Bay County, Florida is a cost-effective alternative to other competitive high-tech areas. Companies looking to set up shop in the area can benefit from more affordable land, labor, and capital than in California, New York, or Texas. Furthermore, for businesses in certain industries, additional incentives are available. For instance, those seeking job training, road infrastructure, or specialized locations may qualify for specific incentive programs. The climate and environment of Panama City also draw technology companies.
The city is becoming a hub for foreign business and banking due to the expansion of the Panama Canal. Tourists can play a major role in helping the eco-industry develop in Panama in the coming years. If entrepreneurs observe a demand for sustainable, low-impact travel, they can take a more environmentally friendly approach. As Panama watched other countries in the region work to protect their own natural resources, some members of the government took notice and urged their country to follow their example. The Panama Canal basin provides water to the metropolitan areas of Panama City and Colón.
Deforestation has the potential to disrupt important migratory routes and cause lasting ecological damage not only in Panama but also in North and South America. Estimates vary, but deforestation is believed to claim up to 50,000 hectares (123,500 acres) of forest per year in Panama, representing a loss of just over one percent per year. In 1989, social scientists Herman Daly and John Cobb developed an index of sustainable economic well-being which adjusts the GNP of the United States by adding the positive aspects for the environment and subtracting the negative aspects related to the environment. In modern times, the gift economy together with the egalitarian worldview that accompanied it has been overshadowed by a redistributive economy linked not to the exchange of gifts with nature but to the exploitation of nature and to the technologies that enhance that exploitation. Regretted by the degradation of the environment and the resulting quality of life in his homeland, Ogoni activist Ken Saro-Wiwa issued a statement shortly before being executed by the Nigerian government in 1995, in which he said: “The environment is man's first right.”The value of wood sold increases but it does not subtract losses in biodiversity, protection of watersheds or climate regulation when a forest is cut down. In just 10,000 years these advances resulted in some 7.5 billion people on Earth industrial societies and a global economy based on complicated technologies and fossil fuels.
However over the past two centuries human beings have become the planet's dominant species changing and often degrading the Earth's environment and living systems including human cultures in unprecedented ways. Overall, Panama City offers many advantages for technology companies looking to establish a presence there. From cost-effective land and labor to incentives for certain industries as well as an eco-friendly atmosphere with access to water from the Panama Canal basin - there are numerous benefits that make this city an attractive option.
