Wealthy nations should pay dozens of the world’s poorest countries up to $33 billion a year to preserve their rainforests, according to a report commissioned by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The cash would fund a scheme where tropical countries would be rewarded for preserving the stock of carbon in their remaining forests. Proceeds would go to local communities.
“We are living on borrowed time,” said the report’s author, Johan Eliasch, a Swedish multimillionaire businessman and deforestation campaigner who was appointed as Brown’s special representative on deforestation and clean energy last year. “Deforestation will continue as long as cutting down trees is more economic than preserving them.”
Rainforest destruction is thought to be a key contributor to global warming, accounting for one fifth of carbon emissions.
Eliasch, who owns a 400,000-acre tract of the Brazilian Amazon and is a former deputy treasurer of the British Conservative Party, said that the scheme would be monitored using satellite imagery.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article4944675.ece
If you are a beginner and you are using a long board then Jaco and Playa Hermosa will offer you many waves depending on swell conditions. Even for those who choose long boards Playa Hermosa and Playa Jaco will satisfy you.
Another location which is becoming more popular these days is Boca Barranca where there is a very long left out by the river mouth. Reported that waves can be 3-10 feet when there is a southern swell. It is about an hour drive north from Jaco about 3 miles before Puntarenas when driving. If you plan on driving from Jaco be sure to ask for directions how to get there from Jaco because the route would be different if you are coming from San Jose or Guanacaste.
Also located a few kilometers south of Boca Barranca is Puerto Caldera, also said to have a very good, well shaped left. The surfing gets better when the tide is coming in.
If you choose to stay in this area instead of coming back to Jaco, there are plenty of option in Barranca to stay for the night. But you should be able to make it back since the best waves are around 5 AM, so maybe you would want to come the night before and check out the tide.
For a more complete report of Costa Rican Surf Spots for long boards, check back next week for my chat with Diego Naranjo who is the Costa Rican Long Board Champion and holder of many other titles.
If you have any questions please leave a comment and I will be sure to answer.
Pura Vida
I still love loud music, especially punk, probably because I grew up watching Taylor Steele surf videos. Pennywise, Bad Religion and Unwritten Law were great back then. Now I’m finding myself listening to the Hives, Rocket from the Crypt and Iggy Pop among other bands. I’m also stoked on Sufjan Stevens and Andrew Bird when I want to slow it down a bit, just not the last couple of days…
If Costa Rica had better programming on Direct TV I wouldn’t just play classic rock in the restaurant like I do. They used to have an awesome reggae channel that was overtaken by show tunes. Ugh. Internet radio would be great, but the internet here in CR can suck and is overall unreliable in town. At least playlist.com exists and the internet has been working well lately. more…
A new law was signed yesterday by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias that will make big changes in the penalties on traffic violations. These traffic violations include drunk driving, speeding and driving without a valid license. Even forgetting to wear a seatbelt, holding a cell phone, or ignoring traffic lights carry a hefty fine.
On average, one person dies in a road accident in Costa Rica every day and so authorities hope that by bringing in this new law the accident statistics will be dramatically reduced. Oscar Arias commented on the laws stating “I know this law is harsh, but rather than get scared, we should thank law makers for passing it. We have let drivers get away with too much”.
With the new law in place, drunk drivers automatically lose their license for 2 years and could face imprisonment for up to 3 years. Cars driving over 150 mph will also face the same penalty. Other related laws restrict certain car modifications in an attempt to target the informal drag races that continue to go on in San Jose’s streets and have cost several lives.
more…
