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A.M.
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Published Monday, Dec. 5, 2016,
in Vol. 17,
No. 240
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San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, Vol. 17,
No. 240
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Renewable
energy called a big opportunity
By the World
Wildlife Fund news staff
The various sources of renewable energy represent an opportunity for Latin America to have its development shared by the entire population, and would particularly favor the more than 20 million people living in regions without electricity, according to World Wildlife Fund expert Tabare Arroyo. Arroyo, the organization's adviser on the economy and energy, visited Asuncion this week for a series of meetings with officials of the Paraguayan administration. In an interview, the expert noted that “renewable energy promotes a decentralized energy production model that permits the existence of prosumers: people who produce the energy they consume.” The Wildlife Fund representative said that, in line with the sustainable development goals proposed by the United Nations, many developing economies are looking to use 100 percent renewable energy by the year 2050. The region’s leading renewable-energy-producing countries, according to the fund, are led by Costa Rica, which in 2013 generated 87 percent of its energy from renewable sources, and by Uruguay, which in 2012 became the country in the region with the highest percentage of its GDP invested in this sector. Costa Rica makes extensive use of hydro power. According to Arroyo, Latin America and the Caribbean boast a great potential for producing renewable energy, which could allow some countries to forget about an economic model based on fossil fuels like oil and coal. Arroyo added, however, that these countries still have a high dependency on those greenhouse-gas-producing fuels, above all in the transportation sector, 80 percent of which depends on oil, and in homes without electricity, where residents use wood or coal for cooking and heating their dwellings. In spite of that, the The World Wildlife fund said it believes the transition to an energy matrix based on renewables is already becoming evident, for example, in the declining cost of solar energy and the growing investment and the creation of new jobs in the sector. The region of Latin America and the Caribbean has the potential to provide 20 times the demand for electricity projected for 2050 using renewable energy, without any further dependence on fossil fuels, which could make it the leader in the sector, according to fund data. The region currently generates 7 percent of the world’s electricity, and almost 65 percent of this electricity comes from renewable sources, mainly from hydroelectric plants. Electric charging station opens today By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The state power company will put into service today its first filling station for electric cars. The location is the company’s main offices in Sabana Norte. The company, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, said that a typical charging would take about 20 minutes. Of the 1.4 million autos in the country, only 200 are electric, said the state company. But its subsidiary, the Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz, has 27 vehicles that run on electricity, and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad estimates that it will purchase 100 for its own crews and set up two more charging stations, in Jacó and Alajuela.
Four-legged
victims are getting aid, too
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
Thousands of the hungry hurricane victims have large, floppy ears and big, brown eyes. So the government has distributed 250,000 kilos of food for animals in the wake of Hurricane Otto. In addition, 254 pets have been treated at temporary clinics, said the Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal. The food can be rice, hay, salt and food concentrates for cows, pigs, chickens and even fish. A lot of the food has been donated, the agency said. 29,000 kilos were for household pets, it added.
Pizzagate fakery leads to shooting By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
Police in the U.S. capital said a man arrested Sunday for firing a gun inside a popular pizza restaurant told them he was there to self-investigate a conspiracy theory, which spread through fake news stories during the presidential campaign. Fake stories were prevalent throughout the race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, helping to obscure facts about their positions and history and gaining wide exposure thanks to people sharing the false information on social media. Sunday's incident happened at Comet Ping Pong, where a fake narrative alleges there is a pedophilia ring linked to the Clintons. Restaurant owner James Alefantis reported getting repeated death threats before the election. Police said 28-year-old Edgar Maddison Welch walked into Comet Ping Pong Sunday afternoon, pointed a gun at an employee and later fired it. Employees and customers fled the restaurant and other businesses in the area went into lockdown. No one was injured.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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S.A 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere without
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A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 5,
2016, Vol. 17,
No. 240
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| Overseas
telecom services may be affected by a problem in México |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The internet, international calls and data transfers from Costa Rica to the rest of the world might have been a little shaky overnight. The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad said that the Maya-1 undersea cable might show degraded service after 10 p.m. Sunday because of emergency repair work taking place in Cancún, México. This is the cable that carries a lot of the country’s electronic information. The state telecom company did not say so, but service also would presume to be degraded with the rest of the firms that use the same cable service. |
The
Maya-1 is one of two major cables that connects Costa
Rica to the rest of the world. It is run by the Consorcio Cable Submarino Maya. The cable runs
from Colombia to Florida with intermediate stops,
including one in Limón. The work was supposed to be done by 4 a.m. today. Despite the warning by the state telecom company, internet service did not seem to be affected early today. The company said it was seeking alternate routes. The Mexicans were said to have to reconfigure the electrical supply of the cable landing station there. |
| Contract to be signed this week for Costa Rica-Panamá bridge | |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A consortium of three firms, two from México and one from Costa Rica, will build the new bridge over the Río Sixaola to Panamá. The United Nations Office for Project Services is managing the bridge job, and said that the participating companies are Constructora MECO of Costa Rica and Cal y Mayor y Asociados and MEXPRESA. A contract is expected to be signed this week with the firms doing business as the Consorcio Binacional de Sixaola. The job is worth $17.5 million. Costa Rica will pay just $3.75 million. The new bridge will replace a temporary bailey bridge that was installed because the old railway bridge that had been used was unsafe for vehicle traffic. That bridge still is used by pedestrians. Officials of both countries said they hope to have the new bridge in service by the end of February 2018. Work is due to start in the first four months of next year. |
 Ministerio
de Obras Públicas y Transportes photo
This is the current situation with the temporary
bridge parallel to the railway span. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 5,
2016, Vol. 17,
No. 240
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| Sick or injured dolphin gets help By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Members of the Servicio Nacional de Guardacostas rescued a dolphin last week in the Pacific and transported it to a recovery center. The Ministerio de Seguridad Pública said that the dolphin was seen struggling off Playa Coyotera, La Cruz, Guanacaste. Th coast guard staffers managed to get the dolphin ashore and then transported it to the Parque Marino in Puntarenas where it was reported to have shown signs of improvement. The Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal also was involved. Government workers speculated on what caused the dolphin's condition, and they said they suspect that the mammal was exhausted after a long trip. |
 Ministerio
de Seguridad Pública photo
A member of the Guardacostas keeps the young
dolphin wet. |
Here's reasonable
medical care
Costa Rica's world class medical specialists are at your command. Get the top care for much less than U.S. prices. It is really a great way to spend a vacation. See our list of recommended professionals HERE!amcr-prom
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 5,
2016, Vol. 17,
No. 240
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for nation’s top diplomat By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
President-elect Donald Trump has widened his search for a secretary of State after high-profile meetings with four top candidates failed to yield a decision last week. "It is true that he's broadened the search, and the secretary of State is an incredibly important position for any president," Trump aide Kellyanne Conway told reporters at Trump Tower in New York Sunday. She said a very full slate of meetings was set to begin Monday to fill the remaining Cabinet positions. Last week, the Trump team mentioned four men as the top contenders: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, retired Army general and former CIA Director David Petraeus and 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney. Former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton also met with Trump on Friday, and vice president-elect Mike Pence included Bolton's name in a list of possible secretaries of State Sunday. Former Utah governor and ex-ambassador to Beijing Jon Huntsman is in the mix, according to CNN, while other news reports said Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is also being considered. As the list expands, one of the top candidates, Petraeus, appeared on ABC's “This Week” to express his interest in the job. Petraeus, who resigned in disgrace as head of the CIA in 2012, said Sunday he's paid for his mistakes and was ready to become Trump's chief diplomat. "I have acknowledged for a number for years that five years ago I made a serious mistake. I acknowledged it, I apologized for it, I have paid a heavy price for it, and I have learned from it," he said. Petraeus pleaded guilty last year to a misdemeanor charge of giving journals containing state secrets to his biographer and mistress, Paula Broadwell. Vice president-elect Mike Pence praised Petraeus as an American hero on NBC's “Meet the Press." Trump will factor the totality of Petraeus' career in making this decision, Pence said. Business told to stay put or face import tax on goods By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump sternly warned American businesses again Sunday that if they move their operations overseas they would face a 35-percent tax if they then try to sell their products back in the United States. In a series of Twitter comments, Trump said he plans to substantially reduce taxes and regulations on businesses. But he said that any company that fires its employees, builds a new factory or plant in another country "and then thinks it will sell its product back into the U.S. without retribution or consequence, is wrong!" The billionaire real estate mogul said the border tax on products manufactured in other countries "will make leaving financially difficult . . . Please be forewarned prior to making a very expensive mistake!" The U.S. has lost five million manufacturing jobs since 2000, many to automation and some to overseas locations where company owners are paying workers substantially less than they have been in the United States. But in his lengthy campaign for the White House, Trump vowed to curb the corporate departures and to bring back jobs that have already been moved overseas. He claimed an early success, along with vice president-elect Mike Pence, by offering $7 million in tax incentives last week to the Carrier., the air conditioning company that is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. Building & Industrial Systems, to keep 1,069 jobs in the Midwestern state of Indiana that Carrier had earlier said it was moving to Mexico. But Trump did not mention that the company still plans to move 1,100 more Indiana jobs to Mexico. Trump touted the Carrier deal while touring its Indianapolis operation even though he had attacked such tax incentive pacts during his campaign. After announcing the Carrier deal, the president-elect assailed the nearby Rexnord bearings manufacturing company, which he said is firing all of its 300 workers and sending the jobs to Mexico. Critics of the Carrier deal say that it will invite other companies to demand the same tax incentives to remain in the United States. But one Trump economic adviser, Anthony Scaramucci, said, “Companies should expect a tax break. We have the highest corp tax rates in the industrialized world, we have to get those corporate tax rates down to a competitive position. I’m hoping that every CEO in America is getting that beacon signal from the new Trump administration.” The U.S. corporate tax rate is at 35 percent. "It doesn't worry us, because ultimately, at the end of the day, we keep improving and maintaining the conditions that make business look to come here,” said Hector Castillo-Olivares, the mayor of Santa Catarina, México, where the jobs from Indiana were supposed to go.  Voice of
America photo
Wesley Clark, Jr., speaks to assembled
veterans. He is the son of the retired Army general and former political candidate. Pipeline firm
denied permit
in Standing Rock dispute By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has denied an easement for the highly controversial $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline project, the subject of months of protest by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, which contends the project would affect its drinking water supply and destroy its sacred sites. In a statement Sunday, the Corps of Engineers said it would be undertaking an environmental impact study to look at possible alternative routes for the project. The pipeline, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP, is mostly complete, except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir in North Dakota formed by a dam on the Missouri River. It is designed to transport up to 570,000 barrels of crude oil a day from North Dakota to Illinois. The company had no immediate comment on the decision. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has been protesting the pipeline for months. During the protest, the tribe has been joined by multiple groups and activists, and at times violence has erupted. In September, the Obama administration temporarily blocked construction in hopes of conducting a review of the project, but a federal court later ruled the project could continue. The Corps of Engineers originally had set a Monday deadline for the activists to vacate the site, but later said it would not enforce the order. Demonstrators had said they were prepared to stay, and federal, state and local authorities all said they would not forcibly remove them. Earlier Sunday, dozens of members of the group Veterans Stand for Standing Rock, organized by activist and veteran Wesley Clark Jr., were arriving at the protest site. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spoke to the veterans, thanking them for their support of water protectors. “You are showing how you are continuing your service as veterans. While many of you may have laid down your uniform you have served in our country’s past, you are continuing this great service for the protection and wellbeing of people,” she said. A GoFundMe page set up to support veterans coming to Standing Rock had raised more than $1 million. “Some who are talking about this issue are trying to pit two sides of our community and our country against each other, those who are choosing to support so-called economic development and jobs pitted against those who are standing for protecting water,” Rep. Gabbard said. “It’s a false narrative; it’s a false question. Unless we protect our water, there is no economy. There are no jobs. There is no life.” Jill Stein to seek U.S. help for Pennsylvania recount By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Former U.S. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is turning to a federal court in her effort to recount the state of Pennsylvania's ballots from the recent presidential election that former secretary of State Hillary Clinton was widely expected to win, but lost to billionaire businessman Donald Trump. Stein dropped her attempt to have Pennsylvania recount the votes after a state judge ordered her to post a $1 million bond. Jonathan Abady, lead counsel to Ms. Stein's recount efforts, said in a statement, "the state court system is so ill-equipped to address this problem," that "we must seek federal court intervention." One of Ms. Stein's lawyers informed a Pennsylvania court in a filing about her decision to withdraw her recount attempt that "Petitioners are regular citizens of ordinary means. They cannot afford to post the $1,000,000 bond required by the court." Ms. Stein is expected to ask a federal court Monday to aid her in recounting the Pennsylvania ballots. She has also mounted campaigns to recount the votes in Michigan and Wisconsin. President-elect Trump has called Ms. Stein's recount push a scam and has engaged lawyers in all three states to thwart her efforts. Ms. Stein stands to gain little from a recount, since she won only one percent of the popular vote. She has raised about $7 million for the recount effort and other associated costs. Austrian right-wing candidate admits his election defeat By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Austria’s anti-immigrant candidate, Norbert Hofer, has failed in his bid to become the country’s first far right leader since World War II, in an election seen as a test for the strength of populist movements in Europe. The former aeronautical engineer, who campaigned on an anti-establishment, anti-immigrant, anti-EU platform, conceded defeat to his environmentalist opponent, Alexander Van Der Bellen, who ran as an independent. Media projections said Van der Bellen won with 53.3 percent of the vote, compared to Hofer’s 46.7 percent, a victory that Van der Bellen said is a signal of hope and change to all the capitals of the European Union. Hofer had been poised to become the EU’s first far-right leader, as unease became evident in the country in the wake of a migrant crisis that has seen tens of thousands of Muslims seek asylum in Austria. In Vienna Sunday night, Hofer went before reporters at the city’s Hofburg Palace and pledged to keep up his efforts to ensure that the more than 46 percent of Austrians who voted for him were not ignored. The poll’s outcome was despite a campaign dominated by anger over issues of Muslim immigration, the financial burden of refugees and migrants who are collecting benefits from Austria's welfare system and Europe's wave of terrorist attacks over the last year, following the start of the migrant crisis. Some voters on Sunday lamented the bitter divisions that the race exposed. “This election in general is tragic,” said Ms. Eva, a voter who cast her ballot in Vienna’s first district. “It’s very tragic because we were having another person, Hofer, who speaks more for the old way of thinking, of pushing people against each other and is more in a rightist direction, in a fascist direction, like Hitler.” Sunday's poll was held after the results of an earlier vote on May 22 had Van Der Bellen ahead of Hofer by 31,000 votes. Austria’s constitutional court annulled the results due to vote counting irregularities. The campaign, one of Austria’s longest, was marked by anger. A newspaper headline described it as an “Election of Hate,” reflecting pent-up frustrations among Hofer’s rightist supporters, and fear and bitterness among his leftist detractors who have labeled him a Nazi for his anti-immigration stance in the face of Europe’s migrant crisis that saw more than 1 million refugees and migrants enter Europe last year, many of them through Austria. Analysts say Hofer sought to benefit from the anti-establishment mood sweeping across the U.S. and Europe that has been partly inspired by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union and the victory of Donald Trump in the United States. Study links bacteria in gut to activating parkinson’s By the A.M. Costa Rica wire
services
Parkinson’s disease may be linked to certain gut bacteria, according to a new study. Writing in the journal Cell, researchers at the California Institute of Technology say: “Changes in the composition of gut bacterial populations, or possibly gut bacteria themselves, are actively contributing to and may even cause the deterioration of motor skills that is the hallmark of this disease.” Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects some 10 million people around the world and one million Americans. Symptoms include tremors and difficulty walking. It has no known cure. Researchers say 75 percent of parkinson’s sufferers have gastrointestinal abnormalities, usually constipation. The new findings about the connection of gut bacteria to the disease could lead to new treatments that could, for example, help good bacteria develop or kill unwanted microbes. "The gut is a permanent home to a diverse community of beneficial and sometimes harmful bacteria, known as the microbiome, that is important for the development and function of the immune and nervous systems," said researcher Sarkis Mazmanian. "Remarkably, 70 percent of all neurons in the peripheral nervous system, that is, not the brain or spinal cord, are in the intestines, and the gut's nervous system is directly connected to the central nervous system through the vagus nerve. Because GI problems often precede the motor symptoms by many years, and because most cases are caused by environmental factors, we hypothesized that bacteria in the gut may contribute . . . .” Researchers reached their conclusion after testing mice that were programmed to produce high levels of a protein called alpha-synuclein, which is associated with damage in the brain in Parkinson’s patients. The mice were divided into two groups. One group had a consortium of gut bacteria in their systems, while the other were “germ-free” and had no gut bacteria. Researchers then compared the motor skills of each group and found that the germ-free mice performed better. "This was the eureka moment," says Timothy Sampson, a postdoctoral scholar in biology and biological engineering. "The mice were genetically identical; both groups were making too much alpha-synuclein. The only difference was the presence or absence of gut microbiota. Once you remove the microbiome, the mice have normal motor skills even with the overproduction of alpha-synuclein. Researchers think when gut bacteria break down dietary fiber, they produce molecules called short-chain fatty acids, which prior research has shown can activate immune responses in the brain, potentially causing damage to neurons. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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contents
of
this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2016 and may not be reproduced anywhere
without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details |
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| A.M. Costa Rica sixth news page |
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San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, Dec. 5, 2016, Vol. 17,
No. 240
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A garden should smell like a garden Everyone wants a garden that smells good. When you step outside in the morning or open your windows to let in the cool evening breeze, you want that breeze to be scented with flowers. What to plant? The first thing I
Want something larger? May I suggest the ylang-ylang tree as its blooms are an ingredient in Chanel #5 perfume. The tree can get quite large, so plant where it has plenty of space to grow. After four years, my tree already tops 7 meters. Sadly, the ylang-ylang will be attacked by leaf cutter ants so take precautions. Roses are always a good bet for fragrance (even though those pesky ants love them), so there is no reason to give up your love of roses simply because you live in the tropics. A trellis of roses near a door may be easier to protect simply because you see it every day and will notice that the ants are attacking. Find the nest and deal with them quickly. The jasmines and the gardenias make a wonderful addition to any garden and will perfume the air day and night. Grow the jasmines as vines or shrubs, remembering that not everything called a jasmine is a jasmine. Arabian jasmine, for example, is from the family Jasminum, while Confederate jasmine, or star jasmine, is from the family Trachelospermum. Either way, the fragrance is wonderful. Gardenias are all from the family, Gardenia, and all have a wonderful fragrance. The biggest problem with both the gardenia and the jasmine is the leaf cutter ants, so again, plant them near the door so you can inspect them daily. The last of my suggestions for fragrance would be the angel trumpet from the family Brugmansia. Easy to propagate, this shrub/small tree will reach a height of 6 meters (about 20 feet) but is easily pruned. Sadly it is also a favorite of leaf cutter ants when young although mature shrub tends to collect less damage. Angel trumpets are most fragrant at night to attract pollinators, so leave the windows open to be engulfed in scent. There are many more fragrant plants here in the tropics, so, if you have a favorite I haven’t mentioned here, please let me know.
If you would like to suggest a topic for this column, simply send a letter to the editor. And, for more garden tips, visit HERE! |
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| From Page 7: Telethon exceeds expectations with 1.2 billion By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Teletón Costa Rica raised 1.2 billion colons and exceeded its goal this weekend, in part due to a donation of 500 million from Banco Nacional, the organizers said. In dollars, the amount raised is about $2.2 million. About 50 percent of the money will go to the Nacional de Niños, the Maternidad Carit, both San José, and the Hospital de Quepos. The other 50 percent has been designated for hurricane relief. The televised event featured participation by a number of entertainers. It was held in Hatillo and organized by the Club Activo 20-30. |
