Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Official Environmental Indifference

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Citizen and ecologist groups have accused the Honduran government of failing to take an interest in the environmental problems afflicting the northern department of Colón.

Ecobreves – LATIN AMERICA: Ministers Against Environmental Vulnerability

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Latin America and the Caribbean and climate change, the cross-cutting nature of environmental policies, and integrated management of ecosystems will be the key issues at the 16th meeting of the region's Environment Ministers Forum, Jan. 30 to Feb. 1 in Santo Domingo.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Initiative for Commercial Recycling

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A small shop that sells food in Argentina provides its clients with reusable cloth bags for their purchases, with the aim of reducing the volume of household garbage.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Environmental Authority Designation Disappoints

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Mexican Environmental Prosecutor's Office is condemned to remain on the sidelines for the next few years, say environmentalists, following the designation of Patricio Patrón as its new leader.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: New System to Recycle Sewer Water

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A system to make use of a portion of domestic wastewater in cities with water shortages was developed at the International Water Reutilization Center, based at the University of Sao Paulo.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Illegal Mining Aggravates Malaria

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Illegal mining in the southeastern Venezuelan state of Bolívar -- 238,000 square kilometers and a jungle border with Brazil and Guyana -- is increasing the spread of malaria, which in 2007 totaled 28,800 cases in the area, and 40,500 across Venezuela (population 27 million).

Ecobreves – CUBA: New Varieties of Food Crops

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Production of new varieties of beans, yucca and sweet potato, achieved by the Lenin University Center in the eastern Cuban province of Las Tunas, aims to improve the area's economic development and natural environment.

Ecobreves – CHILE: A Giant Plant Nursery for Santiago

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The largest urban plant nursery in Latin America, located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, will open its doors in mid-2008.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Call for Replacing Inefficient Lightbulbs

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The environmental watchdog Greenpeace has called on the Argentine government to replace incandescent lightbulbs with low-energy bulbs in all public buildings in Buenos Aires, Rosario and Córdoba, the country’s three largest cities.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Minister Replaced After Pressure from Mining Companies

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Honduran Environment Minister Mayra Mejía was removed from her post following heavy pressure from sectors of the mining industry, in the wake of the Ministry’s decision against issuing new environmental licenses for mining exploration and open pit mining operations.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Solar Energy Heats Up

By IPS Correspondents and - -
This year the use of solar energy will intensify in Brazil, the result of a municipal law in Sao Paulo which requires the installation of solar water heaters in all new buildings, and which is being expanded to other cities – and while there is a construction boom in the country.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Genetically Modified Corn Grows Here

By IPS Correspondents and - -
It is highly likely that unregulated genetically modified corn is being planted in Mexico, warns Greenpeace, after denouncing that it found traces of GM crops, banned by law in the states of Puebla, Tamaulipas, Chihuahua and in rural areas of the capital district.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Paying for Not Using Water

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Chilean government’s Directorate General for Water (DGA) this year will charge 28 million dollars to companies and individuals who do not utilize their consumptive and non-consumptive rights to water.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Biodiesel Mixing Begins

By IPS Correspondents and - -
As of Jan. 1 it is obligatory in Brazil to mix two percent biodiesel into gasoline derived from petroleum.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Bamboo for Green Construction

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A Cuban program to expand bamboo plantations to an rea of 30,000 hectares will have a strong environmental impact in capturing climate changing gases and recuperating degraded soils, say experts.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Climate Worries in Mercosur

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental organizations in Argentina have called on the countries of Mercosur (Southern Common Market) to consider the implications of climate change as a priority in the bloc's summit meetings.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Monarch Butterflies Under Threat

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Dozens of peasant farmers and police are keeping an eye on the forests of the sanctuaries for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) in Mexico, but logging continues under the veil of corruption and fed by the poverty of area inhabitants.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Ruling Against Selective Imports of Used Tires

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Brazil must once again import retreaded tires from Europe or close its market to everyone, including its partners in Mercosur (South America's trade bloc), according to a decision by the World Trade Organization.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Biogas – With Vietnam's Help

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A biogas plant with a capacity of 80 cubic meters is being built on a poultry farm in Cuba, one more to add to the 65 medium and large plants already operating in the livestock province of Las Tunas.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Moss Under Threat from Christmas

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Bags of moss sell for a dollar per half-kilo on the sidewalks of downtown Caracas and in other Venezuelan cities, often with the officials looking the other way. It is against the law, but the moss is used in Nativity scenes and other Christmas holiday decorations.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Sylvester Stallone's Company Fined for Harming Corals

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Honduran Secretariat of Environment handed down a 42,000-dollar fine to a hotel for having contaminated the coral reefs in an untouched area of Guanaja Island, in the Caribbean Sea.
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