May 13, 2009

Hola mis estudiantes y maestros,

Como estas hoy? I hope that you will enjoy learning about the biodiversity and the wonderful people and places of Costa Rica. I certainly look forward to working with you in the field!

Herein, I am sending you your first official pre-trip assignment. PLEASE send all of your responses to Dr. Kathy Fadigan at and cc Lyne Brobst at . Ms. Brobst will file all of your work and Dr. Fadigan will be the one grading and/or reading over assignments. This assignment is due no later than Monday, June 1, 2009. Of course, if you have any questions about anything, please e-mail me or call me at 610-285-5109.

Turtles,

Jacqueline McLaughlin

Profesora McLaughlin

Director, CHANCE

AssociateProfessor of Biology

Penn State Lehigh Valley

Phone: 610-285-5109

Fax: 610-285-5220

CHANCE, 2009

Pre-Trip Assignment #1

Due June 1, 2009

The following questions are based upon websites found in sections A. “Costa Rica – General Information” and B. “Costa Rican Culture.” Please use any other accredited resource to aid in your answering these questions as thoroughly as possible. Complete sentences only.

  1. Geography.
  1. Exactly where is Costa Rica located? How big is Costa Rica?

How does its size compare to the United States? Is Costa Rica in a different time zone than Pennsylvania? In detail, describe Costa Rica’s main geographic regions, including mountains, volcanoes, rivers, lakes, valleys, plains, etc.

  1. What is the difference between a lowland tropical rainforest and a tropical montane or “cloud forest” in Costa Rica?
  1. Weather.
  1. What weather should we expect when we arrive in late June/early July? What will the temperature be? (Hint: search using the name of the city where our plane lands). We’ll be in Costa Rica in the middle of the “wet” season. Does that mean it will rain every day? Do they refer to this time as “winter” or “summer,” and why?
  1. The Hadley cell is a circulation pattern that dominates the tropical atmosphere. Explain exactly why it rains so much along the equator and the role of the Hadley cell in the precipitation in this area of our planet .
  1. History.

A.Who were the indigenous people who first inhabited Costa Rica? Today there are three sects of Indians living in Talamanca, a mountainous region in the South part of the country (where you will visit). List and identify them. How have the indigenous people in Costa Rica in general suffered over the years?

  1. Who were the first Europeans to explore the area, and where did they

settle? How did Costa Rica get its name, and what does it mean? When, where, and how did Costa Rica acquire its independence from Spain. What was the first capitol of Costa Rica?

  1. Government.
  1. What is the capital of Costa Rica today? What form of government do

they use and for how long has it been in existence? How is the government structured? Discuss the presidency itself, how long a president serves, re-elections, and the history of past presidents, and their family ties to elite Costa Rican families. Has there been any corruption in recent years in the executive branch and imprisonment of past presidents?

  1. Oscar Arias is the first president ever re-elected in Costa Rica in 36 years-

doing so nearly two decades after his first administration. Research this man, then write at least a five-paragraph summary of his past and present contributions to Costa Rica.

  1. Economy.
  1. Discuss the economy of Costa Rica. Are there any major exports?

Imports? Are they experiencing economic growth? Elaborate as much as possible.

  1. With regard to banana plantations, there are many problems in this

industry related to the health of the workers and the environment. Summarize the following article that was published in the Costa Rican newspaper, The Tico Times, by a Nicaraguan correspondence, then state your opinion. You may research this issue further in order to strengthen your opinion.

Former Banana Workers Still Seeking Justice

By: Tim Rogers, Correspondent

Tico Times Nicaragua

MANAGUA – The misery in the makeshift shantytown set up across the street from the National Assembly is as oppressive as the midday sun that scorches the ground, turning the park’s vegetation into dust.

More than 4,000 sickly former banana farmers from the northern departments of Chinandega and Leon sit on the rocky ground or suspended in hammocks strung up under plastic tarps. The women prepare rice and beans in cauldrons placed over smoky wood fires.

These impoverished campesinos, who are expected to number 7,500 by week’s end, have once again made the 12-day hike to the capital in what has become a depressing annual pilgrimage to demand government assistance in their fight for justice against the transnational companies that produced and used the hazardous pesticide DBCP, known more commonly by the brand name Nemagon.

Most of the campesinos, now in their late 50s and 60s, claim they are dying as a result of being poisoned by Nemagon, which was sprayed widely on the banana plantations in the 1970s and early ‘80s to protect plants against microscopic parasites known as “eelworms.”

The former banana workers insist years of handling the hazardous chemical has resulted in health ailments that range from low sperm counts and stained skin, to cancer and birth defects in their children.

MORE than 852 campesinos who worked on banana plantations operated by Standard Fruit Company (now Dole Fruit Company) in the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s have died in recent years from nemagon, according to campesino leaders. That number is expected to climb to 1,000 by year’s end.

Two more campesinos have died since trekking to Managua last week.

The campesinos’ fight against Dole Fruit Company and chemical giants, Dow and Shell, (which produced DBCP) began six years ago with local law firm, Ojeda, Gutierrez, Espinosa and Associates (Ojesa). The firm, which represented 4,500 clients in Chinandega, won four cases against the corporations, totaling $600 million in damages.

The lawsuits were filed under Nicaragua’s controversial Ley 364, which was created in 2001 to retroactively impose legal liability for U.S. companies that manufactured or used the chemical DBCP (TT, March 5, 2004).

But Ojesa’s efforts to enforce the Nicaraguan judgments in the Untied States failed when a California judge dismissed the case last October for technical reasons.

Now the campesinos are forced to start the process all over again, with a new law firm.

The former northern-zone banana farmers walked to Managua for the third time last year, to demand government assistance with health care and legal proceedings. The Bolarious government finally complied, and the campesinos were bussed home (TT, March 26, 2004).

A year later, however, the Nemagon victims claim the government has still not fulfilled any of its promises, forcing them to return to the capital for a fourth time.

“The government hasn’t even paid us one cent of the money promised,” Victorino Espinales, leader of the Workers’ Association of Ex-Banana Farmers Affected by nemagon, told the Nica Times this week. “We are not here asking for anything new, just compliance with old promises.”

The government insists it has complied with its promises, but the compesinos are getting desperate.

Last week, several of them threatened to start more serious protests – including hunger strikes, crucifixions and burning themselves alive – to get the government’s attention. The government and Ombudsman quickly condemned such threats.

A major sticking point in the ongoing legal battle for justice is disagreement over the adverse health effects of prolonged exposure to the pesticide.

“We sympathize with the people in Nicaragua who claim they were affected by a product that was developed more than three decades ago to protect the region’s banana plantations. However, we are confident that our product did not injure any of the plaintiffs in this case,” said Sara Colletti, spokeswoman for Shell.

Augusto Navarro, Nicaragua’s Minister of Agriculture and president of the Government Commission on Nemagon, said Dole and Dow also reject claims that Nemagon causes adverse health effects other than some respiratory complications and possible sterility in males.

Erika Rosenthal, A U.S.-based lawyer with the non-profit environmental law group Earthjustice and a frequent consultant to the Pesticide Action Network in Central and Latin America, admits: “There has been some – but not nearly enough – research on DBCP’s effects on human health.”

The campesinos, however, argue that premature deaths caused by vomiting are a pretty good indication that something is wrong.

“People are sick and dying, but this isn’t proof because the doctors don’t say it’s proof,” Espinales said. “The best proof is death. We are not doctors, but we know we are dying.”

Espinales and the campesinos insist this time they will not leave the capital until the government makes good on its promise to pay each former banana worker a $200 pension, and make available the $14 million promised for free health consultations and medicines.

  1. People.
  1. Costa Rica is unquestionably the most homogeneous of Central

American nations in race, as well as social class. Explain this statement

by researching “Costa Rican ethnicity.”

  1. Every nationality has its own sense of identify. Costa Ricans have their

own unique “Tican” identify. Elaborate.

  1. What language do most Costa Ricans speak? What is their dominant

religion? What are some of the other ethnic backgrounds that make up

the people of Costa Rica today?

  1. What is the present population of Costa Rica? Where do most people live, and why?
  1. Education.

A.What percentage of the people of Costa Rica is literate? How many years

of school do most children attend? What percentage of the national budget is spent on education? Also, find out what percentages of our federal and state budgets are devoted to education.

  1. Trivia.
  1. What holiday will they celebrate in Costa Rica on August 2?
  1. News.
  1. Give a synopsis of any two articles that are in the headlines of

The Tico Times ( You may want to read this paper on a weekly basis until we leave in June.

  1. Panama.
  1. Find Bocas del Toro on a map and describe exactly where these tropical islands are located geographically. Then, investigate some of the marine life you might see in Bocas del Toro. List five species (give common and scientific names) that would like to see while snorkeling.
  1. Visit the Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute’s web site. Investigate some of the current research projects being conducted by scientists at the facility. Summarize one of the topics and the scientist that interests you.