THE ARCTIC: A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF CONFLICT

As the Arctic has only recently moved toward centre stage, there is still much we must do to understand the true nature of the changes that are occurring there.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Company Fined for Environmental Damages

The thermal energy company San Lorenzo Light and Power (Lufussa), which operates in the southern Honduran city of the same name, will have to pay 32,000 dollars in fines for the damages resulting from a fuel spill in July 2009.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Another Setback for Law on E-Waste

The vote on a legislative bill about electronic-waste management, already with three years in the Senate, faced new objections and may not be passed until 2011.

Peru's Highlands Lack Legal Protection

Land-use regulations could put a halt to mining concessions in areas of Peru with high ecological value, like the highland plateaus of the north.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Soy Biodiesel Produces Genetic Mutations

Contact with biodiesel, seen as an alternative fuel that is less harmful than fossil fuels, could be causing genetic mutations, concludes a doctoral thesis study by Daniela Morais Leme, at Brazil's State University of São Paulo.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Forest Communities Demand Effective Management

The indigenous communities that inhabit Mexico's forests should participate in all forest-use policies, according to a civil society campaign launched on Nov. 23.

THE FALL OF THE WEST

The last G20 meeting showed us that we are far from global governance. It's clear that national interests, although interdependent, do not coincide, and that the era when the West could impose its will on developing countries is over.

THE GOOD SIDE OF GLOBALISATION

Is globalisation, which is shaping our societies whether we like it or not, a threat to identity? If we were to believe all that we hear, the winds of globalisation are wreaking havoc everywhere, uprooting identities and cultures which for centuries have been shaping human relations, sweeping away all local values and customs.

Genetic Flight of Nature's Jewels from Chile

Nearly half of Chile's flora is found exclusively in this country and many possess unique chemical compounds. But for now there is no legal way to control their exploitation abroad.

Water as a 'Divine Gift'

Central America has been focusing on tourism and exports, failing to pay necessary attention to water and agriculture, say experts.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Eco-Friendly Formaldehyde Disposal

A technique for breaking down formaldehyde before disposal has been developed by Brazilian scientist Sônia Borges de Oliveira, professor at the University of São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Financing for a Million-Dollar Wind Project

The Central American Economic Integration Bank (BCIE) will provide 209.3 million dollars in financing for a company with U.S. capital to generate wind energy in Cerro de Hula, south of the Honduran capital.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Protests Against Sale of Pink River Dolphins

Thousands of residents in the Venezuelan city of Valencia signed petitions to convince the government to halt the shipment of two pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) to Daejeon Aquaworld, in South Korea.

CUBA: CHANGE ON THE WAY

After a long wait and numerous postponements, the Cuban Communist Party, which oversees and directs the politics of the island, has decided to hold its sixth congress, in April 2011. The last was held in 1997, more than 13 years ago.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Making Use of Construction Waste

Mineral and industrial waste from construction is becoming raw material for new building through a technique developed by engineer Janaína Accordi Junkes, at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Requesting More Funds Against Climate Change

Actions for adapting to and mitigating climate change need at least one percent of Mexico's gross domestic product (GDP), proposed a collective of environmental groups.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: A New Way to Collect Trash

The municipal government of the southern Honduran city of Choluteca decided to collect garbage using horse-drawn carts in the neighborhoods not served by the sanitation service.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Hunger Strike Against Fumigation

On the eve of a predicted record soybean harvest, an Argentine forestry engineer, backed by environmental groups, began a hunger strike against crop fumigation with dangerous agro-chemicals.

UKRAINE: REFORM OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

When it joined the Council of Europe in 1995, Ukraine agreed to shift management of the prison system to the Ministry of Justice until the end of 1998. In that year the administration of criminal sentencing was taken away from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and transferred to the State Department for the Enforcement of Sentences, a new body independent of the executive branch. Since 2000 the Department's activity has been directed by the minister of justice, whose ministry formulates and oversees the administration of criminal sentencing by the Department.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Unbeatable in Can Recycling

Brazil recycled 98.2 percent of the aluminum cans used last year, according to a study by the Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL).

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Eco-Stoves Arrive in the Capital

"Eco-stoves," an improved version that reduces the consumption of firewood, are finding their way to Tegucigalpa's largest low-income neighborhoods -- in a bid to halt deforestation.