Tierramerica

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Heat Generates Biodiesel

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A device that converts vegetable oil into biodiesel through a thermal process, and is able to produce up to 250 liters of sustainable fuel per day, has been developed by the government agricultural research agency, Embrapa.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Towns Unite to Take Care of River

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Eleven towns in the Honduran department of Choluteca, on the southern border with Nicaragua, have organized to protect the watershed of the Choluteca River, which supplies the communities with water.

Ecobreves – CHILE: : Promoting 'Green' Firewood

By IPS Correspondents and - -
In southern Chile there has been progress in promoting sustainable use of firewood, according to a seminar organized by the National Environmental Commission and other agencies Nov. 11-12 in the city of Teuco, 670 km south of Santiago.

Ecobreves – CUBA: : Water Arrives by Train

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The eastern Cuban city of Holguín is receiving 300,000 liters of water a day, delivered by train, to deal with the shortages caused by continued severe drought, reported the local government.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Staking Bets on Natural Rubber

By IPS Correspondents and - -
- Guatemalan producers of natural rubber are working to boost the 50,000 metric tons they harvest each year. They want to take advantage of the rising international price of synthetic rubber, a petroleum-based product.

Indians' Genetic Material Sold on Internet

By Mario Osava, Stephen Leahy, and - -
Genetic material from members of the Karitiana and Suruí indigenous communities in Brazil can be purchased for 85 dollars through the Internet. The Brazilian government is demanding an end to what it says are ''illegal sales'' conducted by the U.S.-based Coriell Institute, which holds the world's largest collection of human cell cultures.
Amazing amphibians are part of the biological wealth of the Andes - Claudio Contreras

Andean Nations Clash with Washington on Patents

By Constanza Vieira and - -
Free trade treaty negotiators from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru reject the U.S. proposal for patenting plant and animal species. The matter will be taken up during the sixth round of talks, slated to take place Nov. 29-Dec. 4 in the southwestern U.S. city of Tucson.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Energy from Palm Trees

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A group of Honduran investors built the first "clean energy" plant run on waste pulp from the African palm. Constructed in northern Honduras, it can generate 600 kilowatts per hour.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Ecuadorian Indians Fight Oil Company

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A delegation from Ecuador's Kichwa indigenous community, which is embroiled in a dispute with the Argentine oil company CGC in the Ecuadorian Amazon, will head to Buenos Aires this month to meet with civil society groups and officials to seek support for their cause.
Seals and sea lions are at home on the mythical archipelago that inspired Darwin's theory of evolution - Joseph Dacosta

The Galápagos: Enchanted Islands or Political Spoils?

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Preservation of Ecuador's Galápagos Islands is threatened by the corruption and instability of the institutions entrusted with the archipelago's management, while over-exploitation of resources goes unchecked, say critics.

Ecobreves – PERU: Demand for Disaster-Prevention Measures

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Peru lacks an effect system for preventing extreme impacts from natural disasters, despite being one of the world's most seismically unstable countries and bearing the brunt of El Niño climate phenomena, including floods, drought and mudslides, says president of Red Cross - Peru, Edgardo Calderón.

Workers Left Sterile by Pesticide Seek Justice

By Stephen Leahy and - -
No chemical or banana company has been found guilty in U.S. courts for the continued use of a toxic pesticide in Central American banana plantations. But Costa Rican workers have filed a new lawsuit.

Ecobreves – MEXICO:: No Funds for Measuring Pollution

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Many types of air pollution in the Mexican capital, including many that cause cancer, cannot be monitored due to the lack of financial support from the government, which ''appears to be uninterested in research,'' complain scientists.

Electronic Garbage Poses Increasing Dangers

By Daniela Estrada and - -
Chile is struggling with how to handle tons of old mobile phones, computers and other obsolete electronic items. It was not until this year that a law was passed to regulate management of this latest type of toxic waste.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Third Nuclear Plant on the Way

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Brazilian government will decided towards the end of the year whether it will build Angra III, the country's third nuclear power plant.

Cubans Pin Hopes on Aqueduct

By Dalia Acosta and - -
Residents of the Cuban city of Holguín are hoping that a waterworks project will save them from the drought they have been suffering for more than a year.

Ecobreves – CHILE: A Smelly Anniversary

By IPS Correspondents and - -
On Oct. 29, 2003, La Farfana wastewater treatment plant was inaugurated in the Chilean capital. It is the country's largest such facility, but today is the center of conflict due to the foul odors emanating from the site.
Farmers argue that amaranth, quinoa and sorghum are crucial crops for achieving food security - Claudio Contreras

Traditional Foods in Fight Against Hunger

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Farmers argue that amaranth, quinoa and sorghum are crucial crops for achieving food security.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Ancient Plant Grows in Herbarium

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A tiny, ancient plant, known in Spanish as palma corcho (Microcycas calocoma) is considered the world's oldest ''living fossil'' and grows in a village of Cuba's warm, arid east.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Channeling a Rain-Filled River

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Under downpours during a rainy season that extended beyond the usual dates, dozens of workers are building a 150-meter slope to channel the Guaire River, which crosses through the Venezuelan capital.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Peasants Approve Anti-GM Corn Report

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Indigenous communities in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca applaud a report detailing how genetically modified maize has contaminated local cornfields. The study was prepared by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC).
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