Ecobreves – HONDURAS: China to Finance Ambitious Hydroelectric Project

The government of Honduras announced the construction of the Patuca I, II and III hydroelectric dam, over the course of three years beginning January 2011 at a cost of one billion dollars financed by a Chinese firm.

Africa certain to miss MDG targets, says continent’s Millennium Campaign chief

Africa certain to miss MDG targets, says continent's Millennium Campaign chief

BRAZIL: THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF THE PATRIARCHY

In a providential first, two of the candidates in Brazil's upcoming presidential elections are women: Marina Silva and Dilma Rousseff. The latter is favoured in the polls to win in the vote, set for October 3. Brazil has never had a female president.

Fighting for Argentina's Glaciers as They Retreat

In two decades, Argentina's glaciers have lost an average of 10 to 15 percent of their area.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Farmers Fight Brazil-Financed Thermoelectric Plant

A delegation from the Totoral Agricultural Community of the northern region of Copiapó delivered a letter Sep. 8 to Brazil's ambassador in Chile, Mario Vilalva, requesting the Brazilian government withdraw support for the Castilla thermoelectric plant, being built by Brazilian entrepreneur Eike Batista.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Renewable Energy Contracts Questioned

Communities in the northwestern Honduras and Catholic groups have challenged the decision by Congress to grant 40 renewable energy contracts to companies they say are polluters.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Testing Plant-Based Cancer Med

Three hospitals in Santiago, Cuba, began to administer a medication made from the anamú (Petiveria alliacea) plant, also known as guinea henweed, to fight cellular immunodeficiency among patients with cancer and other illnesses.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Sugarcane Provides 18 Percent of Energy

Nearly half the energy consumed in Brazil comes from renewable sources, thanks in large part to sugarcane, according to the Sustainable Development Indicators of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Toxic Cloud Over Ciudad Guayana

A cloud of waste particulates is soaring this month over Ciudad Guayana, a city located 600 kilometers southeast of Caracas.

THE US MOVES TOWARDS THE FUTURE UNPREPARED AND UNSEEING

The Tea Party's giant rally in Washington drew 300,000 Americans protesting taxation, a government that is suffocating its citizens, and a marxist, Kenyan-born, Muslim Obama. These people are calling on the United States to be a world leader again and dispense with debate and vacillation.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Bio-Controls of Pests Without Extermination

A system for controlling pests without harming the environment or even killing off the attacking species is under development by the National Institute of Science and Technology, an association of Brazilian universities.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Activists Demand Law to Protect Glaciers

Environmental organizations in Argentina are demanding the enactment of a law to protect the country's glaciers from large-scale mining.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Hydroelectric Dam's Reservoir Reduced

The Honduran government decided to start controlled openings of the floodgates at the country's principal hydroelectric dam, "El Cajón," located in the northwestern department of Cortés, to prevent a worsening of floods in the wake of the intense rainfall of recent weeks.

Responsible Tourism in a Lost Rural Paradise

A global network of small farms is promoting organic and sustainable farming, as well as responsible consumption habits, giving a boost to a new kind of tourism.

AMERICAS: THE BATTLE OVER VENEZUELA

Two decisive contests are fast approaching in the struggle for ideological supremacy in Latin America: the legislative elections in Venezuela on September 26 and the presidential elections in Brazil on October 3. If the democratic left doesn't win in the latter, the political pendulum would begin to swing continent wide towards the right, which is already in power in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Peru. But this is unlikely to occur: it is inconceivable that Jose Serra, of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party, could defeat Dilma Rousseff of the Workers Party (PT), supported by the very popular current president Lula Ignacio de Silva, who could easily win a third term if the constitution didn't bar it.

Laws No Help to Amazon Animals, or People

Strict laws prevent Brazil's Amazon river dwellers from making use of wildlife that is otherwise destroyed by natural causes anyway, say experts.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: New Technique for Reducing Dumps

A new garbage treatment system, developed by Ronaldo Izzo, a researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, could reduce the area covered by dumps by 75 percent. The technique consists of treating the waste and using it to make the soil of the landfill impermeable.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: University Forest Expropriated

Venezuela's National Lands Institute confiscated the land of the Central San Nicolás University's field research station, some 1,400 hectares dedicated to agricultural studies. The institute then settled 51 rural families there.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Indigenous Groups Denounce Logging in Protected Areas

Representatives of the Federation of Xicaques and Tolupanes Tribes denounced the illegal incursion of loggers into the forests where Honduran indigenous communities live, in the central department of Francisco Morazán and the northern department of Yoro.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: City Beaches Could Disappear

Rising sea levels and the lack of sedimentation are leading to the disappearance of many of Brazil's beaches, according to geographer Dieter Muehe, who authored a study of the problem.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Massive Fish Die-Off

More than four tons of dead fish - including the sábalo (Prochilodus lineatus), tararira (Hoplias malabaricus), pejerrey (Odontesthes bonariensis) and catfish - appeared last week in the reservoir of the Hondo River in northern Argentina, apparently killed by industrial pollution.