ESTADO ACTUAL DE LOS SITIOS DE DISPOSICION DE DESECHOS SOLIDOS MUNICIPALES EN COSTA RICA

En Costa Rica como consecuencia directa del crecimiento urbano acelerado y del cambio en los hábitos de consumo de los pobladores, se da un aumento en la cantidad de desechos sólidos generados así como un cambio en la composición de los mismos, ocasionando entonces el problema de su disposición.En el país, muchos de los sitios municipales actuales se consideran como vertederos a cielo abierto, además, se ubican de manera  que afectan directa o indirectamente los cuerpos de agua (superficiales y subterráneos). Aunado a lo anterior se cuenta en la mayoría de los sitios con el problema de que no se posee control de acceso suficiente, de tal forma que existe  mayor riesgo de que desechos peligrosos se depositen en ellos. ABSTRACTIn Costa Rica, as a direct consequence of accelerated urban growth and changing consumption patterns, there has been an increase in the quantity of generated solid waste as changes in its composition, thus causing a disposal problem.Many of the final disposal sites in the country don’t have the necessary conditions to handle these changes in quantity and quality of generated solid waste.The majority of current municipal disposal sites are considered exposed dumps and are located where superficial and subterranean water bodies are affected. Controls to access are insufficient in the majority of the sites, thus there is greater risk that hazardous waste is deposited in them.

Cambio de paradigma energético y las nuevas tecnologías

Considering the wide implications of global warming it is evident the need, not only of diminishing the energy consumption patterns, but of diversifying to “sustainable” energy resources. Moreover, within the frame of national security, this requires tore-think the managing and use of available resources, because any change of the energy paradigm will depend, at least at the beginning, on fossil energy.Considering the above, the following paper opens a discussion about energy, entropy and the limits of economic growth, following the premises of the school of ecological economics. It offers several empirical data about the situation of the current energy pattern, mostly about its socio-environmental aspects. The paper ends discussing the characteristics and limitations of the main available alternative energies; meanwhile it highlights the relevance of contemporary patterns of territorial organization. It concludes pointing out the inherent need of diminishing the type and rhythm of current energy consumption.