The Estuary of the San Juan Bay condition is poor, according to a report for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the study done by the agency, the sediment and the fishes’ tissue show high levels of contaminants. The studies by the EPA indicate that the contamination caused by sewage water dumping has had an adverse effect in the water quality. Even more, the development of maritime and aerial transport infrastructure, as well as the urban and industrial development, has caused habitat loss.

Approximately a year ago, agronomists started finding that native oak trees were deteriorating due to a plague of insects that feed on the trees’ leaves fructose. The insect “bites” the back of the leaf, causing its slow deterioration; then the branch deteriorates and, in extreme cases, the tree dies. It is still unknown the genus and species of this insect causing the deterioration of the native oak. According to William Suarez, director of the College of Agronomists of Puerto Rico, “if the tree doesn’t look good in the landscape, it will be cut because it looks unattractive. Then the insect problem leads to a tree cutting problem.”

The effect of genetically altered food on human health are a mystery, although for decades humans have consumed them without even knowing it every time they eat popular products, like ketchup or corn flakes, among many others. While the European Union and Mexico are extremely careful or even prohibit certain “transgenic” activities (because their effect on health and the environment are unknown), other like the United States, Canada and Argentina foster their development and have created regulatory systems for transgenic food. It is enough to say that in 2004, 40% of the corn crops in the United States was of genetically modified hybrid corn, and that in 2000, 60% of the soy crops in this country were of the same origin (data from GEO-PIE project, Cornell University) It is estimated that between 60% and 70% of the food in the American market has very small amounts of transgenic ingredients, but it is almost impossible which ones are because they are not labeled. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only requires a warning label when the food as shown significant differences in the nutritional qualities (like reduced nutritional value or increased toxicity) or risks of atypical reactions to that kind of food. The most common alteration is the introduction of genes to: make plants resistant to virus, bacteria, insects and other plagues; make plants resistant to pesticides; modify their nutritional qualities; and introduce genes from other species.

In relation to its population of 3.9 million, Puerto Rico has the fifth-highest concentration of AIDS cases of states and territories, with 12,000 patients and estimates that as many more are infected with H.I.V. but are not yet ill. A majority of H.I.V. and AIDS patients are covered by the Puerto Rican version of Medicaid, known as Health Reform. That financially struggling program does not cover some crucial drugs. The $53 million provided under the Ryan White law is supposed to fill the gaps. In spite of the life-prolonging benefits of modern therapies against H.I.V., the AIDS virus, hundreds of H.I.V. and AIDS patients are not receiving vital medical care, say a host of doctors, community groups and patients. The disarray in treatment reflects a stew of problems. An overstretched health care budget is accentuated by rivalries between the commonwealth and the San Juan city governments, which run separate AIDS programs.