ENERGY CHOICE: CHANGE YOUR HABITS OR CHANGE PLANETS

With temperatures and oil prices rising, energy-hungry industrial nations are seeking alternatives to a petroleum economy, and many find themselves turning back to coal, writes Mark Sommer, who hosts the award-winning, internationally-syndicated radio programme, \'\'A World of Possibilities\'\'. In this article, Sommer writes that although coal remains plentiful, strip-mining and mountaintop removal remain standard industry practices, and greenhouse gases released by the burning of coal are a prime contributor to global warming. As advanced industrial nations start instituting cap-and-trade systems and carbon taxes, the rising costs of investing in such a carbon-clogging energy source are becoming apparent even to Wall Street. Renewables are on the way, though many say not soon enough to fill the gap. How much sooner might they come on line if instead of investing in more coal-fired plants we invested today in wind, solar, biomass, methane and wave power? And how much more might we squeeze out of the energy we now use if we applied ourselves to greater efficiency and conservation?

Civil Resistance Aimed at Saving Colombian Jungle

In the Darién Mountains, near Colombia's border with Panama, some 3,000 Afro-Colombians are working to restore their crops and recover their land, from which they were forcibly expelled 10 years ago.

Floating House Made of Garbage – Art or Eyesore?

The Rio de Janeiro authorities have wavered on whether to ban a floating house made of garbage pulled from Guanabara Bay or to declare it a museum.

Ecobreves – CUBA: War on Dengue

A campaign to clean up streets and homes across Cuba was aimed at eliminating breeding grounds for the Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that carries dengue.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: New Institute for Forest Conservation

The Honduran government announced on Jun. 11 the creation of a Forest Conservation Institute, which will replace the existing Honduran Corporation for Forestry Development (COHDEFOR), entrusted with controlling and regulating the use of the country's forests.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Industrial Forestry Charged as Unconstitutional

The advance of eucalyptus plantations to produce pulp for the companies Stora Enso, Votorantin and Aracruz in southern Brazil is unconstitutional, according to Domingos Sávio da Silveira, federal prosecutor for the fourth region, which encompasses the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Paraná.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Another Pulp Mill Disaster Investigated

The Licancel plant of the Chilean company Celulosa Arauco y Constitución (CELCO), located in the central region of Maule, is accused of responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of fish and aquatic birds in the Mataquito River, where it discharges its waste.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Art-Fest for Water

Painting, sculpture, photography, music, literature and performance are part of the Festival of Water, under way Jun. 17-23 in 11 municipalities of the southeastern Venezuelan state of Bolívar.

SUCCESSFUL DOHA CONCLUSION WOULD BE BOON FOR AFRICA

Failure to successfully conclude the Doha development round would hurt the multilateral trading system but it would more devastating to developing countries, including those in Africa, writes Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Though agriculture is an important part of the agenda, this Round covers other issues with significant potential gains for Africa. For instance, in industrial products, such as textiles and footwear, improved market access in developed countries would benefit African exports of manufactured goods. The same is true for services, the most dynamic sector in many African countries. Developing the necessary infrastructure and human skills are two of the most important challenges Africa faces in terms of modernising trade. Progress in these two areas is fundamental to building African countries\' capacity to effectively participate in regional and global trade.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Beyond the Tropical Image

"To understand the climate changes in Brazil it is essential to abandon the tropical country myth and look also at the other regions," warns paleoclimatologist Jefferson Cárdia Simões, of the Brazilian Antarctic Program.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Less Forest Burned

Honduras has lost 27,000 hectares of forest to fire in the past 12 months, but it is far less than the annual average of 50,000 hectares of forest destroyed by fire for the last five years.

Chile's Biggest Freshwater Reserve Left Unprotected

Mining is the main threat to Chilean glaciers, followed by global warming.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Trees for the Capital

Some 100,000 trees of native species will be planted in the next couple months as part of a reforestation program for the Mexican capital.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Environmental Film Series

Argentina's Environmental Secretariat has launched a film series and a screenplay competition centered on the environment.

New Studies Reveal DNA Damage from Anti-Coca Herbicide

Scientific studies have collected evidence of the negative effects of the glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup on human and animal health. The chemical is used in aerial spraying to eliminate illicit coca crops in Colombia.

SOUTH AMERICA: BANKING ON THE NEIGHBOURS

Resentment against the international financial institutions is growing across the world, laying a foundation for an alternative economic vision in South America. The challenge is for it to be a true alternative, writes Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the California based Oakland Institute. This has laid the foundation for an alternative economic vision for the region with President Chávez's idea of creating an alternative fund - Banco del Sur or the Bank of the South - to free the region from the IFIs coming to fruition. With Argentina, Bolivia, and Ecuador already on board, Brazil too joined the Bank in April - significantly increasing the available resources. The goal of this Latin American controlled multilateral lender is to fund social and economic development in the region without the political conditions that come with the IMF loans. The intention of this alternative institution is to adhere to local needs than to dictates of the Western nations and Latin America appears to have taken a turn in an overwhelmingly positive economic direction. However, while breaking free from the international financial institutions is essential for formulating national policies that would address the needs of the overall population, much deeper structural changes are required some questions remain to ensure the fulfillment of aspirations behind this institution.

G8 SUMMIT: AWAY WITH GLOBAL ECONOMIC APARTHEID

It was in Germany in 1884 that Africa was carved up randomly and its communities destroyed by the dominant world powers; is it to redress this that the G8 summit in Germany is focused on poverty relief and climate change? asks Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of CIVICUS, chair of Global Call for Action Against Poverty (GCAP). In this article, Naidoo writes of the need to involve those whose situation we aim to improve in formulating the shape and direction of assistance offered to them. This is not just a moral call but a matter of basic human rights. Aid is not a panacea; increasing aid should come with increased efforts to make aid work. We need both more and better aid, fairer trade conditions, and renewed efforts to lift the debt burden, so that the promises made truly improve the lives of the poorest. It is the G8\'s duty to ensure that this happens. 123 years after the Berlin Conference and 61 years after the Marshall Plan, Germany has an opportunity to change its legacy. It could be remembered not only as the place where Africa\'s woes began but also as the place where impoverished nations got the chance they needed to recover, once and for all. Just as Germany benefited from the Marshall plan, surely a global Marshall, or perhaps Merkel, plan now makes sense. It would ensure that future generations live in a world with political, social, economic, gender, and environmental justice.

THE IMF AND WORLD BANK : CRISIS TIME

After many years of a sustained campaign against the UN, the so-called Bretton Woods twins --the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank-- now find themselves in political and economic crisis, writes Roberto Savio, founder and president emeritus of IPS news agency and founder of the International Committee of the World Social Forum. In this article, Savio writes that the World Bank finds itself in a financial crisis from which it would not be able to rescue itself even without the corruption charges against Wolfowitz: it would need to come up with at least USD 16 billion in operating capital. The situation of the IMF is even worse. Its income has dropped from USD 3.19 billion in 2005 to USD 1.300 billion in 2006, and is projected to drop by half in 2007 as fewer and fewer countries request its loans, which come with onerous conditions. With the UN essentially relegated to development policy and the Bretton Woods institutions faced with radical rethinking, we must ask whether the dramatic issues such as climate change will be enough to create a new sense of awareness that a lawless market is incapable of solving the problems of international governance for all citizens, rich and poor.

Emigration a Blessing for Biosphere Reserve

Mexico's Sierra Gorda Reserve embodies the paradox of the emigration of the poor: nature benefits from a smaller human population, while remittances from family members abroad are the main source of income for those who remain.

Tapping Hydroelectric Dams for Methane Gas

The greenhouse gases held in hydroelectric reservoirs can be captured to generate more energy, preventing them from turning into climate-changing emissions, according to Brazilian scientists.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Environmental Opinions from the Poor

Ninety-seven percent of the low-income residents of the capital say the city's environmental quality is "mediocre" or "very poor", 77.7 percent believe "environmental problems are not important to the politicians", and 86.2 percent think the environment is neglected due to "lack of education".