WHEN: 7:00 pm,
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
WHERE: Legacy Books & Cafe, 5249 Delmar (near Union), St. Louis MO 63108
A panel discussion will include:
• Bud DeRaps, Global Exchange
• Daniel Hellinger, Political Science Professor, Webster University
• Audrey Hollis, Greater St. Mark Community Garden
• Rebecca Fitz, Medical Student, Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina
• Don Fitz, Gateway Green Alliance [moderator]
Cuba is the only country in the world to have both a low environmental impact and a good standard of living. And it is doing so despite a devastating economic blockade by the US. The island country is rapidly becoming an example of how a society can reorganize itself during hardship.
Cuban agriculture shows how urban space can be used for gardens that result in a majority of vegetables being grown locally, even in a city of two million. Rural Cubans receive much of their power “off the grid,” largely through solar technology.
Medicine is an area in which Cuba truly excels. Spending vastly less money than the US, Cuba has a life expectancy that matches the US and a lower infant mortality rate. This is due to a medical system based on community and preventive care.
The Cuban medical school currently trains over 20,000 students from Latin American and Africa. They will return home to practice medicine in distressed communities. Cuba provides their education free along with their books, dorm room, meals and health care. They become doctors with no school loans to pay off.
