Kolbi wireless subscribers all over Costa Rica received the following text message from the quasi-governmental electric utility ICE today: It’s time we put a stop to energy waste. Join us today, March 31st at 8:30 pm in Earth Hour.  ICE, saving energy right by your side. The message is part of the worldwide event Earth Hour, organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).  Earth Hour star...

On a hilltop in the Osa Peninsula, a magnificent home designed by Juan Robles of Robles Arquitectos sits majestically. Upon closer inspection of Casa Mecano, it is clear that the architectural design is a thoughtful exercise in sustainable planning and construction. Casa Mecano has been equipped with a series of bioclimatic mechanisms, meaning that the home adjusts to the particular climate...

Author’s Note: This is the second item in a series of articles that touch on the subject of sustainable practices in Costa Rica. There is a high degree of innovation and street smarts involved in sustainability; if you happen to know of a good sustainability tip, please feel free to share it with The Costa Rica Star. An artificial ocean reef project in the sandy bottoms of Playa Hermosa in Guan...

Costa Rica's initiatives in forest conservation and replanting of trees are part of the plan that President Laura Chinchilla referred to as "becoming a Green Power" when she officially kicked off the Limpia tu Huella (Erase your Carbon Footprint) campaign a few days ago. Similar efforts are now spreading in South America. A recent article published by the AlertNet Thomson Reuters Foundation...

Chef Keven Evan Lee of the Sherbourne Restaurant in Hollywood, California was recently interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. When asked about his favorite breakfast, he replied: "My favorite breakfast is from the time that I lived in Costa Rica. Waking up to the sounds of the ocean crashing and walking into my kitchen for a plate that consisted of freshly boiled beans with thyme and cilantro fo...

In November 3rd of 1965, a military aircraft from the Argentinian Air Force carrying 68 airmen experienced damage in one of its engines and plunged into the jungle of the indigenous Talamanca region of Costa Rica. More than 45 years later, the mystery of what really happened to the crew and passengers of that unfortunate flight remains. According to newspaper La Manana de Cordoba, the famil...

Students and researchers from all over the world routinely come to Costa Rica to investigate the plethora of species that Nature has blessed us with. Many scientists are finding that the country's efforts to promote and advance ecotourism are paying off significantly. The Veragua Rainforest Research and Adventure Park is an example of how tourists and scientists can come together and conduct their...

On a recent issue of American Ethnologist, the Scientific Journal of the American Ethnological Society, Thomas W. Pearson takes an extensive look at some communities in Costa Rica that have chosen to adopt ordinances and municipal codes that prevent the planting of transgenics, or Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). On his article titled Transgenic-free territories in Costa Rica: Networks, p...

A top UN official has suggested to his own South American nation to look to Costa Rica as an example to follow in terms of biodiversity conservation and environmental protection. Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias recently joined the United Nations after accepting an appointment to the position as Chief of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Immediately upon taking charge, Dias made strong s...

It’s been unseasonably windy this year. These breezes are usually a welcome reprieve to the sweltering heat that invades Guanacaste. But this year is not the same as last; these winds have fueled a season of wildfires. Today the air smells fresh. Every morning I’ve been waking to smoky odors of charred leaves and brush, a smell that sticks to my hair and clothes like Napalm. I’ve learned to hat...

The National Seismologic Network (RSN in Spanish) and the Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) have issued reports of an earthquake just before 2:00 pm with an epicenter inland from the Gulf of Nicoya, 1 kilometer north of Costa de Pajaros. According to the OVSICORI, the quake was felt in parts of Guanacaste, Puntarenas, Jaco Beach, and the occidental region of...

The rivers Chachagua and Chachaguita are considered potential sources of hydroelectric power by national utility firms such as ICE, Fuerza y Luz and private co-ops. Members of the community in Chachagua in San Isidro de Penas Blancas are not in agreement. Earlier this week, hundreds of residents of Chachagua protested their displeasure at different plans to develop hydroelectric plants on their...

A promising find by a group of Yale University researchers studying the properties of fungi in the Amazon rainforest was once a subject investigated by a young Tica college student for her Bachelor thesis. The map to the right of this article shows the biodiversity areas in Costa Rica where Angelica Acuna Gonzalez indicated the presence of pestalotiopsis microspora. Recent news regarding the am...

The styluses of the seismometers at the research departments of our national universities were busy on Tuesday, March 13th with reports of an earthquake that was slightly felt during lunchtime. The epicenter of the seismic event has not yet been pinpointed. The initial reports from the Seismic and Volcanology Observatory (OVSICORI in Spanish) indicate that the epicenter was three kilometers sou...

Costa Rica's vacation appeal is undeniable, particularly to visitors from North America, but that didn't stop the national tourism board (Instituto Costarricense de Turismo, ICT) from launching one of the most ambitious -and successful- marketing campaigns ever created for stimulating visits to our country.  The Million Dollar Gift of Happiness Campaign has been one of the most clever ways to mark...

A beach community in Guanacaste will be getting a special Christmas gift in January. Nine brilliant young minds from the New York Institute of Technology are coming to Costa Rica in January to share their knowledge and environmental moxie with the people of Playa Nosara in an effort to promote sustainability. One of the most difficult lessons being learned by people in Costa Rica is that their...