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Friday, November 6, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
CLIMATE CHANGE: Amazon Destruction Undermines Brazil’s Leadership
The Brazilian government, and its Environment Ministry in particular, accepted a risky bet by agreeing to voluntary goals for curbing deforestation in the Amazon, giving the country greater weight in the global talks on fighting climate change.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Nanotechnology to Unblock Oil Pipelines
Mexican scientists are turning to nanotechnology for an economical and effective solution for unblocking oil pipelines -- a problem that otherwise costs companies great sums of money worldwide.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Government Aims to End Sugarcane Burnoffs
Brazil's Environment Ministry this month will launch the Agro-Ecological Zoning of Sugarcane and a new law to reduce the burnoffs applied before plantings, with the goal of ending them in 2020.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Phone the President, Demand Forest Law
The Argentine chapter of Greenpeace is urging the public to telephone President Cristina Fernández to ask for her speedy enactment of the native forests law that was passed 14 months ago.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Indians Join Organic Coffee Projects
Cultivation of organic coffee will be promoted in the Honduran municipality of La Campa, in the western department of Lempira, home to a mostly indigenous population that seeks to sell the product to Europe.
Biofuels Head to Chile's Forests
Chile wants to begin distilling fuels with raw material from the forests -- a new technological area with many unresolved questions.
No End to Chagas Disease in Argentina
Non-governmental sources in Argentina report that Chagas disease is seeing an upswing.
Q&A: Water Pushed to the Limit
When it comes to water, "humanity does not have the full awareness of the danger it is facing and will only act under extreme circumstances. The bad news is that those extremes are drawing near," Manuel Baquedano, president of the Chilean non-governmental Institute of Political Ecology, told Tierramérica.
CLIMATE CHANGE: Tropical Forests Fight for Survival
Current rates of deforestation suggest there will hardly be any tropical forests left in 20 years. Sixty percent of the rainforests, which survived for 50 million consecutive years, are already gone.Ecobreves – CHILE: Lawmakers to Investigate Energy Projects
Chile's Chamber of Deputies agreed unanimously to create an investigative committee for energy projects under way in the country and for those recently approved by the government. The committee has 60 days to carry out its investigation.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Sisal Fiber Replaces Plastic in Cars
In addition to being used for rugs and rope, sisal fiber (Agave sisalana) is being used to produce car parts, like bumpers, mirror holders and panels, according to Brazil's National Industrial Education Service.
Amazon Deforestation Undermines Brazil's Climate Leadership
Brazil is confident in completing its four-year goals for halting forest loss in the Amazon and thus also dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Andean Community Tourism
The Tropical Andes Program foundation launched its Southern Pathways project, aimed at building a community tourism network among the mountain dwellers in the southern Venezuelan state of Mérida, coordinator Yves Lesenfants told Tierramérica.
Parasails Can Move Ships
Wind propulsion returns to the seas as in times of yore, but don't look for the traditional mainsail.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Communities Help Nature to Heal
Seventeen communities in the southern Honduran department of El Paraíso will begin efforts in the next two months to preserve the area flora and fauna as part of a sustainability and poverty-fighting project promoted by the European Union.Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Seeking Funds for Renewable Energy
The Honduran government is seeking 400 million dollars to build two hydroelectric dams to meet the country's energy needs, and to promote alternative renewable energy projects, like biofuels, with Brazil as a consultant.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Imports of Used Cars Could Be Toxic
With the doors opened Jan. 1 in Mexico to imports of cars 10 years and older from the United States, air pollution rates could see a dramatic increase, warn observers.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Energy Plan Contradicts Climate Plan
Two weeks after taking on the goals of its National Climate Change Plan, Brazil announced its 10-year Energy Expansion Plan, which calls for building more than 80 fossil-fuel-based thermoelectric plants and 71 hydroelectric plants (many in the Amazon) by 2017.
Tropical Forests Fight for Survival
The reforestation of vast tropical areas poses the challenge of determining whether second-growth forests will be able to serve as habitat for the millions of unique species that were there before.
Water Pushed to the Limit
The World Water Protocol, which seeks inclusion in the negotiations of the post-Kyoto climate treaty, underscores the urgency of regulating a scarce resource, a common good shared by all humanity.
CUBA: Anti-Hurricane Green Map
The wind was ripping the tiles off the roof of her house, her father-in-law felt his body trembling to the bone, and her husband tried to protect her with a table propped up by mattresses, but as she lived through the worst moment of her entire life, Cuban teacher Gladis San Jorges could think of only one thing: "Oh God, the school! The school!" she cried.« Previous Page — Next Page »
Tierramérica is the main communications platform on sustainable development and the environment in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is produced by IPS Noticias, the agency’s Spanish-language service, which created it jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with later support from the World Bank. The weekly editions of Tierramérica are published in Spanish, Portuguese and English and are picked up and printed by dozens of media outlets in the region. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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