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Miner's pride: Gold miners from the traditional mining region of Abangares, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste, protest on Thursday, Aug.13, in San José against changes in the Mining Code, which they claim will prevent small-scale, traditional mining practices in favor of the industrial mining practiced by transnational corporations. |
Ronald Reyes | Tico Times |
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McGreen: The McDonalds Corporation opens its first “green” restaurant in Central America in the Lindora sector of the western Central Valley town of Santa Ana. The restaurant sports features to save both water and energy. The food and packaging, however, remain the same. |
Ronald Reyes | Tico Times |
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| OAS’s Insulza is welcome in Honduras as observer |
| Held back by an initial rejection of a convoy of peacemaking foreign ministers, the Organization of American States (OAS) is regrouping to send the same representatives to Honduras on Monday. |
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First ecologically friendly McDonald’s in
Central America opens in Santa Ana, Costa Rica |
The first ecologically friendly McDonald's Restaurant in Central America opened last week in Lindora, Santa Ana. |
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| Stranded in Costa Rica, refugees look for freedom |
Six weeks ago, political and religious refugees from Africa walked up a white sand beach on the Costa Rican Caribbean coast after being abandoned by a team of “coyotes,” or smugglers of human beings. |
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Costa Rican environment ministry asks
protected areas agency to redouble its efforts |
In anticipation of the upcoming day of national parks – Aug. 24 – the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) insisted that the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP), a dependency of the ministry, increase its efforts to improve the country's protected national areas. |
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Behind the Scenes at
the World Surfing Games |
With some 36 countries competing in the water at the 2009 World Surfing Games Aug. 1-8 in the Central Pacific's Playa Hermosa, there was a lot of action behind the scenes. |
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| OAS’s Insulza is welcome in Honduras as observer |
By Chrissie Long
Tico Times Staff | clong@ticotimes.net |
Held back by an initial rejection of a convoy of peacemaking foreign ministers, the Organization of American States (OAS) is regrouping to send the same representatives to Honduras on Monday.
The group will enter Honduras with the mission of passing the San José Agreement, an accord drafted during peace negotiations in Costa Rica.
Since President Manuel Zelaya was ousted on June 28, Honduras has been choked off from the rest of the world through trade embargoes and has faced reductions in foreign aid.
Roberto Micheletti, who is serving as de facto president until the November elections and has thus far been amiable to dialogue, told the OAS that he wouldn't accept the delegation because it included OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza, whom he claimed is biased.
He welcomed representatives from Costa Rica, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Argentina and the Dominican Republic but turned them away because of Insulza's presence.
The delegation was intended to serve as a follow-up to a mediation process that has since gone sour. Since Zelaya was ousted more than 40 days ago, international pressure has not resulted in Zelaya's return to power and the de facto government has refused to allow him back into the country.
In a press release on Tuesday, Insulza insisted that he would accompany the delegation.
“The OAS Secretary General is mandated by the General Assembly to carry out the steps that are necessary,” Insulza said, adding that the assembly urged the secretary general “along with representatives from several designated countries, to intensify all efforts to promote diplomatic initiatives” in the search for a solution for the conflict in Honduras.
Representatives of the de facto government said they would accept Insulza, as long as he does not participate in negotiations, a pre-condition to which Insulza has agreed.
Following a meeting with representatives of the de facto government on Thursday, Insulza said, “We had a very long, very interesting and, I think, constructive conversation. I hope this will benefit the mission going to Honduras soon.”
In the meantime, thousands of Zelaya supporters continue demonstrations in the streets of Tegucigalpa in shows of solidarity with the deposed president.
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First ecologically friendly McDonald’s in
Central America opens in Santa Ana, Costa Rica |
By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | awilliams@ticotimes.net |
The first ecologically friendly McDonald's Restaurant in Central America opened last week in Lindora, Santa Ana.
This McDonald's, a $2 million investment, is designed to improve energy efficiency and conservation, according to a statement from the company. Also, it said, sustainable practices to limit waste and conserve water and electricity will be incorporated.
From the exterior, the most distinguishing alteration to the eco-friendly restaurant is the “green roof,” which hosts a small garden of native grasses and a gavace plants sprouting atop the roof. According to McDonald's management, water accumulated on the roof is routed through a cleaning tank and purified so that it can be reused.
“When it rains, there is a drainage system on the roof that sends the water to a nearby tank,” said Diego Landero, general manager of the McDonald's in Santa Ana. “The water is cleaned, and we can reuse it to mop the floors or clean the windows.”
The “green roof” also is used to cool the interior of the restaurant by using recycled panels to reflect the sun's rays.
The eco-McDonald's also has several large windows with polarized films that reflect sunlight and reduce the amount of it entering the restaurant, lowering the temperature inside.
Other conservation efforts include the use of fluorescent light bulbs, an “intelligent” lighting system that adjusts interior light levels in response to the amount of light entering the building and a recycling system set up through the municipality of Santa Ana.
The ecological McDonald's is the first in Central America and the third in the world. The other two are in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Currently, none of these restaurants are certified by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Landero said that, after a month or two of operation, the restaurant will be inspected to determine if it meets USBGC standards. If the McDonald's does meet the requirements, it will be awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. At that time, will become the first official ecological McDonald's in Central America.
Despite the aesthetic alterations to the building design, visitors will find the usual McDonald's menu and packaging. |
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| Stranded in Costa Rica, refugees look for freedom |
By Chrissie Long
Tico Times Staff | clong@ticotimes.net |
Six weeks ago, political and religious refugees from Africa walked up a white sand beach on the Costa Rican Caribbean coast after being abandoned by a team of “coyotes,” or smugglers of human beings.
The 41 men and women – who were pilots, educators, businessmen and scientists in their home countries – were now homeless and helpless.
They'd been stripped of any money they had accumulated and were entirely at the mercy of the people they met in this new country, but their hopes were high as Costa Rica promised new opportunities and freedom.
Yet, today, they sleep at a detention center on the southern fringes of San José, facing the very thing they came here to escape.
“We left our countries expecting freedom,” said 34-year-old Dawit Kibreab, an archaeologist and citizen of the tiny north African country of Eritrea. “But – to us – this feels like prison. We never expected to be staying in a place like this.”
Kibreab, along with the 40 others who came with him, is awaiting trial set for two weeks from now, riding out the downtime on the assurances of pro bono lawyers who tell them they will be granted refugee status.
“Maybe people think we are criminals,” said Kibreab, speaking in fluent English from a conference room at the detention center. “We are not. We are professionals who lost much of what we had, and now we are trying to get it back.”
For more on this story, see the Aug. 14 edition of The Tico Times |
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Costa Rican environment ministry asks
protected areas agency to redouble its efforts |
By Mike McDonald
Tico Times Staff | mmcdonald@ticotimes.net |
In anticipation of the upcoming day of national parks – Aug. 24 – the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) insisted that the National System of Protected Areas (SINAP), a dependency of the ministry, increase its efforts to improve the country's protected national areas.
“The efforts that have been made don't satisfactorily advance the areas regarding a series of problems,” said Environment Minister Jorge Rodríguez in a press release on Thursday.
The ministry noted that 34 percent of the nation's protected areas do not have park rangers and many of some of the areas are lacking concrete limits. The national parks are also carrying a debt of around $150 million, without considering the cost of expropriations that by law must take place inside park boundaries.
“These are just some of the problems that we have right now,” noted Rodríguez.
SINAP manages 166 protected areas around the country that account for 26 percent of the national territory. Of these areas, 27 are national parks inside of which only research and sightseeing may take place. |
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Behind the Scenes at the World Surfing Games |
With some 36 countries competing in the water at the 2009 World Surfing Games Aug. 1-8 in the Central Pacific's Playa Hermosa, there was a lot of action behind the scenes.
The Costa Rican national team had its own bamboo resting area among a line of team spots, where they regrouped and constantly fueled up on peanuts and fruit.
Here, Gilbert Brown, 26, from the southern Caribbean beach town of Puerto Viejo, welcomed his mother, Magdalena López, for the first week of the competition. She rarely left his side. Luis Vindas, 22, from Jacó, just north of Hermosa, barely spoke; he just surfed. In the back corner, Jacó's Jason Torres, 20, napped between his buddies' heats.
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| Gilbert Brown |
Ronald Reyes | Tico Times |
Physical therapist Julio Granados worked on the surfers between heats. Torres sported flesh-colored bandages on his shoulder, while Lisbeth Vindas, 27, had one on her knee. Brown sat in a chair with electrodes attached to his back and shoulder as Granados turned up the power on a small device. Later that day, Brown got the biggest wave score of the day, a 9.23. He finished the event ranked 21st.
The Red Cross estimated that more than 10,000 people passed through Hermosa the first Saturday of the games, but no one but Tico surfer Diego Naranjo, 28, noticed three-time world champion Tom Curren as he strolled by with his surfboard.
Throughout the games, the Tico team met each night at their hotel to discuss the day's heats and strategize for the next day. The meetings were led by José Ureña, president of the Surf Federation of Costa Rica and head of the team's technical body. Team members Naranjo, Brown and Lisbeth Vindas also took a strong role.
“(We) have a lot of experience, so we try to lead the team meetings,” said Naranjo, who finished 33rd in the games' longboard category. “We comment on the things we do during the day and say how the heats are going to go tomorrow. Like if they have a guy with high levels in their heats, we point out that Jason and Gilbert have already beaten them, and if they concentrate, they can, too.”
Vindas finished 15th among the women, down a position from last year's games in Portugal, but she was not discouraged.
“It was a great experience working with the team José put together – Laura (Moreira), the sports psychologist, Julio, the physical therapist, and Donald Vega, the strength and lifestyle coach. We improved, and I felt like a professional athlete,” she said.
Tico Alex “Coki” Valverde served as an International Surfing Association judge for the games. Sixteen judges worked on rotation at the event, judging two heats and then taking a break.
“We're doing good as a team – the guys surfing and me in the (judging) podium,” Valverde said.
Over in the U.S. team room, The Tico Times spoke with Cory Lopez, 32, the games' silver medalist and one of the most famous surfers at the event.
“My brother has a house in Los Sueños in Herradura, so I've been here many times,” Lopez said. “I'm happy to be here and represent for America.”
Another big star, Mick Campbell, 35, the 1998 World Surfing Games gold medalist, surfed for Australia in Hermosa, finishing 15th.
“It's my first time in Costa Rica, but what a beautiful place. There are so many different faces – hot, windy, rainy. The waves are smooth, then choppy the next minute. It's a really moody place,” Campbell told The Tico Times during a two-and-a-half-hour power outage Aug. 6.
The Peruvian team rented a house behind the team rooms for the games. Here, The Tico Times talked to Sofía Mulánovich, 26, the 2004 world women's champion on the WCT and fifth among the women in Hermosa.
“I'm having fun,” Mulánovich said. “I've been here before on a boat for a ‘surfari,' but this is my first time on the beach in Hermosa. I really like it. There are good waves, good people.
“The World Games are about being with your team and doing good for your country. My country is where I learned to surf and live, and for me it's the best country in the world.”
Back with the Tico team, 16-year-old Carlos Muñoz, upon learning he finished 15th in the world, tied with Campbell, said, “I'm sad, but happy. In the next World Surfing Games, I'm going to do better.”
And Torres, who finished the games ranked seventh in the world – down two points from last year's performance in Portugal – jumped in the Terraza del Pacífico hotel swimming pool with his surfboard to avoid reporters.
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