Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Biodiesel Byproduct Also a Source of Energy

A waste byproduct of biodiesel production can be transformed from a source of environmental pollution into a source of energy, according to a study conducted by the São Carlos School of Engineering at São Paulo University.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO WALL STREET

The behaviour of the banks reminds one of the Balkan folk dancers who face and applaud each other and then turn their backs. They lend more money than they have available to creditors who will not be able to repay it, knowing that the government will rescue them with public funds to keep them from going bankrupt and causing economic chaos. Once they get their hands on the money, the cycle begins again.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Urgent Measures Needed to Protect Jaguars

The Argentine Wildlife Foundation (FVSA) has issued a call for urgent measures to protect the jaguar (Panthera onca), the largest feline in the Western hemisphere.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Purifying Water with Coconut Shells

A filter of coconut shells, bamboo and sand can be used to purify wastewater, according to researchers at the Campinas State University School of Civil Engineering. The method they have developed is a low-cost sanitation alternative ideal for small-scale operations, they say.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Social Pact for Forest Conservation

The local inhabitants, authorities and environmental groups in the municipality of Ojojona, a 20-minute drive away from Tegucigalpa in the central Honduran department of Francisco Morazán, have agreed to a 40-year moratorium on the use of forests in the area, in order to protect them from the advance of illegal logging.

EGYPT: NOW THE HARD PART

Who could forget the images of joy broadcast worldwide the morning of February 11 from Tahrir Square of people celebrating the announcement by newly-selected vice president Omar Suleiman that Hosni Mobarak, leader of Egypt since 1981, had resigned? The eyes of the thousands of young Egyptians radiated great hopes for the future of their country and deep pride in the courage and tenacity shown during the 18 days of protests. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, once it weighed the pros and cons of abandoning the leader to his fate, "temporarily" took control over the country to initiate the delicate period of transition towards democracy. For a moment everyone, or almost everyone, thought that a new age had dawned, in a "new Egypt".

JAPAN: RESPONDING CREATIVELY TO CRISIS

The human spirit has a truly remarkable capacity -the ability to generate hope from the most devastating of crises. This ability to create value can be seen in the response to the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11.

Major Efforts Still Needed to Clean Up Lake Titicaca

Peru and Bolivia have made little progress in binational initiatives to promote sustainable development in Lake Titicaca.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Invading Snails Advance 100 Kilometers a Year

The carefully landscaped grounds of dozens of condominiums in the northern Venezuelan city of Lechería, on the Caribbean coast, are suffering an invasion of giant African land snails (Achatina fulica), which are now found throughout almost all of South America and on Caribbean islands like Barbados, Guadalupe, Martinique and Saint Lucia.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Micro Hydro Dam Project Planned

The government of Honduras and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are studying the construction of 50 micro hydroelectric dams over the next five years.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Virtual Encyclopedia of Amazon Biodiversity

The Brazilian National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA) has partnered with U.S. computer giant IBM to create Wikiflora, a collaborative website that will serve as a digital encyclopedia of biodiversity in the Amazon region.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Biopesticides Combat Malaria in Africa

An integrated anti-malaria program being carried out in a number of African countries with Cuban biological products and technology is yielding good results, according to the Cuban state-run pharmaceutical company Labiofam.

Mario Lubetkin | Lula – IPS Award 2008

 

THE MAIN PROBLEM WITH GLOBALISATION IS TOO LITTLE GOVERNANCE

Globalisation dominates our era, but it is an increasingly fragile dominance. Even as global integration delivers enormous benefits -growing wealth, spreading technology, the rise of billions of people in the developing world- it also creates new risks -financial instability, economic imbalances, environmental stresses, growing inequalities, cyber penetration- that we seem to have difficulty managing.

CAN THE WORLD BE FIXED?

The world can be fixed:

INTERVIEW WITH CELSO AMORIM: "IBSA IS A BEACON FOR POLITICAL STRATEGISING AND SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION"

Celso Amorim, one of the fathers of the IBSA Forum (India, Brazil, and South Africa) says in this interview that for this alliance of three major emerging powers, "Helping the poorest countries is clearly one of its callings.This gives it both its uniqueness and its international legitimacy."

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Mesoamerican Drylands Project Launched

Marginalized communities in four states in southern Mexico and the central Guatemalan department of Baja Verapaz will be involved in a project to improve natural resource management in areas with scant rainfall.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Schools in Mendoza to Teach Safe Handling of Pesticides

An Argentine government agency is carrying out a program to teach students in rural primary schools in the western province of Mendoza about the safe handling of pesticides.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Climate Change Adaptation Projects in Indigenous Areas

Work will begin in July on four climate change adaptation projects in four primarily indigenous departments in Honduras.

Politicians Out of Sync With Public Sentiment on the Environment

While the vast majority of Brazilians place priority on environmental conservation, their elected leaders continue to focus on economic interests and short-term gains.

Whales: U.S. Replaces Japan in Role of Villain

In addition to the scientific whaling quotas defended by Japan, there are now demands for increased quotas for aboriginal subsistence whaling.