Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: 80 Years of Research

The Venezuelan Society of Natural Sciences, the country’s oldest non-governmental organization, one that has made the most contributions to studying Venezuela’s biodiversity, reach its 80th anniversary on Oct. 29.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Oil Spill Under Control

The Honduran authorities were able to control a spill of 150 barrels of fuel, which affected flora and fauna in the Bay of San Lorenzo, on the Pacific coast.

CLIMATE CHANGE: ACT NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

It's clear that climate change poses severe environmental, economic, and social risks. But it also presents a challenge of leadership the likes of which the world has never seen. Can heads of state and governments meet it when they gather in Copenhagen in December to hammer out a new international climate agreement?

Forests Much More Than Carbon Storage

The bid to include forests in initiatives to mitigate climate change is turning out to be a sensitive issue for the planet.

Five-Star Garbage

Decades ago, a Brazilian biologist couple put into practice the principle of using for their own construction materials what others throw away.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: One Tire Sold, Another Collected

Starting this month a new environmental policy requires Brazilian industries and importers to collect and appropriately dispose of as many "unusable" automobile tires as they sell new.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Proven Eroding of Aquifers

Mexico's watersheds have deteriorated in recent years, threatening environmental health across vast areas, warn non-governmental groups.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: 'Green' Garbage Cans Get Government Attention

Honduran tourism and environmental officials are promoting an eco-garbage can project to foment a culture of recycling and garbage classification among residents in the capital, home to 1.7 million people.

WHY IS THE PEACE MOVEMENT SO QUIET ABOUT AFGHANISTAN?

While the war in Iraq triggered massive demonstrations across the globe, the ratcheting up of the number of troops in Afghanistan has generated no more than brief debates in parliaments. Obviously the intervention in Afghanistan if far more "legitimate" than the invasion of Iraq, based as if was on false assumptions about the existence of weapons of mass destruction. Nonetheless, it is still significant that the Afghan war, with its high human costs, is accepted as inevitable and that even the world peace movement seems resigned to it.

THE PRIVATISATION OF LIVELIHOOD

Globalisation and trade liberalisation policies have led to the privatisation of water and biodiversity and the concentration of land ownership in India, reversing six decades of land reform and introducing a new form of corporate zamindari -a feudal land tenure system- through instruments like "special economic zones".

Fashion Finds Its Green Style

Environmental awareness is dawning as a source of inspiration for a new generation of fashion designers.

Carbon Capture Effort Collects Critics

Although there is global consensus on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most of the methods to capture emissions remain controversial.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Million-Dollar Garbage

Brazil loses more than 10 billion dollars yearly in disposing of solid waste in dumps and landfills that contaminate water sources and soils.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Film Protesting Aysén Dams Premiers

The Patagonia Defense Council, an umbrella for more than 50 Chilean and foreign organizations, last week presented a documentary film on the potential threats of the five hydroelectric dams planned for the southern region of Aysén.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: The Iguana Gets a Book

Biologists and teachers in Venezuela produced a school text about the iguana, a type of lizard found in warm and arid zones, extending from Mexico to northern Argentina - and victim of uncontrolled hunting.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: El Niño Predicted to Affect 10 Departments

The active cycle of the climate phenomenon known as El Niño will have greatest impact next year and will affect 10 of the 18 departments of Honduras, warned authorities, who predict extreme droughts.

DEATH OF THE DAILY PAPER

It is a major catastrophe: dozens of daily newspapers are bankrupt. In the United States, at least 120 have already closed. And the tsunami is now striking Europe. Not even institutions once considered the journals of record are safe: Spain's El Pais, France's Le Monde, The Times and The Independent of the United Kingdom. and Italy's Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica are all accumulating major economic losses as a result of the drop in subscriptions and the collapse of advertising[i].

NOBEL TO OBAMA: THE RIGHT TIME, THE RIGHT PERSON

The news was like a ray of sunlight that lit the entire world: "Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize!" It was unexpected, for many premature, and set off a wide range of reactions in every corner of the planet.

Indigenous Enterprises Unite

In two years an inventory will be complete, tracking the economic and social status of indigenous businesses in Mexico, which will soon have their own umbrella organization.

Climate Change Just One Factor in Coastal Erosion

To understand the link between global climate change and coastal erosion requires an integration of the otherwise reductionist specialization on the issue, says Argentine scientist Jorge Codignotto.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Ceramic Absorbs Industrial CO2

Using porous ceramic microspheres, scientists at the Brazilian Federal University of Minas Gerais were able to cut industrial carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.