CostaRica

The sweet taste and sunny hue of the banana contrast sharply with the high environmental and social costs its cultivation extracts in Latin America: pollution, deforestation, poor working conditions. Whole Foods Market is working to change that, in partnership with a non-profit international school in Costa Rica called EARTH University.

Chipkos hopes its latest pair of fashionable flip-flops could help save the Costa Rican rainforests. One purchase will protect 100,000 square feet of the eco-rich land. But it's had no takers so far. Did we mention the sandals cost $18,000?

It sounds an awful lot like paradise, but what are its pitfalls? David Paul Appell, author of the affordable-travel guide book Pauline Frommer's Costa Rica, talks to WalletPop's Jason Cochran about the Central American dream destination, known for its rainforests and its wildlife. Appell tips us...

It took thirteen long years, but they finally made it. The employees of Flying Pie Pizzaria, in Boise, Idaho, collectively saved 10% of their tips for 13 years. Now, their employer, Howard Olivier, will be shutting down both of his pizza-making operations for a week, and will be joining his...