Costa Rica Is The Worlds Greenest, Happiest Country

Costa Rica Is The Worlds Greenist, Happiest Country

Costa Rica Is The Worlds Greenest, Happiest Country
Published on Sunday, July 5, 2009 by the Observer/UKCosta Rica is World's Greenest, Happiest CountryLatin American nation tops index ranking countries by ecological footprint and happiness of their citizensby Ashley SeagerCosta Rica is the greenest and happiest country in the world, according to a new list that ranks nations by combining measures of their ecological footprint with the happiness of their citizens.A rainbow over San Jose in Costa Rica. Photograph: Juan Carlos Ulate/ReutersBritain is only halfway up the Happy Planet Index (HPI), calculated by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), in 74th place of 143 nations surveyed. The United States features in the 114th slot in the table. The top 10 is dominated by countries from Latin America, while African countries bulk out the bottom of the table.The HPI measures how much of the Earth's resources nations use and how long and happy a life their citizens enjoy as a result. First calculated in 2006, the second edition adds data on almost all the world's countries and now covers 99% of the world's population.NEF says the HPI is a much better way of looking the success of countries than through standard measures of economic growth. The HPI shows, for example, that fast-growing economies such as the US, China and India were all greener and happier 20 years ago than they are today."The HPI suggests that the path we have been following is, without exception, unable to deliver all three goals: high life satisfaction, high life expectancy and 'one-planet living'," says Saamah Abdallah, NEF researcher and the report's lead author. "Instead we need a new development model that delivers good lives that don't cost the Earth for all."Costa Ricans top the list because they report the highest life satisfaction in the world, they live slightly longer than Americans, yet have an ecological footprint that is less than a quarter the size. The country only narrowly fails to achieve the goal of what NEF calls "one-planet living": consuming its fair share of the Earth's natural resources.The report says the differences between nations show that it is possible to live long, happy lives with much smaller ecological footprints than the highest-consuming nations.The new HPI also provides the first ever analysis of trends over time for what are supposedly the world's most developed nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).OECD nations' HPI scores plummeted between 1960 and the late 1970s. Although there have been some gains since then, HPI scores were still higher in 1961 than in 2005.Life satisfaction and life expectancy combined have increased 15% over the 45-year period for those living in the rich nations, but it has come at the cost of a 72% rise in their ecological footprint. And the three largest countries in the world - China, India and the US, which are aggressively pursuing growth-based development models - have all seen their HPI scores drop in that time.The highest placed western nation is the Netherlands. People there live on average over a year longer than people in the US, and have similar levels of life satisfaction - yet their per capita ecological footprint is less than half the size. The Netherlands is therefore over twice as environmentally efficient at achieving good lives as the US, Nef says.The report sets out a "Happy Planet Charter" calling for an unprecedented collective global effort to develop a "new narrative" of human progress, encourage good lives that don't cost the earth, and to reduce consumption in the highest-consuming nations - which it says is the biggest barrier to sustainable wellbeing

Costa Rica - Health Is Number One

Costa Rica - Health Is Number One

Living in Costa Rica can be a healthy experience according to the United Nations. Costa Rica is in first place in Latin America for the development of curative and preventitive diseases, a ranking that places it in the top 20 in the world. In fact, this small tropical paradise surpasses the United States in both lower infant mortality and life expectancy.

So what sets Costa Rica apart from Mexico and other Central American countries? There are many factors, but probably the most fundamental is Costa Rica's strong and undying commitment to maintaining a high level of water quality. Unlike most of Latin America, you can drink the water right out of the tap! This applies to San Jose and the larger cities as well as small rural villages. All over the country, water quality and sewage treatment facilities are stringently monitored, and those few sources that are deemed unsafe to visitors are exposed. As a result, water quality standards have greatly benefited the restaurant industry. This coupled with their natural tendency for cleanliness and sanitation, Costa Ricans maintain extraordinarily high standards for their restaurants.

Foreign residents have lots of choices when it comes to how they want to handle their health care needs. Choosing clinics, doctors, and the mode of payment all take careful consideration. As a foreign resident, one must ask the question, "What kind of health care experience do I want?" As a general rule, the more one pays for their medical treatment, the more choice that person will have in which doctor they will go to, how quickly they will be seen by a physician, and how comfortable their accommodations will be. To answer this question, many residents have combined the best of both the public and private medical systems to create a hybrid health care plan for them and their families. Here's how it works: Many doctors in Costa Rica that work in the public CCSSS hospitals also conduct their own private office hours during the afternoons. Foreign residents can pay the CCSSS membership Costa Rica Residents Association fee (US$40-50) and visit the free clinics and hospitals in search of a doctor that they like. If this doctor provides a private service in addition to his public practice, the resident can take advantage of both worlds. They can make routine appointments with ease and little delay; however, should they need a complicated and expensive procedure, the CCSSS will cover the expenses.

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