Campground & Snorkling @ OSA!

On Tuesday, June 3, 2008 we travled one hour by boat to Cano Island. After getting there we received snorkling gear and I went snorkling for the first time in my life! We weren't very far off shore and we could only see about 10 feet deep. I saw some exotic fish, however, the most exciting moment was when we were back in the boat heading back to the coast, when we saw dolphins. It was incredibly hard to capture their picture because they would come up and right back down, but if you look closely to the last picture you can see it's fin! Finally, before leaving on Wednesday morning, I took a few pictures of the campground/hotel we stayed at for those few days, and yes, those are tents (the first two pictures).

Waterfall @ OSA!

After hiking through the woods at the Osa, we went on another hike. Yet, this one lead to a waterfall! As you can see above, it was beautiful. The most fun part was lying in the refreshing water and jumping off the top!

Nature Walk @ OSA!

After enjoying some rays, the group left for a nature walk. Once again, we were partaking in eco-tourism. Even though everything was interesting, some of the most interesting are shown above. Included is a few birds, a tree, and a leopard print. However, the most interesting is the first picture which captures the ants all working together. According to Cradle to Cradle, the ants are one of the most sustaining creatures that live on the Earth. Overall, the hike was great!

Paradise!!!

Well, it's a little hard to remember this far back because we have been away from San Jose for so long. After Manuel Antonio we went white water rafting on Saturday, May 31, 2008. I was unable to take any pictures due to the fact that I don't have a water-proof camera, but I wish that I could have! Looking back right now, it has been by far the best time of this trip. Not only was the scenery gorgeous, the rapids were also a tough 18 miles long! After white water rafting, we were off again to the Osa Peninsula from Sunday, June 1 to Wednesday, June 4, 2008. As you can see above, it was beautiful there! Another amazing experience on this trip was lying in the hammock, while listening to the Pacific Ocean waves crashing against the shore!

Manuel Antonio!

On Tuesday, May 27, 2008 we left for a two day trip to the Manuel Antonio beach. On the way, the driver stopped at a local river where we were able to see crocodiles!!! (the first four pictures). At the time they didn't seem aggresive, however I was perfectly fine viewing them from a distance. Then, we returned back to the bus and headed toward the beach. When we arrived we got unpacked and headed for the sand. The last picture is from the hotel balcony of the beautiful ocean. The food was great because it actually tasted like American food due to the fact that we were at a "hot spot" marketed for tourists. However, the best part of the trip was the warm ocean and bringing back the old school game of...jackpot. After everyone left to go back to the hotel to get clean, Rob and I had a different idea. We decided to take an adventure over to some of the coast line rocks. There we saw close to 40 crabs, and I don't think I have ever seen that many in my life. Overall, it was a great few days!

Eco-Tourism: A Closer Look!

After watching, The 11th Hour, I have realized how vital it is as a human species that we take responsibility for our actions and promote the growth of our planet over the promotion of the economy. In other words, our species can survive without an economy, but it can’t survive without our planet. The wonderful thing is that ecotourism in Costa Rica has been able to combine the two. Not only are they preserving essential forests, but they are using them to boast their economy with little side effects.

Speaking of deforestation, I feel it is important to discuss how significant this issue is in our world today. Deforestation is growing at an exponential amount and if we don’t take a stance now it will be too late. How are reserves, such as Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, beneficial to our ecosystem? Well, we are losing biodiversity, they not only create homes for many different animals and plants, but they are also the source of different medicines. In addition, forests are vital aspect to complete the environmental cycle. Trees are able to absorb CO2 emissions that we as a human species are emitting. Two other critical purposes of forests are to control flooding and erosion, without them, both could become serious problems.

I tell you the effects of deforestation to stress the importance of these forests and wildlife for our very existence. Without them, we would live a life where natural resources are even limited than they are now until we reached a breaking point. A surface look at Monteverde forest and you see beautiful Mother Nature, however if you take a step back, you can see that it is truly a key aspect to our survival. At the rate that the human population is growing, more forests must be kept safe from deforestation, before it is too late.

While at Monteverde, I was interested in what the “locals” thought of all of the tourists. The reply from the man who worked there was that he loved the tourists because they were the ones that were allowing him to put food on the table for his family. It seemed like a win-win situation. I was enjoying the culture of Costa Rica and he was able to feed and care for his family. However, he said that many Ticos that don’t work in the tourist industry can become very irritated by tourists due to the fact that they increase traffic and don’t speak Spanish. There are always going to be positives and negatives to every situation because nothing is perfect. Nevertheless, the eco-tourism industry is a fundamental sustaining industry for the world’s eco-system.

Banana Business: Good or Bad?

Well, that’s a hard question. To answer let’s look at it from the point of view from the text, Corporate Survival: The Critical Importance of Sustainability Risk Management. One of the main themes in the novel is the discussion of maximizing shareholder value by increasing financial performance, environmental performance, and social justice performance.

1. Financial Performance: Well, overall the banana business is doing well in the financial aspect of this model. Bananas have been one of Costa Rica’s number one exporters for years. Today, it is still very profitable, which would allow us to assume that banana business is good. However, we must look at the other two objectives in order to come to a conclusion about whether or not the banana business is good or bad?

2. Environmental Performance: There are numerous environmental standards set by the government to help protect the ecosystem from the banana business. One example would be Art. No. 13, which states that waste shall not be burned. Solid waste which is demonstrably unfit for collection or recycling, shall be deposited in sanitary landfills. According to the text, Cradle to Cradle, it is a positive motion that they are banning the burning of waste due to the fact that it could emit powerful chemicals into the environment, which would be harmful to humans, animals, plants, and the ozone. However, they are directly saying that it is ok to deposit their waste into sanitary landfills. That is unacceptable. The waste that they are going to leave in the landfill is not going to decompose and be beneficial to the earth, and therefore the harmful chemicals are just going to stay there. Would you consider this a good business plan, harming our own Earth where there aren’t unlimited resources?

3. Social Justice Performance: The final aspect of the model discusses social justice. As I have stated before, social justice is the concept of fairness and equity in dealing with workers, local communities, and people in other countries. Well, how is the banana business handling this objective? Today, thousands of workers were exposed to harmful chemicals in order to “effectively” produce bananas. I would say that isn’t the best treatment of your employees. Also, the business only offers three month contracts, in order to rotate employees. I don’t believe this is a good business plan because your workers aren’t going to work at their highest potential if they have a fear of losing their job at any moment. Another point that must be made is that the workers often face sexual harassment and violence. Again, they aren’t creating a safe work environment. The final point that I would like to make is that the workers are often paid below the legal minimum wage, which doesn’t push the workers to be the best. Would you consider this a good business plan?

Overall, would you consider Costa Rica’s current banana business, a good one or bad one? From this information, I hope that the banana business takes a new look at where they are heading and what kind of business they want to be.

Information from: http://members.tripod.com/foro_emaus/ni5.html