Tierramerica - Ecobrief

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: University Team Designing Used Battery Treatment Plant

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A team of scientists at Simón Bolívar University in Venezuela is designing a plant for the processing of used household batteries, in order to prevent their incorrect disposal and to extract the toxic materials they contain in the form of reusable chemical compounds.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: University of São Paulo Creates Climate Study Center

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The University of São Paulo has created the Interdisciplinary Climate Investigation Center (INCLINE) to integrate all of university’s studies in this field.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Research to Monitor São Paulo Aquifers

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The State University of São Paulo (UNESP) and the Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo, a government agency, have signed an agreement for the monitoring of underground water resources in this southern Brazilian state.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: NGOs Demand Protection for Glaciers

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental organizations in Argentina have called on the country’s Supreme Court of Justice to order a halt to the activities of a mining company operating in a glacier area.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Fires Destroy 127,000 Hectares of Forests

By IPS Correspondents and - -
In the last two years alone, Honduras has lost 127,000 hectares of forests in 2,400 fires, reports the Independent Forest Monitoring Committee of the National Human Rights Commission.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Scientists Call for Regulation of Nanotechnology

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Nanotechnology, which is currently unregulated in Mexico, could pose serious threats to human health and the environment, cautions a new study.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Genetic Alternations Detected in Amazon River Dolphin

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A study undertaken in Brazil has detected genetic alterations in the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), an endangered aquatic mammal found only in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins of South America.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: New Environmental Journalism Manual

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A new digital publication, “Environmental Communications and Best Practices”, has just been published in Venezuela, aimed at journalists, students and environmentalists.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Flood Prevention Works Begin

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Japanese technicians have initiated works aimed at reducing the risk of flooding in four areas of the Honduran capital which are home to 8,000 people.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: The Struggle to Enforce the Forest Law

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Law on Forests, Protected Areas and Wildlife of Honduras, adopted in 2008, is not effectively implemented and has not stopped illegal logging. Representatives of the justice system, activists and local governments are working together on strategies to ensure that it is genuinely enforced.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Plastic Bottles Transformed into Varnish

By IPS Correspondents and - -
) A technique developed by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro makes it possible to recycle plastic bottles made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to produce varnish.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Caravan Against Open-Pit Mining Planned

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Artists and residents of the southern Argentine province of Chubut are preparing for a 400-kilometer march to protest open-pit mining projects that involve the use of cyanide.

Ecobreves – CENTRAL AMERICA: German Loan for Renewable Energy

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), based in Honduras, has received a loan of 65 million dollars from the German bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau to promote renewable energy and combat climate change in the region.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Nitrogen in Soil Increases Carbon Absorption

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The presence of nitrogen in soil speeds up plant growth, reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the leaves of plants and allowing them to live longer and absorb more carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, concludes a recent study by the Biosciences Institute at the University of São Paulo.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Transforming Garbage Into Art

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Fundación La Tortuga, an environmental organization based in the northern Venezuelan city of Barcelona, is hosting an exhibition by visionary artist Leopoldo Cardozo, who integrates plastic bags, used phone cards, bottles and other waste into his works.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Quality Standards for Waste Oil Biodiesel

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) has developed standards that will enable the certification of small plants that produce biodiesel from used cooking oil.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Increased Protection of Coral Reefs

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Environmental organizations and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Honduras have launched a program to conserve the coral reefs off the country’s Caribbean coast, considered the most beautiful in the world after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: 64 Million Used Tires Removed From the Environment

By IPS Correspondents and - -
During 2011 some 320,000 tons of used and scrap tires, corresponding to 64 million tires from tourism vehicles, were taken out of circulation through environmentally correct treatment by Brazilian industry.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: NGOs Demand Respect for the Right to a Healthy Environment

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The public but autonomous National Commission of Human Rights (CNDH) of Mexico should take action to defend the right to a healthy environment, say two non-governmental organizations.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Voluntary Collection of Disposable Materials and E-Waste

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Venezuelan environmental organization Ecoclick coordinated the collection of several tons of disposable materials and equipment in middle-class and working-class neighborhoods of the capital in a single weekend.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Promoting the Use of Biogas

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Cuba plans to expand the small- and medium-scale use of biogas, according to the Cuban Society for the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources and Respect for the Environment (Cubasolar).
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