Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Fire for Cooking Also Generates Electricity

A Brazilian company is selling an efficient wood-burning stove that, in addition to cooking, generates electricity, which could be a boon to Brazilian families living in isolated areas, especially in the Amazon.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Mapping Vulnerable Zones

The Honduran government presented the first risk and vulnerability map of the country, distributed to local and environmental authorities. The map will serve in making decisions about measures for preventing damage during the rainy season, which begins in May.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Cyanide Spill Under Investigation

The Honduran Government Prosecutor's Office announced an exhaustive investigation into the causes of a cyanide spill in the Lara River, which supplies water to several communities in the western department of Copán.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Environmental Education Travels by Truck

A white truck carrying books, toys, videos and ecologists is promoting the organization of eco-brigades in Venezuela's primary schools, focusing on fourth, fifth and sixth grade students.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Foreign Experts Examine Energy Matrix

Ten experts from the International Energy Agency (IEA) visited Chile as part of an in-depth study being conducted of the country's energy situation and policies.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Medications via Nanoparticles

Researchers in Mexico have encapsulated pharmaceuticals in microscopic nanoparticles, allowing the medications to be delivered with greater precision to the ill part of the body, without the secondary effects of conventional therapies.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA: Universities to Study Natural Disasters

Representatives from the 19 public universities of Central America agreed on a 12-year strategy for studying and preventing natural disasters and for proposing appropriate public policies.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Indignant Over Mining Project

Residents of Andalgalá, in the northwestern Argentine province of Catamarca, are preparing a national protest against the approval of a mining project they say will hurt their water supply and the environment.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: New Standards for Forest Products

The Brazilian industries that utilize raw materials from the forests will have to follow new production criteria, according to a resolution passed by the National Environmental Council this month.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Coral Sick from Climate Change

More than 800 kilometers of coral reefs of Los Roques archipelago, a Caribbean paradise covering 225,00 hectares just 180 km north of Caracas, are at risk due to the warming of their marine environment.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Mining Project Has Town on Alert

The Chilean town of Tierra Amarilla, 805 km north of Santiago, has filed numerous observations about the Caserones copper mining project, of the Japanese firm Lumina Copper, as part of the environmental impact assessment process.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Peasants Join the Biodiesel Market

Peasant farmers of the Salamá cooperative in the northern Honduran region of Tocoa have achieved a three-year dream: their own biodiesel production plant to supply the local market.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Supermarkets Promote Eco-Friendly Shopping Bags

The Brazilian supermarket chains Bompreço, Hiper Bompreço and TodoDia, concentrated in the nine states of the country's Northeast region, have begun discount programs in their 131 stores for shoppers with reusable or returnable bags.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Paper from Recycled Plastic

Researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (230 kilometers from São Paulo) have created a synthetic paper, made from recycled plastic, that is useful for products that need resistance and durability, such as sign banners, packaging material and school books.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Nature Preserve Left Unprotected

An environmental group in Argentina is calling for the protection of a nature preserve near the city of Mar del Plata, a popular tourist destination in the province of Buenos Aires, where biodiversity is under threat.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Eco-Friendly Refrigerants – Finally

Propane and butane gas-powered refrigerators, which contribute very little to climate change and don't harm the ozone layer like traditional refrigerators, will hit the market in Mexico this month.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Transgenic Crop Production Begins

Cuba has started planting transgenic corn as part of a field trial to obtain seeds to be used in food production.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Environmental Services to Prevent Amazon Logging

Investing in environmental services would stave off deforestation in 13 million hectares of Brazil’s Amazonia at least until 2016, according to a book presented by the Ministry of Environmental Affairs, which sets criteria for calculating compensations.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: The 10 Commandments of Energy Efficiency

The environmental organization Vitalis called on Venezuelans to adopt an “Energy Efficiency Decalogue” to help mitigate global warming.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Risk Management Act to Be Debated

The Honduran Congress is set to discuss a risk management bill that will replace the current three-decade-old regulations on the subject.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Energy-Saving Light Bulbs for Low-Income Households

The Chilean government will distribute 1.4 million energy-saving light bulbs to some 250,000 families this year in an effort to bring down electric power consumption.

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