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Ambitious Polar Satellite Still in Planning Stage

If everything goes according to plan, in November the European Space Agency will launch CryoSat-2, in what will be the second attempt to put a polar satellite in orbit to explore the state of the earth’s cryosphere.

Sailing in search of turtles. - Alejandro Kirk/IPS

Amazon Turtle Quest

By Mario Osava, Alejandro Kirk, IPS, and - -

Two reporters embark on an expedition across Lago Verde, in eastern Amazonia, to observe how scientists and local fishing people join efforts to study and protect the area’s turtles.

Piping a the Miravalles geothermal power station. - ICE

Costa Rica Invests in Geothermal Power Generation

By Daniel Zueras and - -

Geothermal power is the second leading source of energy in Costa Rica, after hydroelectric power, accounting for 17 percent of the country’s energy and covering an increasing proportion of its electricity needs.

Ecobreves – Brazil: Digitally Mapping the Amazon Region

By IPS Correspondents and - -

A total of 1,815 digital maps will be completed this year to provide a greater knowledge of Brazil’s Amazon region, contributing data on official and clandestine roads, rivers, settlements, haciendas and schools.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Promote Eco-Tourism Project

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Three municipalities in Honduras’ central Comayagua valley are building their first eco-tourism center, with the aim of generating income for the region and developing conservation and management programs for the wildlife reservation of the PANACOMA national park.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Neighbors Fed Up with Garbage

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Tired of putting up with a nearby dumpster, the communities of Bouwer and Potrero del Estado, in the central Argentine province of Cordoba, filed a complaint against the provincial capital for diverting its garbage to that site.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Pet Slaughter

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Dozens of cats and dogs that had been rescued from the street and were living in a 60-meter-square apartment in the state of Mexico were brutally killed by a group of hooded men armed with sticks and machetes.

CONCERTED GLOBAL ACTION NECESSARY TO ADDRESS CURRENT CRISIS

By Pascal Lamy and - -

Today we are experiencing the worst economic recession since World War II. No country is immune. Trade is shrinking, growth is declining, and unemployment is on the rise.

The Polarstern in action. - Alfred Wegener Institute

Wake of Controversy Sails with the Polarstern

By Maricel Drazer and - -

Stimulating the growth of phytoplankton by adding iron to the sea could be another way to absorb excess carbon that causes climate change, say the scientists involved in a controversial study in the Atlantic Ocean.

Fires in the Amazon. - Courtesy of Greenpeace

Amazon Teetering on the Edge

By Mario Osava and - -

Four scenarios laid out in the GEO report, ranging from the horrific to the barely optimistic, provide a view of what the Amazon could look like in just 17 years.

Cecilia Iglesias in Nairobi. - Courtesy of Iglesias

“Environmental Key Lies with Young People”

By Marcela Valente and - -

Civil society members gathered in Nairobi, hosted by UNEP, called for involving young people in the official delegations that negotiate environmental agreements, like the climate change treaty, says Argentine activist Cecilia Iglesias in this Tierramérica interview.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Zoo Saves Water

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The São Paulo Zoo is saving 1.3 million liters of water per month since it started following the Rational Water Use Program (PURA, for its Portuguese acronym).

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Military Engages in Operation Forest

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The Honduran government announced that at month's end it will deploy a military contingent to protect 23,000 hectares of forest in the protected areas that are most in danger of fire in the dry season.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Schoolchildren Protect Fish

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Gustavo, age 10, is happy to join his classmates in moving a hundred young cachama fish (Colossoma macropomum) to a pond in the Francisco de Mirando Park in the Venezuelan capital.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Mapuches Question Validity of Gov't “Consultation”

By IPS Correspondents and - -

Leaders of the Mapuche people are challenging the legitimacy and usefulness of the First National Consultation of Indigenous Peoples that the national government has extended to Mar. 2.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Danger: Fire

By IPS Correspondents and - -

The three hurricanes that thrashed Cuba in 2008 have increased the threat of forest fires during the current dry season, which lasts until early May, experts told Tierramérica.

Organic coffee beans. - Joseph Sorrentino/Comercio Justo México

Recession Challenges Fair Trade

By Diego Cevallos, IPS, and - -

The uncertainty caused by the global economic recession has cast a shadow over the immediate future of fair trade efforts in Latin America.

Until January of this year, the Bradytriton silus was thought to be extinct in Guatemala's cloud forests. - Sean Michael Rovito

So Long, Salamanders

By Stephen Leahy and - -

These days it's hard to find any salamanders in some parts of Mexico and Guatemala, where just a few decades ago they were abundant, says a new study.