Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Drought Means Christmas in the Dark

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The drought in the area of the southeastern Caroní River, the result of the phenomenon known as El Niño, is casting a shadow in all populated areas of Venezuela, as the government ordered restrictions on public lighting.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Replacing Polluting Trucks

By IPS Correspondents and - -
About 150 new trucks will be given to cargo transport microbusinesses in several Chilean cities as part of a government program to remove polluting vehicles from circulation.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: 2010 Without Water in 5 Departments

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The drought caused by the climate phenomenon known as El Niño will hit five of Honduras's 18 departments hard in 2010, and at least 50,000 families are likely to face food problems, according to a government source.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Micro Hydropower for Isolated Towns

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Hidropolio micro hydropower system is an alternative for bringing clean energy to some 10 million Brazilians living in isolated areas who otherwise lack electricity.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Residents Resist Mining Project

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents of the northwestern Argentine province of Catamarca have kept up a roadblock on the access route to a mining site, because they say its exploitation by the Canadian firm Yamana Gold would harm the environment.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Eye on Native Christmas Tree Sales

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Faced with competition from foreign species, native Christmas tree growers in the southern area of the Mexican capital are fighting to keep their plantations in business.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: New Diploma in Geology

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Public and private Honduran institutions this month created the first diploma in geology, aimed at developing human resources to contribute to the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Urban Pollution More Lethal Than Cholesterol

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Polluted city air alters the molecular structure of "bad cholesterol" (LDL), facilitating the build-up of fatty layers in the arteries and increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke, according to a study by Sandra Regina Castro Soares, for her doctorate in medicine at the University of São Paulo.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Suit Against Gov't to Go to Inter-American Court

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A coalition of environmental defense groups in the northern region of Omoa will file a case in January 2010 against the Government of Honduras for failing to relocated the Mexican transnational Gas del Caribe, which is polluting the coastal zone.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Campaign Against Moss Christmas Decoration

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Venezuela's Environment Ministry and National Guard have stepped up their campaign against the collection and sale of moss, which is traditionally used in Christian households to decorate Christmas Nativity scenes.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Women Learn Forest Management

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Over the past five years, some 11,000 women from western Honduras have learned forest management techniques to undertake community forestry and to diversify small farming operations, utilizing environmentally friendly methods.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Youth Need Climate Education

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental groups should better coordinate their campaigns against climate change and focus more on young people, says Claudia Gómez-Portugal, strategic director of Sakbé, a Mexican organization focused on environmental communication.

Ecobreves – ECOBRIEFS: BRAZIL

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The sisal plant (Agave sisalana), whose fiber serves as a raw material for making sacks, crafts and furniture, also produces an effective natural insecticide according to scientists at the State University of Feira de Santana, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahía.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Alarm Sounds on GM Crop Expansion

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The area in Chile planted with genetically modified crops - mostly maize, soy and canola - expanded from 24,921 hectares in 2007 to 30,101 hectares in 2008-2009, "without sufficient regulations to protect traditional seeds and the sites of origin."

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Eco-Plastic Made from Quinoa

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Quinoa, a pseudo-cereal that is a complete protein source native to the Andes, is also the raw material for a biodegradable plastic developed by Brazil's University of Campinas.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Organizing Against Climate Change

By IPS Correspondents and - -
People in the farming town of Panaquire, population 7,000, founded three centuries ago on a flood-vulnerable plain southeast of Caracas, have organized in order to predict the effects of climate change through a community-based early warning weather system.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Farming Stands Up to El Niño

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Food security is guaranteed for Honduras next year because the cyclical weather phenomenon known as El Niño did not hurt the production of basic grains, official and private sources told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Climate Change a Boon for Sugarcane?

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Sugarcane crops will see a 32-percent production boost by 2050 if the planet's average temperature increases two degrees Celsius, according to a study by Brazil's University of São Paulo conducted in the nearby sugar-producing region of Piracicaba.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Potable Water Crisis in Tegucigalpa

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The climate phenomenon known as El Niño is taking its toll on the Honduran capital, where water reserves are predicted to run out in six months if strict rationing measures are not taken immediately.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Money Available for Eco-Projects

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The "Fondo para las Américas" (Fund for the Americas), created in 1993 by Argentina and the United States, launched a new call for applications to finance projects of non-governmental organizations here that work on environmental and children's issues.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Green Energy as Source of Jobs

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The development of eco-friendly energy could produce 500,000 jobs in Mexico, according to the environmental watchdog group Greenpeace.
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