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Ecobreves – BRAZIL: New Ship Will Expand Knowledge of the Ocean Floor

Thank to a partnership between the government and private companies, Brazil will soon acquire one of the most modern oceanographic research vessels in the world.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Fighting Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Nanotechnology

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC), a government agency, is experimenting with the addition of diminutive particles – in this case, mineral salts such as iron, cobalt and nickel nitrate – to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions that are characteristic of the oil industry.

Biofuels are amazingly profitable in tropical countries, says André Aranha Corrêa do Lago. - Manipadma Jena/IPS

"Developing Countries Are Doing Their Part for Biodiversity"

By Manipadma Jena and - -

We cannot isolate biological diversity by geographical boundaries, says Brazilian negotiator André Aranha Corrêa do Lago in this interview.

Companies risk economic losses as a result of climate change, stressed Lopes. Credit - Courtesy of IBC

Companies Study Climate Risks and Opportunities

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Initiatives undertaken by companies to reduce their emissions, mainly through greater energy efficiency, pay for themselves within three years, according to Juliana Campos Lopes of the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Clones Could Save Endangered Species

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The Brazilian government's agricultural research agency, EMBRAPA, has begun to work on cloning animals in danger of extinction.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Peasant Farmers Adopt Organic Fertilizer

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Small farmers in southern Honduras have begun to use organic fertilizer to improve their crops while promoting the creation of family farms in nearby villages.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA : Alarm Raised Over Deforestation in Patagonia

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Local residents, environmentalists and Mapuche indigenous communities have raised the alarm over two major real estate development projects in Villa La Angostura, in the southern Argentine province of Neuquén, which would involve the destruction of 1,100 hectares of forests.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Artificial Photosynthesis Being Explored

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The Mexican National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) has launched an initiative to imitate natural photosynthesis for the purpose of generating alternative fuels and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

Clean-up work in the rivers of the Lower Lempa River Basin. - Edgardo Ayala/IPS

Communities Organize to Confront Climate Change in El Salvador

By Edgardo Ayala and - -

The river clean-up and mangrove recovery work in the Lower Lempa River Basin reflects the organizational traditions of the local communities.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Lionfish Confirmed as Voracious Predator

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The red lionfish (Pterois volitans), a species native to the Pacific Ocean that escaped from aquariums in the Caribbean Sea two decades ago, is advancing on fish stocks and devouring young specimens of dozens of species in the waters off northern Venezuela.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: New Center for the Recovery of the Flora and Fauna of Olancho

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Honduran and international institutions have joined forces to construct a center aimed at preserving endangered flora and fauna, such as the jaguar, in the northeastern department of Olancho.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Government Assesses Construction of “Water Highway”

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The government of Chile has commissioned preliminary studies for the proposed construction of a so-called water highway, which would transport water from the mouths of rivers in the south to the arid regions of the north.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Industrial Waste Used to Produce Concrete

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Researchers at the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of São Paulo have developed a type of concrete made with recycled materials.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA : Communities to Monitor Clean-Up of Riachuelo River Basin

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Residents of the Matanza-Riachuelo river basin, the most polluted in Argentina, situated south of the country’s capital, will monitor the clean-up of the area through a community participation program.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Indigenous Community Exports Squash to U.S.

By IPS Correspondents and - -

An indigenous community has managed to place some 5,800 kilos of high-quality squash on the market in the U.S. city of Miami, with the support of an international cooperation project.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Football World Cup Will Emit 11 Million Tons of CO2

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The Brazil 2014 Football World Cup will emit more than 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, according to a study conducted by the consulting firm Personal CO2 Cero.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Eighty Percent of Coral Reefs Lost

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Over the last 50 years, Brazil has lost 80 percent of the coral reefs along its coasts, according to a study carried out between 2002 and 2010 by the Federal University of Pernambuco and the Ministry of Environment.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Win the Battle Against Drought

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Three peasant farmer communities in the southern Honduran department of Choluteca have been recognized for the good practices they adopted, through a program sponsored by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to withstand drought and adapt to climate change.

Ecobreves – URUGUAY: High Quality of Olive Oil Recognized Internationally

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Although the production of extra virgin olive oil in Uruguay dates back less than a decade, the country’s olive oil has managed to earn a place among the ten best in the world, according to a quality ranking of companies participating in international competitions.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Coal Ash Cleans Thermoelectric Effluents

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Researchers in Brazil have discovered that the ash produced by burning coal can effectively remove heavy metals from the effluents generated by the same industries that burn it.