Reuters (London) - published July 02, 2009
Costa Rica is very nearly paradise, not just for holiday-makers lounging on its beaches, but for its citizens who are extremely satisfied with their lot and also have a tiny carbon footprint.
The combination has earned the central American country first place in a new Happy Planet Index (HPI) published on Monday.
While leaders of the developed world attending G8 talks in Italy worry away at economic indicators like Gross Domestic Product (GDP), deflation and their implications for economic recovery, the second edition of the HPI lauds alternative standards that provide a new twist on the old adage that wealth does not buy happiness.
Costa Rica stands out for the highest levels of reported life satisfaction, a long life expectancy of 78.5 years and because 99 percent of its energy comes from renewable sources.
Playa Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
... one of 2009 "World's Sexiest Beaches" per Concierge.com
Latin American nations generally fare well, bagging nine out of 10 of the top spots and Sub-Saharan Africa performs very badly, with Zimbabwe taking bottom place. It scores 16.6 out of 100, compared with Costa Rica's HPI total of 76.1, according to an advance copy of the report.
Somewhere in between are the world's wealthiest economies.
The United States is placed 114th out of the 143 nations surveyed, with an HPI result of 30.7 and was found to be "greener and happier" 10 years ago than today--as were China and India, ranked respectively 20th and 35th, with scores of 57.1 and 53.
Economic Growth
"Following the siren's song of economic growth has delivered only marginal benefits to the world's poorest while undermining the basis of their livelihoods," said Nic Marks of the New Economic Foundation, a London-based "think and do tank" that pursues "real economic well-being" and is the brains behind the HPI.
"What's more it hasn't notably improved the well-being of those who were already rich, or even provided economic stability."
The aim, Marks said, was "to break the spell" and work towards "a high well-being, low-carbon economy before our high-consuming lifestyles plunge us into the chaos of irreversible climate change.
"To measure the efficiency with which countries convert the earth's finite resources into their citizens' well-being, the HPI takes three separate indicators--ecological footprint, life-satisfaction and life-expectancy--and then carries out complex calculations.
First published in 2006 as "a radical departure from our current obsession with GDP", the HPI's sums have been criticised for not taking sufficient account of issues such as political freedom, but the index has also found followers.Within two days of the launch of the first HPI, it was downloaded and read in 185 countries worldwide.
Among those who have taken up the idea are David Cameron, leader of Britain's opposition Conservative political party, and the European Commission has launched a programme "Beyond GDP" in pursuit of ways to measure progress better adapted to our age.
Anyone can calculate their own HPI though the Happy Planet Index website. www.HappyPlanetIndex.org
This morning I discovered my wallet missing from my previous days? pants pocket here in Costa Rica. A search of the house, car, etc. turned-up nothing. Gone was all my Costa Rica identification, local debit cards, U.S. credit cards ? most everything important except for my passport (which remains at home). In between canceling local bank cards and going to my local Banco Costa Rica to obtain a new Costa Rica Cedula (National Identification) and C.R. drivers license I called a friend to see if they could visit the Moravia, Costa Rica café I had sat in the previous night ? just in case my wallet had fell out of my pocket at the restaurant and an honest customer or employee had turned it in. A stretch on many different levels. Within 15 minutes my friend called back and said the café had my wallet, but they would not release it to my friend ? that I had to retrieve it myself, matching the identification in the wallet. About 45 minutes later I had my wallet with everything intact. The waitress that found my wallet seemed genuinely happy to return it to me. That?s all for this Costa Rica crime report (or lack there of  )
NatureAir Announces Costa Rica Kids Fly Free Summer Program
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 16 -- Today NatureAir, the world's first voluntary carbon neutral airline, announced that families in pursuit of a great summer deal are getting their wish with the airline's kids fly free summer savings program.
From June 15 through August 30, 2009 NatureAir is opening up its skies for children up to 11 years old to all destinations NatureAir flies IN Costa Rica with the purchase of two adult round trip tickets (all travel is within Costa Rica).
"With the struggling economy we felt it was time to help our loyal customers keep some cash in their pockets," said Alexi Huntley Khajavi, NatureAir Commercial Director. "At NatureAir we want to bring families closer together and understand that vacationing in Costa Rica is an unforgettable experience."
Road travel in Costa Rica can be very dangerous and time consuming due to unpaved and unmarked roads. However by utilizing air travel families can reach many destinations in under an hour.
For a complete list of flight schedules and prices visit www.natureair.com or call 800-235-9272. For vacation information contact NatureAir's eco-friendly travel agency NatureVacations ( http://www.naturevacations.com).
ˇPura Cielos Amigables!
Have your kids been to a Costa Rican Rain Forest?
Even if they?ve only
dreamed about it, kids from Kindergarten through 5th Grade are invited
to submit original stories and artwork to the ?I Love Costa Rica?s Rain
Forest!? contest?based upon a real or imaginary travel adventure in the
Costa Rican rainforest.
This contest is free. No purchase necessary.
The deadline to enter is September 30, 2009 and winners will receive
prizes donated by RandMcNally.
For an entry form and complete contest
rules, visit www.SmartPoodlePublishing.com.
Winner?s stories will be published at SmartPoodlePublising.com as well as on RandMcNally.com.
Driving in Costa Rica is
dangerous. Plain and simple.
Otherwise sane and courteous people become self-absorbed road-rage
maniacs once behind the wheel of a motorized vehicle here in the land
of
un-enforced traffic laws.
Drivers stop and block whole lanes of traffic to step inside a store
for
a loaf of bread. Traffic control is a joke with drivers ignoring
posted speed limits, disobeying traffic lights, stop signs, school
zones, etc. etc.
Probably the single largest Costa Rica traffic problem is when drivers
completely ignore marked roadways reducing navigation to a free-for-all. Motorcycles weave through
traffic passing cars on both the left and right sides while using
oncoming lanes as their own personal drag strips. Cars along with
motorcycles routinely pull U-turns in the middle of heavy
traffic:
What you saw in this video is classic
Costa Rica driving with a really
bad ending. Automobiles are lined up in a left-turn lane when a car
driving in the outside lane attempts to beat another car while crossing
two-lanes of traffic to make a left turn in-front of the waiting vehicles. As detailed in the video, the resulting crash was
horrific. The car that was hit head-on was driven by a man and
his new wife, both were killed instantly leaving one young child
without a mother.
As you could see in the video, this
type of driving behavior is
not limited to a few bad drivers. The video also shows a city bus
pulling the same illegal turning maneuver presumably with a bus load of
passengers. As the bus makes its move, another driver tries to
make a U-turn behind the bus and is almost hit by an oncoming car that
just cleared the bus.
And the madness doesn't stop with public
bus drivers. Almost
daily while taking my son to school I witness Costa Rica school bus
drivers weaving
through traffic, making U-turns and cutting-off other
cars while packed with uniformed private school students. It's
absolutely nutz and the main reason my son's life is no longer
entrusted with the friendly neighborhood bus driver - a wave, a smile
& and then let the reckless driving begin with my son in his van -
No Thanks! Parents
if you love your kids, anonymously follow their school bus once in a
while to check the drivers habits!!!
New Costa Rica traffic laws have been
written, passed through
legislation and will soon take effect
in efforts to curtail this crazyness ... but without real
enforcement, the desired reforms will more than likely have little
effect on the culture of chaos that is currently Costa Rica's roadways.
Then again, Costa Rica police have their own traffic issues:
For all the wonderful things that are Costa Rica, this little
traffic problem is not going to fix itself. Especially as more and more cars crowd the roadways and newer generations of drivers learn
these same bad behaviors.
Meanwhile, the guy in the video sitting on his motorcycle waiting to make a left turn is this month's "Luckiest man [still] ALIVE in Costa Rica". Hopefully he'll slow down and not weave through
traffic for a day or so after catching such a lucky break ... wishful thinking I'm sure.
Still not convinced driving in Costa Rica is dangerous?! Check out this video from Micheal Allen and D'Angelo of www.TravelCostaRicaNow.com
Be sure to see our other Costa Rica traffic related content:
Those considering international locations to expand business, invest, buy
vacation property, relocate or retire must always take into account the
stability of the country. As a United States citizen that has relocated to
Costa Rica, I am arguably biased as to why I think this beautiful country is a
great choice for business and relocation ... however, my opinions are admittedly
based more on personal feelings than hard facts.
The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited is a research and
advisory company providing country, industry and management analysis worldwide.
Known for its country profiles, monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports and industry reports;
the Economist also specializes in tailored research for companies that require analysis for particular markets or business sectors.
Its regular reports
include the 'liveability' of the world's major cities and the quality-of-life
index which receive wide coverage in international news sources.
In a March 2009 special report titled "Manning the Barricades",
The Economist issued a detailed forecast outlining the current world
economic crisis and its possible effects on political stability. Within
the report individual countries where ranked for vulnerability of political
instability.
According to the report Costa Rica is rated one of the world's most stable
countries ... with only 6 countries ranked higher out of 165. Of all the
countries in the Americas (North America, Central America, The Caribbean and
South America); only Costa Rica and Canada made the top 20 - the U.S.A.
ranked 55 overall.

Costa Rica is not utopia. It is not for everybody and is still
considered a 'developing' nation. However, some of the misconceptions about Costa Rica
are downright comical ... just today I read a question from a online poster
asking if Costa Rica had Internet, cable television and cell phones. Just
in case you don't know; Costa Rica does have all three. I'm posting this
blog on my own high-speed cable Internet Wi-Fi connection from my three bedroom condominium filled with custom hardwood furniture while a really great evening breeze comes through my bedroom window that remains open year-round.
What Costa Rica also has is a stable national banking system that didn't get involved
in the high-risk lending practices experienced in other countries. It's
not a coincidence that the only banks in trouble here in Costa Rica are
private/foreign owned ... like Citibank.
The Costa Rica economy has slowed down along with the rest of the world and some economists have declared Costa Rica to be experiencing its own recession. Yet Costa Rica's stability continues to; attract foreign companies in opening new facilities and to expand on existing operations, keep domestic and foreign driven construction projects online even as funding sources have become more conservative, maintain real estate values due to relatively consistent demand and attract foreigners for vacations, reduced-priced first-class medical treatments, relocations and retirement.
If these are all the traits of a 'developing' or 'third-world' country ... I
am happy to be a part of it.
ˇPura Estabilidad!
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