Weekly review

5.3 million trees planted

Costa Rica had set the goal of planting 5 million trees this year, but by November had already surpassed that number with an additional 300,000 trees. Even more, it is believed that the overall number will be 6.4 million. Of those, 600,000 trees were bought by citizens who paid for them and planted them at home. The program is aimed at reforesting 6,000 hectares –over 14,800 acres– with native species. A young man, Mauricio Artinano is the leader of the initiative. He pointed out that because of the successful 2007 campaign, the goal for 2008 will be planting 7 million trees.

Agreement with NASA

	Imprimir		Recomendar
	Disminuir		Aumentar

In an act that shows the interest of the U.S. space agency in the plasma engine developed by Costa Rican physicist and former astronaut Franklin Chang, NASA ad Ad Astra Rocket signed a cooperation agreement. It is an umbrella agreement, that sets the legal guidelines for the joint work to be developed by the agency and the company from now on, Dr. Chang explained. According to him, this agreement paves the way that his company must follow from now through the year 2010, when it plans to test its plasma engine in space.

Technology leader

Regarding the most and best use of technology, Costa Rica is the leader in Central America and fourth in Latin America, after Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina. This was established in the yearly ranking by Latin Business Chronicle, a U.S. business weekly on the Internet. The data for the ranking is compiled by the International Telecommunications Union, the Computer Industry Almanac, and the Chamber of Commerce of Santiago, Chile. Guatemala ranked 12th, El Salvador 11th, Honduras 16th, and Nicaragua 18th among the 20 countries listed.

Stone sphere found

In the final stage of excavation of the remains of an Indian pre-Columbian village in Palmar Sur, in the Costa Rican South Pacific, a National Museum team of archaeologists, led by Adrian Bonilla, found a 1.1 meter stone sphere, in exactly the same place where it was set some 1,000 years ago. He finding was exciting, particularly because the last of such spheres –world renowned because they are found only in the area– had been found in 1994. According to Bonilla, the sphere was a symbol of power.

“Coyote” gang busted

A gang that engaged in smuggling illegal immigrants through Costa Rica, on their way to the United States, was busted by the local police. The seven leading members of the criminal organization were arrested and now face 2 to 6 year sentences. The chief of the Judiciary Police (OIJ in Spanish) Jorge Rojas said that the operation followed a year long investigation. He further explained that the immigrants came from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, and that each paid $7,000 to those who, allegedly, would make it possible for the illegals to reach the U.S.

$18-million plant

Kimberly Clark –the manufacturer of paper towels, napkins, and other goods– is to build a new plant in the Zeta Industrial Park, in Cartago. The investment, which has already been approved by headquarters in the U.S., will reach $18 million. The new facility will handle paper recycling, which is at the base of the firm’s operations here, where it buys 28,000 tons of paper a year from family or micro companies. The environmentally friendly operations are now centered at plant in Belen, Heredia, which has grown small for the company’s needs.

240,000 fly into Guanacaste

Even though the flow of passengers through Liberia’s Daniel Oduber International Airport increased since November, it is December 15th that marks the start of the high tourist season. From now and through next April, 60 flights will arrive every week, carrying mainly snowbirds who come to enjoy the sunny beaches of the Costa Rican North West Pacific. Airport manager Analive Rosales pointed out that this is a huge jump from the 24 regular flights that they record a week during the rainy season. The increase in the number of flights goes along with the upward trend in the arrival of visitors, which went from 76,000 in 2005, 86,000 in 2006, and now an estimated 240,000.