Archive for September 19th, 2008
Friday, September 19th, 2008
In a daring, middle-of-the-night strike on the high seas, the U.S. Coast Guard over the weekend captured a submarine off the Costa Rican coast stuffed with 7 tons of cocaine, worth $187 million on the street.
Four Colombian drug runners were taken into custody on board the 59-foot steel and fiberglass vessel – which was equipped with sophisticated navigational devices.
The treacherous operation took place in international waters off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica over the weekend.
The partially submerged sub was spotted by a U.S. Navy aircraft the nigh of Sept. 13.
It alerted the Coast Guard, which sent a team of special agents to surprise the smugglers.
The vessel was likely capable of traveling from South America to the U.S. coast without stopping for fuel or supplies, said the Coast Guard.
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Friday, September 19th, 2008
Costa Rica plans to join Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in Venezuela’s Petrocaribe plan. It shouldn’t.
There’s no free lunch or free gas.
By joining the Petrocaribe agreement promoted by the government of Hugo Chavez, as the Oscar Arias administration plans to do later this month, Costa Rica might avoid a big increase in its annual oil bill.
But paying the world price for petroleum wouldn’t bankrupt the country.
Meanwhile, participating in Petrocaribe could result in Costa Rica coming under pressure to share Chavez’ economic philosophy, which will damage the country, as well as the region. (more…)
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Friday, September 19th, 2008
The International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated each year on September 16th as set forth by the United Nations. This year, Costa Rica received a special mention due to its contribution within the refrigeration field.
Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of environmentally conscious people and organizations, the Ozone Layer’s hole diameter has gone back to the size it had back in September of the year 2000 in just 2 years of labor.
Over 193 countries, including Costa Rica, have committed in contributing to reverting the ozone layer’s hole diameter which is currently over 28 million kilometers wide. The size of the gap can roughly be pictures as three times the European continent.
A representative for the Costa Rican Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) mentioned that Costa Rica received a special mention for its special project due to its intervention in the reduction of CFC and methyl bromide which are the Ozone Layer’s number one cause of destruction.
In just 5 years, Costa Rica has launched several programs within its private and public sector in order to reduce gas emission which have had not only a great acceptance by the people, but great results as well.
Costa Rica’s goal is to bring down its gas emission level down to 0% by 2010.
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Friday, September 19th, 2008
It is estimated that there are only 250 Lapas Verdes living in Costa Rica. Lapas Verdes are found in countries of Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador and are on the endangered list. In English, the Lapa Verde is the Great Green Macaw, or sometimes, Buffon’s Macaw. It is the largest of all in the parrot family. 80% of Lapas Verdes in Costa Rica live in the Yellow Almond Tree (or Almendro Amarillo in Spanish). Problem is that the wood of these trees is highly coveted for a variety of uses. The trees grow to some 40 meters in height. The legislature of Costa Rica has declared that as long as the Lapa Verde remains on the list of animals endangered, they will prohibit the exploitation of the yellow almond. The 66 known Lapa Verde nests are all located in these trees in Costa Rica. Costa Rica puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to protecting its precious environmental resources. Thank god that in this county every attempt at doing so does not end up as a means used to serve some political ends. Here the means serve a noble end, that is, to PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT.
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Friday, September 19th, 2008
Frugal travelers might be happy to hear that the 3 percent hotel tax in Costa Rica could soon be a thing of the past.
The bad news is that the lost revenue to the government would be made up in the form of a $15 fee on all airfares to Costa Rica, according to a bill recently presented to the floor of the Legislative Assembly.
In a week, spending $15 a night at hostels, budget travelers pay about $3.15 in taxes.
The point of the legislation, says Maureen Ballestero, a legislator from the majority National Liberation Party (PLN) and president of the commission that drafted the bill, is to increase funding to the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT). (more…)
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