Tierramerica

Ecobreves – CHILE: Mapuches Question Validity of Gov't “Consultation”

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Leaders of the Mapuche people are challenging the legitimacy and usefulness of the First National Consultation of Indigenous Peoples that the national government has extended to Mar. 2.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Danger: Fire

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The three hurricanes that thrashed Cuba in 2008 have increased the threat of forest fires during the current dry season, which lasts until early May, experts told Tierramérica.
Until January of this year, the Bradytriton silus was thought to be extinct in Guatemala's cloud forests. Credit: Sean Michael Rovito

BIODIVERSITY: So Long, Salamanders

By Stephen Leahy
Mesoamerica's salamanders appear to be joining the global decline in amphibian species, like frogs, adding to the evidence of ecological change around the planet.
Salmon farms in New Brunswick, Canada, on the Atlantic Ocean. Credit: Photo Stock

DEVELOPMENT: Aquaculture Awaits Its Heyday

By Stephen Leahy
With wild fish catches in sharp decline, aquaculture, which now accounts for nearly half of all seafood consumed, is expected to double production over the next two decades.
Organic coffee beans. - Joseph Sorrentino/Comercio Justo México

Recession Challenges Fair Trade

By Diego Cevallos, IPS, and - -
The uncertainty caused by the global economic recession has cast a shadow over the immediate future of fair trade efforts in Latin America.
Until January of this year, the Bradytriton silus was thought to be extinct in Guatemala's cloud forests. - Sean Michael Rovito

So Long, Salamanders

By Stephen Leahy and - -
These days it's hard to find any salamanders in some parts of Mexico and Guatemala, where just a few decades ago they were abundant, says a new study.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Acceleration in Refrigerator Replacement

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Brazilian government decided to speed up the subsidized replacement of 10 million old refrigerators over the next 10 years.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: Drafting Eco-Laws for Automobiles

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Mexican government is drawing up new standards that will require automobile manufacturers to offer vehicles with low carbon dioxide emissions.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: World Bank Finances Protected Areas

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The World Bank granted Honduras a three-million-dollar loan to protect its main areas of ecological and forestry preserves.

Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Anti-Soybean Video for Kids

By IPS Correspondents and - -
With a 13-minute video starring puppets and aimed at children, the environmental group Bios Argentina sets out its views on the monoculture of soybeans and the crop's environmental impact.
The lack of rain is drying up otherwise fertile land. Credit: Mauricio Ramos/IPS

SOUTH AMERICA: Tenacious Drought Puzzles Climate Experts

By Marcela Valente
For months now, yellowed pastures, cracked soil and dead livestock have been the landscape of what otherwise are the most productive farming areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Scientists say it is so far impossible to determine if the drought is a manifestation of climate change processes.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Wetlands Not So Protected

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Venezuela has reached the 38th anniversary of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands with mixed results.
Salmon farms in New Brunswick, Canada, on the Atlantic Ocean. - Photo Stock

Aquaculture Awaits Its Heyday

By Stephen Leahy and - -
Fish farming could fill the void left by commercial fishing as a source for human food -- and it can transform itself into a sustainable industry, say its promoters.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Applause for Ozone Therapy

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A million patients with chronic illnesses were treated with ozone therapy in Cuba over the past two decades. Eighty percent of the cases responded with satisfactory results.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Biosphere Destruction Denounced

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Humanitarian and environmental groups have reported the continued logging in the Honduran biosphere reserve of the Plátano River, where clandestine sawmills operate.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Conflict Over Petroleum Storage Site

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Residents, fishers and salmon workers, including the indigenous population of Calbuco, in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos, have announced a mobilization against a fuel storage plant of the Chilean oil company Copec.

Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Partial Ban on Asbestos

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Brazil's environment minister, Carlos Minc, has banned the use of asbestos in public works and in all vehicles associated with his portfolio, due to the health dangers the fire-resistant mineral poses.
The lack of rain is drying up otherwise fertile land. - Mauricio Ramos/IPS

Tenacious Drought Puzzles Climate Experts

By Marcela Valente and - -
Climatologists and meteorologists have not yet established a reason for the lack of rainfall on the normally fertile and productive plains of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
An adobe house in Jujuy, Argentina. Credit: Photo Stock

HEALTH-ARGENTINA: No End to Chagas Disease

By Sebastián Lacunza
After two years of the government health programme "Argentina justa, Argentina sin Chagas" (Fair Argentina, Chagas-Free Argentina) the fight against the endemic disease of that name is weakening, according to experts.
Palownia tree shoot. Credit: Photo Stock

CHILE: Biofuels Head to the Forests

By Daniela Estrada
Chile has set its sights on producing second-generation plant-based fuels from forest biomass within the next five years. But before that it must consider the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of such an endeavour, warn experts and activists.
On the high seas with parasails. Credit: SkySails

ENERGY: Parasails Can Move Ships

By Maricel Drazer
They say that faith can move mountains. Now, faith in the wind has led to a new way to move ships. The technique, developed in Germany, is powerful enough to move today's deep-draught cargo vessels and can reduce fuel consumption by 50 percent.
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