Tierramerica
Cloud forest in Costa Rica. Credit: Germán Miranda/IPS

CLIMATE CHANGE: Forests Much More Than Carbon Storage

By Marcela Valente
The world's forests and jungles are much more than carbon storage sites and compensation for greenhouse emissions, experts and activists point out to governments that are negotiating a new global climate change treaty.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: One Tire Sold, Another Collected

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Starting this month a new environmental policy requires Brazilian industries and importers to collect and appropriately dispose of as many "unusable" automobile tires as they sell new.
A cloud forest in Costa Rica. - Germán Miranda/IPS

Forests Much More Than Carbon Storage

By Marcela Valente and - -
The bid to include forests in initiatives to mitigate climate change is turning out to be a sensitive issue for the planet.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Proven Eroding of Aquifers

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Mexico's watersheds have deteriorated in recent years, threatening environmental health across vast areas, warn non-governmental groups.
The recycled

Five-Star Garbage

By Fabiana Frayssinet and - -
Decades ago, a Brazilian biologist couple put into practice the principle of using for their own construction materials what others throw away.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: 'Green' Garbage Cans Get Government Attention

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Honduran tourism and environmental officials are promoting an eco-garbage can project to foment a culture of recycling and garbage classification among residents in the capital, home to 1.7 million people.
Schwarze Pumpe, a pilot thermal power plant south of Berlin that uses technology to capture and store carbon emissions. Credit: Vattenfall

CLIMATE CHANGE: Carbon Capture Effort Collects Critics

By Julio Godoy
The capture and underground storage of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, is a dubious method of effectively reducing the pollution that causes global warming, experts warn.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Million-Dollar Garbage

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Brazil loses more than 10 billion dollars yearly in disposing of solid waste in dumps and landfills that contaminate water sources and soils.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Film Protesting Aysén Dams Premiers

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Patagonia Defense Council, an umbrella for more than 50 Chilean and foreign organizations, last week presented a documentary film on the potential threats of the five hydroelectric dams planned for the southern region of Aysén.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: The Iguana Gets a Book

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Biologists and teachers in Venezuela produced a school text about the iguana, a type of lizard found in warm and arid zones, extending from Mexico to northern Argentina - and victim of uncontrolled hunting.

Fashion Finds Its Green Style

By Daniela Estrada, IPS, and - -
Environmental awareness is dawning as a source of inspiration for a new generation of fashion designers.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: El Niño Predicted to Affect 10 Departments

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The active cycle of the climate phenomenon known as El Niño will have greatest impact next year and will affect 10 of the 18 departments of Honduras, warned authorities, who predict extreme droughts.
Schwarze Pumpe, a pilot thermal power plant south of Berlin that uses technology to capture and store carbon emissions. - Vattenfall

Carbon Capture Effort Collects Critics

By Julio Godoy and - -
Although there is global consensus on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most of the methods to capture emissions remain controversial.
Sawmill in indigenous community of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoacán, Mexico. Credit: Courtesy of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro

MEXICO: Indigenous Enterprises Unite

By Emilio Godoy
Mexico is about to become the first Latin American country with an indigenous chamber of business, dedicated to promoting and representing more than one million micro and small enterprises that are on the frontline in the fight against poverty.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Ceramic Absorbs Industrial CO2

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Using porous ceramic microspheres, scientists at the Brazilian Federal University of Minas Gerais were able to cut industrial carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: City Campaign to Protect Birds

By IPS Correspondents and - -
An initiative - backed by the city government and the schools - aims to raise awareness about preserving birds in the metropolitan zone of the Mexican capital. Threats to the birds include cats and rats, as well as lack of food and water, and the effects of climate change.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Prize for La Mosquitia Documentary Film

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A documentary that collects the multiplicity of sounds and forms of life of La Mosquitia, the Honduran jungle region on the Caribbean coast, has won an award from the Environment Secretariat (ministry) and a private foundation.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Refuge for Rescued Wild Animals

By IPS Correspondents and - -
An Argentine environmental group has proposed creating a Wild Animal Rescue Center in the central province of La Pampa for animals captured by hunters.
A sawmill in the indigenous community of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoacán, Mexico. - Courtesy of the community.

Indigenous Enterprises Unite

By Emilio Godoy and - -
In two years an inventory will be complete, tracking the economic and social status of indigenous businesses in Mexico, which will soon have their own umbrella organization.
Argentine geologist Jorge Codignotto. - Gabriela Cerioli/IPS

Climate Change Just One Factor in Coastal Erosion

By Gabriela Cerioli, IPS, and - -
To understand the link between global climate change and coastal erosion requires an integration of the otherwise reductionist specialization on the issue, says Argentine scientist Jorge Codignotto.
Shelled Brazil nuts Credit: Photo Stock

BOLIVIA: Amazon Nuts at Exploitative Prices

By Franz Chávez
Bolivia is the world's leading exporter of the shelled Brazil nut, a nutritious food source that grows abundantly in the country's Amazon rainforest region. But in this tropical paradise, many of the nut-gatherers live in hellish conditions.
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