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[quote=”sweikert925″]Maybe the population pessimists need to read and ponder [url=http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579265520447488200]this[/url] or [url=http://www.economist.com/node/14744915]this.[/url]
Costa Rica has, by the way, already [url=http://www.ticotimes.net/2014/03/25/costa-rica-reports-the-lowest-fertility-rate-in-its-history]reached a birth rate which means a shrinking population.[/url][/quote]Statistics, as usual, can be manipulated to promote one’s viewpoint.(mine and everyone else’s).
The world birth rate (2000-2012) has indeed declined from 22 per 1000 to 19 per 1000 population, while the death rate has gone from 9 per 1000 to 8. However, who will argue that we will not have any serious impacts until we reach the nebulous maximum carrying capacity of the planet? Has the world not changed, at least partly due to population changes in the last 50 years?But to get this discussion subtly back to Costa Rica, the birth rate for C.R. has declined from 20.7 to 16.4 per 1000 population (2000-2012) while the death rate has increased slightly (4.3–>4.4). In keeping with the validity of statistics, whether or not pensionados/residents/illegals are included in these data will skew the numbers one way or another, since C.R is a small country.
[quote=”sprite”]
So you do not suspect any great change is coming; no dollar collapse, no great depression, no hyper inflation or defaltion….everything is just fine…right?[/quote]Dollar decline? Deep recession/depression? Hyperinflation? Deflation? All these events have happened in the history of the Republic; and the world for that matter. All these things are volatile. They will undoubtedly continue in future. Did you buy a house in Reagan’s 1980? The mortgage rate was 14.5% for me then; and higher for others. The real overwhelming future worry is human population, and its imminently disastrous increase. Here are some worrisome world population facts:
To go from
1 billion to 2 billion took 127 years (1800-1927)
2 billion to 3 billion took 33 years (1927-1960)
3 billion to 4 billion took 14 years (1960 – 1974)
4 billion to 5 billion took 13 years (1974-1987)
5 billion to 6 billion took 12 years (1987-1999)
6 billion to 7 billion took 13 years (1999-2012)As of today we are over 7.2 billion. Even if we hold at 12 or 13 years to add another billion, by 2050 we will be over 10 billion, which is about the maximum carrying capacity of the Earth. Beyond that point, the projections are for – who knows? Optimists say we will adapt to a new paradigm, pessimists say we’ll have a total collapse of civilization. In the absence of global war, disease pandemics, or massively expanded birth control, it’s difficult to argue that “everything is just fine”. Nor would I, though these things may be fearsome on a personal level. My grandchildren will be around by 2050, perhaps yours as well. I will not, nor will any readers of Scott’s forum, I suspect.
Based on carefully researched population projections by the U.N., there is an 80% probability that the world’s population will be between 9.6 and 12.3 billion by the year 2100. Anyone with a perspective beyond their immediate needs & biases ought to think a bit about this. (My 10 colones.)
[quote=”sweikert925″]
So it is the same guy eh? I see he charges [url=http://www.goldenjackass.com/subscribe.html]$110 for a six month subscription to allow his disciples to receive his pearls of wisdom.Whether he is a kook or not is personal perception. To MY personal perception, he seems to believe the sky is falling and he is running around in circles with one foot nailed to the floor, with a golden gleam in his eye. Many of his frenetic pronouncements are nothing if not laughable. [Also, with little or no primary relevance to Costa Rica].
[quote=”VictoriaLST”]Pharg, I loved reading about your experience (good thing it wasn’t fire ants).
[/quote]
Mixed with something sweet, boric acid powder [probably sodium borate] is a good general purpose, very low toxicity treatment for most ants.
Where I currently live (FL) fire ants are a big problem, and when walking the dog [condo association rules: no unleashed dogs] I carry a can of fire ant dust. I am mostly an avid supporter of biodiversity except when it comes to parasitic and harmful insects (spiders, wasps & bees are mostly OK; Death to mosquitoes, biting flies, fire ants, bot flies) 😉[quote=”costaricafinca”]This was one of the suggestions given to them, but the problems is finding the nest(s)entrance, in the neighboring coffee farms…. and it seems to be a ‘whole development’, rather than one unit…:lol: considering what damage has been done, while the neighboring home owners work together trying to eliminate those that originate in the ‘hood.
I also mentioned previously, that dynamite has been used on occasion..:roll:[/quote]
My experience with leafcutter ants has been more positive. The first time I lived in C.R. [many years ago] we spent a weekend camping out out on the beach in Cahuita. [and BTW we never had any unpleasant human experiences there] I am taller than average, 6’2″, and my feet stuck out of the little tent. Just at dawn I had a tickling sensation in my ankles, which turned out to be a long procession of leafcutters heading home with their booty. My feet had lain on their scent trail. I watched fascinatedly for 15-20 minutes before the tickling became overwhelming; ever since, I have marveled at the doggedness and determinedness of these critters. I have always regretted not having a camera as they climbed over the twin peaks of my feet.Speaking of health food, Costa Rica is reputed to use more pesticides than some other countries on their agricultural products. One doesn’t hear much about autistic children here, though they must exist. The Environmental News Network today reported on a ‘ClickGreen’ article on the relationship between pesticides and autism:
Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay, according to a new study.
The research discovered the associations were even stronger when the exposures occurred during the second and third trimesters of the women’s pregnancies.
The large, multisite California-based study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute examined associations between specific classes of pesticides, including organophosphates, pyrethroids and carbamates, applied during the study participants’ pregnancies and later diagnoses of autism and developmental delay in their offspring.
“This study validates the results of earlier research that has reported associations between having a child with autism and prenatal exposure to agricultural chemicals in California,” said lead study author Janie F. Shelton, a UC Davis graduate student who now consults with the United Nations.If interested, more details here: http://www.clickgreen.org.uk/analysis/
Ahem!
I most courteously suggest that you folks arguing in the sandbox about Social Security et al., take your deaf locked-in opinions to the PM route unless they have direct relevance to Costa Rica.
Scott, I wonder how many WLCR readers have/will bail out because of these boring exchanges?
PEH[quote=”Scott”]Thank you for this PEH…. You can read the article online by clicking on the link below:
[url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/photobooth/2014/03/the-comandantes-canal-jehad-ngas-photographs-from-nicaragua.html#slide_ss_0=1]CHASING THE COMANDANTE’S CANAL[/url]
Scott[/quote](Actually, this is a one page promo for the article, which is 11 pages long. It does, however, have a series of 12 photos that are not present in the article}
[quote=”Imxploring”]
Some advice…. don’t spend the money moving the majority of your stuff. The environment up by the lake will most likely not be kind to it. Just some advice based on experience. [/quote]There are others who would offer the opposite advice. A former frequent contributor to this Forum, who frequently offered helpful advice, has a blog that discusses this question of -to move [your stuff] or not to move- here:
http://www.enjoycostarica.co/blog[quote=”Scott”]
Non-Spanish readers can paste the Spanish article into the [url=http://translate.google.com/#es/en/]Google Translate application here[/url] to get a decent English version..
[/quote]Not related to electricity, but my faith in Google Translate is pretty low, if you get your Tico news that way.
I had to laugh out loud at this one.I usually don’t rely on online translation, but today I was looking through ‘La Nacion’, one of Costa Rica’s daily papers, using Google Translate.
Prominent was this Google translated headline:
[b]Blue strings of electric saving monkeys[/b]
Who could resist checking that out?
The story was about installing blue nylon ropes across highways at treetop level so that endangered marmosets could move about without being electrocuted by transmission wires.
The original article headline was:
[b]
Cuerdas azules salvan a monos de electrocución[/b]I would translate that as:
[b]
Blue ropes are saving monkeys from electrocution[/b]Made my day.
PEH[quote=”Stepheni”],
I am planning on traveling to CR on vacation, but also to learn about different areas with a mind towards purchasing/renting a home for the winters/investment.
[/quote]If you’re really serious about this, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. These are all very good:
1. George Lundquist’s tour: http://www.costaricaretireonss.com/
2. Chris Howard’s tours & books: http://www.liveincostarica.com/
3. Scott Oliver’s books & this forum
[quote=”sweikert925″]Scott, I just got your latest newsletter titled “Why My Buttocks No Longer Touch Each Other”
WTMI!*
*(WAY too much information)[/quote]
I suppose this would be a good example of “prospero [b]ano [/b]nuevo”
😆[quote=”sweikert925″][quote=”costaricafinca”]but we have been to Upala many times, and it is much higher that this, so I would advise you not rely on all information posted, as to be exact or even close and check for yourself.[/quote]
How do you know it is higher? Did you take altimeter readings yourself? If not then I don’t understand how you’re arriving at that conclusion.[/quote]
not to prolong this suddenly uninteresting thread, but Google Earth gives the altitude of Upala at 165-170′ depending on where you are standing.
[quote=”sweikert925″]
I was hoping to get an altimeter so I can measure the altitude of the places I will be visiting on my upcoming visit to CR in a couple of weeks. But that was before I found that altimeters are really just barometers and that they work by measuring barometric pressure, not actual height above sea level. Barometric pressure changes the higher up you go. But since barometric pressure ALSO keeps changing with the weather, how DO you get an accurate reading of altitude?[/quote]
A 300’ elevation probably does not make a major difference in some areas [Heredia CITY for example] but it probably makes a big difference if you are on opposite sides of a mountain; and also on a directional difference [e.g., facing North vs. facing South]. I’m sure other possibilities exist. Vegetational differences come to mind.
On altimetry, a really good GPS would be my choice. However, as an oceanographer, I would prefer a depth sounder.:wink:
[quote=”sweikert925″]Given how much the weather in Costa Rica is influenced by how high up you live, I thought I’d post these location elevations I came across recently. I’m not sure how accurate these are and the site I found them on (weatherbase.com) doesn’t say whether these are average elevation, highest elevation or lowest elevation but I’m going to guess that they are lowest since the number posted for Puerto Limon is -12 feet.
HEREDIA Elevation: 3743 feet
[/quote]Sorry to be so picky on this, but these numbers are neither accurate, nor precise; whether you think of Heredia as a city or a canton.
If the CITY, Heredia is in the range of about 3600′ (~1108m) to 3900′ (1200m). UNA, for example, at Av. Cent., is 3800′.
If the CANTON of Heredia, the range is about 30′ (9.2m) to over 9400′ (2890m).
I am sure the same applies to all the others listed. As you say, altitude = microclimate = weather.
You can parse altitudes of individual neighborhoods & streets with Google Earth, and parse lines of equal altitude with Google Maps.
PEH
