “sustainable development”. That country was Cuba.
Las Terrazas eco-village in Pinar del Rio, Cuba
["Sustainable development" was defined as "a commitment to improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.”]
Only Cuba passed in both areas of measurement, the United Nations’ Human Development Index, which is calculated from life expectancy, literacy and education, and per capita Gross Domestic Product; and the “ecological footprint”, which shows the energy and resources consumed per person in each country.
“Cuba has the same effect on American administrations that the full moon has on werewolves.”
Wayne Smith, former head of U.S. Interest Section in Havana.
“Dumbest policy on the face of the earth. It’s crazy.”
Larry Wilkerson, chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, on using sanctions against Cuba
Cuba has already been through economic collapse as a result of the shortage of energy resources. That happened after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989 and Cuba lost its primary sugar market and the source of almost all its petroleum. The Cubans rose to the occasion, and today are a model of sustainability for the rest of the world.
Note: For everything you’d ever want to know about Cuba, visit Radio Free Cuba.
The Power of Community
How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (article)
The Power of Community
How Cuba survived Peak Oil. (DVD)
Cuba’s transition from an industrial petroleum-based society to a sustainable society, as a result of their loss of petroleum when their source the Soviet Union collapsed.
Food
Cuba – A Hope
How Cubans successfully responded to their own economic crash.
Cuba and Venezuela Lead Global Organic Revolution
Diversified agricultural production in the two countries
Cuba: Case Study in Food Security
Urban gardens, organic gardening and much more
Urban Garden in Santa Clara, Cuba
Cuba Diet, The
How Cuba dealt with food shortages. Can industrial countries do it too?
Cuba’s Organic Food Revolution Flourishing
More on Cuban agriculture
Farming with Fidel
Article in Sustainable Times
Green Cuba
Urban gardening and community food preservation
Greening of Cuba, The
DVD from Food First
Greening of the Revolution, The
Cuba’s Experiment with Organic Agriculture [book]
Havana’s Popular Gardens
Sustainable Urban Agriculture
Organic Farming in Cuba
Article in Multinational Monitor
Permaculture in Cuba
Activities of the Australian Conservation Foundation’s Urban Permaculture Project in Cuba
Sustainable Agriculture and Resistance
Transforming Food Production in Cuba [book]
What is Happening in Cuba…
The largest conversion in world history from conventional agriculture to organic or semi-organic farming.”
Health
Cuba’s Jewel of Tropical Medicine
Article on the Pedro Kourí Institute of Tropical Medicine
Green Medicine
How Cuba is integrating natural remedies into its public health care – Salon article
Healing the Masses
Cuban health politics at home and abroad [book]
Latin American School of Medicine
Official Spanish language site of Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina that offers free medical training for students from throughout the Americas and other regions (including poor areas of the U.S.) – Information on the school in English including scholarships for U.S. students
Primary Care in Cuba
Family Medicine paper
Secrets of Cuban Medicine, The
Article in Russian weekly newspaper
Transportation
Cycling in Havana
Green transportation by default
