More on Friedman (pun intended)

Thomas Friedman's column on Costa Rica, which I blogged about last week, elicited a lot of comments from friends and colleagues here, many of whom were more angry about his positive slant on Costa Rica's environmental record. I thought I'd share some of the responses here.

This blogger (who I don't know) offers a more in-depth smackdown for Friedman than my modest rebuttal. Here are some highlights:

Tom Friedman has to be a better fiction writer than he is a journalist. I prefer to believe that Friedman was just sloppy and not totally dishonest, but honestly for starters, Costa Rica has no municipal sewage treatment plants. The capital of San Jose, two million people, pumps everything into the rivers.

And, from the comments:

Mr. Friedman, if you are still in Costa Rica, please use your real journalistic talents and ask some people about what is happening in places like Crucitas (the gold mine), Sardinal (where the local water supply is under threat to serve coastal hotels), and the fila Costena in southern region of the country where luxury homes have caused serious deforestation threatening downslope mangrove swamps. With all due respect (and regard) Costa Rica needs Tom Friedman the journalist, not Tom Friedman the well-connected columnist on vacation.