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Costa Rica’s Banana Industry: The Hidden Cost of Pesticide Use

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Tuesday, September 17, 2024

Costa Rica’s Caribbean region is often celebrated for its exuberant nature and rich culture. However, the area is also a key hub for banana production. The country ranks among the world’s leading commercial banana producers, boasting an average productivity of 2,325 boxes per hectare, equivalent to about 42 metric tons. Yet, as revealed by the British newspaper The Guardian, this production comes at a significant human and environmental cost. “At dawn and dusk, the skies over Matina, the capital of Limón province on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, are filled with aircraft spraying a viscous rain of agrochemicals onto banana plantations,” the article notes. Costa Rica is one of the world’s largest users of pesticides, averaging 34.45 kg of active ingredient per hectare annually, according to the UN. Despite bans in the European Union, Costa Rica continues to use hazardous chemicals. The pesticides chlorothalonil and mancozeb, both believed to be potentially carcinogenic, as well as chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic agent, have been found in the blood of women and children living near plantations, where planes regularly spray these substances. Residents in these areas report side effects such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting, dermatitis, and burning eyes, according to the newspaper. The smell of the chemicals is sometimes so overwhelming that nearby schools must be evacuated, as children fall ill. Both students and teachers have been hospitalized after inhaling these toxic substances. The article emphasizes that such incidents are “far from exceptional.” At a plantation owned by the US company Dole, the air is “pungent,” fields are scorched, and the ground is littered with what looks like “charred pineapples” due to the use of paraquat, a chemical that dries and burns plants. Dole, however, denies these claims, stating it stopped using paraquat in 2008. Despite community efforts to denounce these practices to the authorities, no action has been taken. The government has also overlooked workers’ rights, wages, and working conditions. In addition to the health risks, the environment is suffering. Water and soil contamination is widespread, and local ecosystems are being destroyed. The article points out that the large-scale use of these chemicals persists because consumers demand perfect fruit, and mass production is required to meet global demand. It also places responsibility on the EU for allowing the export of these banned substances. However, there are alternatives. The Guardian highlights the Bribri community’s organic banana plantation, which operates without pesticides—demonstrating that it’s possible to produce fruit without harming people or the environment. The post Costa Rica’s Banana Industry: The Hidden Cost of Pesticide Use appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Costa Rica’s Caribbean region is often celebrated for its exuberant nature and rich culture. However, the area is also a key hub for banana production. The country ranks among the world’s leading commercial banana producers, boasting an average productivity of 2,325 boxes per hectare, equivalent to about 42 metric tons. Yet, as revealed by the […] The post Costa Rica’s Banana Industry: The Hidden Cost of Pesticide Use appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Costa Rica’s Caribbean region is often celebrated for its exuberant nature and rich culture. However, the area is also a key hub for banana production. The country ranks among the world’s leading commercial banana producers, boasting an average productivity of 2,325 boxes per hectare, equivalent to about 42 metric tons.

Yet, as revealed by the British newspaper The Guardian, this production comes at a significant human and environmental cost. “At dawn and dusk, the skies over Matina, the capital of Limón province on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, are filled with aircraft spraying a viscous rain of agrochemicals onto banana plantations,” the article notes.

Costa Rica is one of the world’s largest users of pesticides, averaging 34.45 kg of active ingredient per hectare annually, according to the UN. Despite bans in the European Union, Costa Rica continues to use hazardous chemicals.

The pesticides chlorothalonil and mancozeb, both believed to be potentially carcinogenic, as well as chlorpyrifos, a neurotoxic agent, have been found in the blood of women and children living near plantations, where planes regularly spray these substances.

Residents in these areas report side effects such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, fainting, dermatitis, and burning eyes, according to the newspaper. The smell of the chemicals is sometimes so overwhelming that nearby schools must be evacuated, as children fall ill. Both students and teachers have been hospitalized after inhaling these toxic substances.

The article emphasizes that such incidents are “far from exceptional.” At a plantation owned by the US company Dole, the air is “pungent,” fields are scorched, and the ground is littered with what looks like “charred pineapples” due to the use of paraquat, a chemical that dries and burns plants. Dole, however, denies these claims, stating it stopped using paraquat in 2008.

Despite community efforts to denounce these practices to the authorities, no action has been taken. The government has also overlooked workers’ rights, wages, and working conditions. In addition to the health risks, the environment is suffering. Water and soil contamination is widespread, and local ecosystems are being destroyed.

The article points out that the large-scale use of these chemicals persists because consumers demand perfect fruit, and mass production is required to meet global demand. It also places responsibility on the EU for allowing the export of these banned substances.

However, there are alternatives. The Guardian highlights the Bribri community’s organic banana plantation, which operates without pesticides—demonstrating that it’s possible to produce fruit without harming people or the environment.

The post Costa Rica’s Banana Industry: The Hidden Cost of Pesticide Use appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Read the full story here.
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Sweden abolishes tax on plastic bags despite warnings usage could rise

Levy that reduced usage by more than three-quarters in four years fell victim to rightwing culture wars, say criticsA tax that has reduced plastic bag consumption in Sweden by more than three-quarters in four years is being abolished on Friday, despite warnings that the move could lead to usage rising back towards previous levels.Since the introduction of the 3 kroner (£0.21) tax in May 2020, plastic bag usage in the country has slumped. In 2019, before the levy was introduced, people in Sweden used an average of 74 plastic bags (15-50 micrometres thick) per person each year each. In 2023 that number had dropped to 17. Continue reading...

A tax that has reduced plastic bag consumption in Sweden by more than three-quarters in four years is being abolished on Friday, despite warnings that the move could lead to usage rising back towards previous levels.Since the introduction of the 3 kroner (£0.21) tax in May 2020, plastic bag usage in the country has slumped. In 2019, before the levy was introduced, people in Sweden used an average of 74 plastic bags (15-50 micrometres thick) per person each year each. In 2023 that number had dropped to 17.The law was introduced after the EU’s 2015 plastic bag directive required member states to dramatically cut usage.Among those to criticise the end of the tax in Sweden was the government’s own environmental protection agency, which warned the levy was still needed to consolidate new behaviours.“We don’t think the government should lower the tax already,” said Åsa Stenmarck, a spokesperson for the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency. “We think they could have evaluated this properly before making a decision.”Last year, Sweden’s centre-right coalition government, backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, announced the tax would be abolished. It said the country’s plastic bag consumption was already below the EU target, which meant the levy was “not deemed necessary for its purpose”.Stenmarck said: “We don’t know what will happen now. The consumption target of 40 bags per person still exists from 2025 onwards and if we don’t reach it, we will be fined by the EU.”Now the responsibility fell to industry, which Stenmarck said she hoped would not start marketing plastic bags, and consumers, who she hoped had “largely changed their behaviour and carry their own bags”.Despite Sweden’s involvement in the invention of the plastic bag, which was patented by the Swedish company Celloplast in 1965 and quickly went on to replace cloth and plastic bags in Europe, the country has been a frontrunner on reducing usage.The big supermarkets have long charged for plastic and paper bags, in turn encouraging people to bring their own, while the tax rapidly reduced consumption in other areas of retail.But the levy has fallen victim to rightwing populism and culture wars, said Rolf Lindahl, a climate and energy campaigner for Greenpeace Sweden.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Headlines EuropeA digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week dayPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion“The plastic ban tax has become a part of a very unfortunate populist narrative around climate policies from the rightwing parties and they have used it as an example of environmental overreach from the government,” he said.“We worry that dropping the tax will mean increased plastic use and a return to the norm of always buying new bags at the supermarket.”Joakim Brodahl, from the non-profit organisation Keep Sweden Clean, said the removal of the tax would probably lead to plastic bags costing less to consumers and in turn increasing consumption. “We see that there is a risk that the behaviour can quickly turn back unless, for example, the trade is alert to changes in their sales of plastic bags,” he said.

Surrealism Is Turning 100. See the Dreamlike Paintings That Made the Movement So Revolutionary

A blockbuster exhibition in Paris is showcasing 500 artifacts and artworks in honor of the Surrealist Manifesto, which sparked a new artistic style that spread around the world

Green Tea, Leonora Carrington, 1942 © Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York / Scala, Florence / © Adagp, Paris, 2024 In October 1924, French writer André Breton published what’s now known as the Surrealist Manifesto. The seminal text—which argued for a new style of art and literature that would be “free from any control by reason, exempt from aesthetic or moral preoccupation”—helped give rise to a new, avant-garde movement that spread around the world. Now, to mark the manifesto’s 100th anniversary, a new exhibition in Paris is examining Surrealism’s enduring global impact. Titled “Surrealism,” the show incorporates more than 500 artifacts and artworks, including poems, drawings, sculptures and paintings. Pages from Breton’s original handwritten manuscript are also on display, thanks to a loan from the French national library. To bring the historic document to life, the museum worked with the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music to create an artificial intelligence recording of Breton reading it aloud. The Fireside Angel, Max Ernst, 1937 © Vincent Everarts Photographie / © Adagp, Paris, 2024 The show initially opened in Brussels in February, and it’s currently on display at Paris’ Pompidou Center. After it leaves France next year, it will move on to Madrid, Hamburg and Philadelphia. In total, five institutions are hosting the exhibition, but each museum is taking its own unique curatorial approach. “I hope that people will discover that Surrealism is a state of mind and a way of looking at things,” Francisca Vandepitte, who curated the show at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, tells the New York Times’ Nina Siegal. “It’s not something theoretical and very complicated. The main force is something that we all know. It’s irrational, and it’s our dreams, and it’s liberating.” In Paris, the exhibition presents Surrealism as a global movement—not just a European one. Though the movement originated in France, its core principles, including “challenging rationality, embracing the unconscious and exploring alternative realities,” struck a chord with a diverse group of artists from different backgrounds and cultures, writes Artnet’s Sofia Hallström. “It is important to remember that Surrealism was a movement that spread—and this is exceptional for an avant-garde movement—around the world, in Europe, but also the United States, South America, Asia and the Maghreb,” Marie Sarré, who co-curated the Pompidou Center exhibition with the museum’s deputy director Didier Ottinger, tells the Guardian’s Jennifer Rankin. Items on display include works by well-known artists such as Salvador Dalí and René Magritte, as well as pieces by lesser-known Surrealists like Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo and Japanese artist Tatsuo Ikeda. The Pompidou Center also shines a light on often-overlooked women in the Surrealist movement, including Dorothea Tanning, Leonora Carrington and Dora Maar. The exhibition, which is laid out in a spiral and split into 13 sections, also explores themes like anticolonialism and environmentalism. Curators hope to attract younger audiences, who may not be familiar with Surrealism but might connect with some of its core beliefs. Surreal Composition, Suzanne van Damme, 1943 © Collection RAW Many younger museumgoers are “disillusioned with the idea of progress and Modernism,” Sarré tells the Art Newspaper’s Dale Berning Sawa. “They’re politically and ecologically engaged, anticolonialist, antinationalist—in a way that chimes with what the Surrealists were doing.” All the while, the Surrealists were also having a great deal of fun, as Jonathan Jones notes in a review for the Guardian. “Of all the Modernist art movements, it was the Surrealists who were best at enjoying their revolution,” he writes. “In the Pompidou’s perfectly judged exhibition, that pleasure shines through as you meet these artists, all dead now, not so much as giants of art history as extremely amusing companions.” “Surrealism” is on view at the Pompidou Center in Paris through January 13, 2025. Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Discovering Puriscal a Hidden Gem of Nature and Culture in Costa Rica

Puriscal, located in the western part of the San José province, is a breathtaking area where life unfolds at a peaceful pace. Known to many Costa Ricans for its culinary heritage, Puriscal is famous for the country’s best chicharrones (pork rinds) and is also notable for its tobacco production. Despite its local reputation, Puriscal holds […] The post Discovering Puriscal a Hidden Gem of Nature and Culture in Costa Rica appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Puriscal, located in the western part of the San José province, is a breathtaking area where life unfolds at a peaceful pace. Known to many Costa Ricans for its culinary heritage, Puriscal is famous for the country’s best chicharrones (pork rinds) and is also notable for its tobacco production. Despite its local reputation, Puriscal holds hidden gems that many Costa Ricans and foreigners alike have yet to discover. The area boasts natural attractions like La Cangreja National Park, serene waterfalls, lush hills, and indigenous reserves. La Cangreja National Park, named after the crab-like shape of its highest peak at 1,305 meters above sea level, offers panoramic views and scenic landscapes. According to indigenous lore, the mountain resembles a crab, with neighboring hills forming the “claws.” The park protects pristine water sources, including the Negro River and Grande Creek, which have carved unique rock formations over time. Visitors can spot over 300 bird species, including macaws, trogons, toucans, and guans, as well as diverse wildlife like agoutis, coatis, peccaries, deer, pumas, and even the striking black-and-green poison dart frogs. Beyond its natural wonders, Puriscal is a gateway to Costa Rica’s ancestral culture. The Quitirrisí Indigenous Reserve, home to about 300 Huetar people, offers a glimpse into the country’s indigenous heritage. For over 50 years, locals here have crafted kitchen and home décor items inspired by their culture and nature. Visitors can watch as artisans use pita and tule fibers, dyed with natural pigments, to weave beautiful bags, hats, rugs, baskets, and other accessories. Puriscal’s charm also lies in its warm and welcoming community. Local businesses are mostly family-run, giving visitors a unique chance to experience Costa Rican hospitality and gain a deeper understanding of the country’s cultural essence. The area, a beloved getaway for Costa Ricans, is becoming an increasingly popular destination for foreign travelers seeking tranquility and a break from urban life. Outside of La Cangreja National Park, private wildlife refuges offer additional trails and immersive ways to experience the local flora and fauna. Locals are dedicated to sharing their knowledge of environmental conservation and sustainable living with visitors. With its stunning views, tranquility, natural beauty, and small-town charm, Puriscal is among the best destinations for those looking to explore the authentic Costa Rica. The post Discovering Puriscal a Hidden Gem of Nature and Culture in Costa Rica appeared first on The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate.

Tools for making imagination blossom at MIT.nano

New STUDIO.nano supports artistic research and encounters within MIT.nano’s facilities.

The MIT community and visitors have a new reason to drop by MIT.nano: six artworks by Brazilian artist and sculptor Denise Milan. Located in the open-air stairway connecting the first- and second-floor galleries within the nanoscience and engineering facility, the works center around the stone as a microcosm of nature. From Milan’s “Mist of the Earth” series, evocative of mandalas, the project asks viewers to reflect on the environmental changes that result from human-made development.Milan is the inaugural artist in “Encounters,” a series presented by STUDIO.nano, a new initiative from MIT.nano that encourages the exploration of platforms and pathways at the intersection of technology, science, and art. Encounters welcomes proposals from artists, scientists, engineers, and designers from outside of the MIT community looking to collaborate with MIT.nano researchers, facilities, ongoing projects, and unique spaces.“Life is in the art of the encounter,” remarked Milan, quoting Brazilian poet Vinicius de Moraes, during a reception at MIT.nano. “And for an artist to be in a place like this, MIT.nano, what could be better? I love the curiosity of scientists. They are very much like artists ... art and science are both tools for making imagination blossom.” What followed was a freewheeling conversation between attendees that spanned topics ranging from the cyclical nature of birth, death, and survival in the cosmos to musings on the elemental sources of creativity and the similarities in artistic and scientific practice to a brief lesson on time crystals by Nobel Prize laureate Frank Wilczek, the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT.Milan was joined in her conversation by MIT.nano Director Vladimir Bulović, the Fariborz Maseeh Professor of Emerging Technologies; Ardalan SadeghiKivi MArch ’22, who moderated the discussion; Samantha Farrell, manager of STUDIO.nano programming; and Naomi Moniz, professor emeritus at Georgetown University, who connected Milan and her work with MIT.nano.“In addition to the technical community, we [at MIT.nano] have been approached by countless artists and thinkers in the humanities who, to our delight, are eager to learn about the wonders of the nanoscale and how to use the tools of MIT.nano to explore and expand their own artistic practice,” said Bulović.These interactions have spurred collaborative projects across disciplines, art exhibitions, and even MIT classes. For the past four years MIT.nano has hosted 4.373/4.374 (Creating Art, Thinking Science), an undergraduate and graduate class offered by the Art, Culture, and Technology (ACT) Program. To date, the class has brought 35 students into MIT.nano’s labs and resulted in 40 distinct projects and 60 pieces of art, many of which are on display in MIT.nano’s galleries.With the launch of STUDIO.nano, MIT.nano will look to expand its exhibition programs, including supporting additional digital media and augmented/virtual reality projects; providing tools and spaces for development of new classes envisioned by MIT academic departments; and introducing programming such as lectures related to the studio's activities.Milan’s work will be a permanent installation at MIT.nano, where she hopes it will encourage individuals to pursue their creative inspiration, regardless of discipline. “To exist or to disappear?” Milan asked. “If it’s us, an idea, or a dream — the question is how much of an assignment you have with your own imagination.”

The National Trust must again resist the group trying to turn grievances into policy | Rowan Moore

Burning with unquenchable resentment, Restore Trust is making another attempt at taking over the institutionThe leaves are starting to change and there’s autumnal coolth in the air. Which means that the opaquely funded private organisation called Restore Trust is once again making its annual attempt to take over one of the country’s most successful and best-loved institutions, the National Trust. Burning with unquenchable resentment about a 2020 report that truthfully stated that Winston Churchill opposed Indian independence; armed with inflated stories about mushroom bans, cancelled Easters and vote-rigging; and furious about a single disco ball in one room of one of the National Trust’s 230 historic houses, Restore Trust has once again put up a slate of candidates for the National Trust’s council, with a view to turning their grievances into policy. If you’re a member of the National Trust, and you’d rather not see it turned into a platform for an angry minority, vote now for its recommended candidates. Continue reading...

The leaves are starting to change and there’s autumnal coolth in the air. Which means that the opaquely funded private organisation called Restore Trust is once again making its annual attempt to take over one of the country’s most successful and best-loved institutions, the National Trust. Burning with unquenchable resentment about a 2020 report that truthfully stated that Winston Churchill opposed Indian independence; armed with inflated stories about mushroom bans, cancelled Easters and vote-rigging; and furious about a single disco ball in one room of one of the National Trust’s 230 historic houses, Restore Trust has once again put up a slate of candidates for the National Trust’s council, with a view to turning their grievances into policy. If you’re a member of the National Trust, and you’d rather not see it turned into a platform for an angry minority, vote now for its recommended candidates.Selective memoryA memorial wall in front of the Grenfell Tower. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesIt must be terribly hard being Sodali & Co, an agency paid to defend the reputation of Kingspan, the building materials company found responsible in last week’s Grenfell Tower report for “deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty”. But if, as Sodali puts it, you “advise corporate clients worldwide as they navigate the complex dynamic of shareholder and stakeholder interests”, you don’t quit. When I wrote about the disaster last week, its “head of special situations” sent me a near-instant email minimising Kingspan’s culpability and requesting a change to my online copy. I had told how they buried the results of a 2007 test of their insulation which threatened to burn down the laboratory where it was taking place. I should also say, Sodali argued that the test was for a “whole cladding system” of which Kingspan’s product was only one (albeit highly combustible) part.“Journalist mis-describes type of iceberg, says communications agency for the White Star Line” might be some sort of equivalent. What makes this request utterly brazen is the fact that Kingspan was happy to use a 2005 test to give the false impression that its insulation was safe on tall buildings. It glossed over that this too was a test of a whole system, one whose components were not (as the inquiry said) representative of a typical external wall. Its concern for precision as to the nature of a given test is, in other words, selective and self-serving.HoodwinkedRia Zmitrowicz as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Sherwood. Photograph: Sam Taylor/BBC/House ProductionsOne of the more risible skirmishes in the culture wars came when the TalkTV presenter Kevin O’Sullivan, apparently unaware that the BBC series Sherwood is not really about Robin Hood, lamented its portrayal of the Sheriff of Nottingham as a gay woman. GBNews then used the occasion as flimsy pretext to beat up the corporation.What’s odd is the sudden insistence on historical accuracy in such a mythologised story as that of Robin Hood. Where, pray, was O’Sullivan when Disney represented the outlaw as a fox?skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionWinds of changeA wind turbine on a hill on Shetland. Photograph: William Edwards/AFP/Getty ImagesOn Shetland, my heart stirred to the majestic sight of wind turbines. The knowledge that they’re not oil rigs, nor power stations, nor fracking installations, nor coalmines, makes me happy. But I’m aware that many Shetlanders don’t feel the same, enraged not only by the turbines but the infrastructure that comes with them. Most of all, they don’t see much benefit. Most of the energy generated will go to mainland Scotland. So it was good to hear that the profits from a community windfarm in the Hebrides are paying for the planting of a million native trees. If all such facilities led to palpable local and environmental benefits, much of the opposition to them would melt away.

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