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Wednesday, November 11, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: 10 Years in Prison for Water Contamination
A new regulation on discharge of wastewater took effect May 11 in Guatemala, and includes penalties of up to 10 years in prison for contamination of major water sources.Ecobreves – MEXICO: Business Sector Rejects New Solar Law
Opposition has emerged amongst entrepreneurs in the Mexican capital against a law that would require the use of solar energy by any new business that has more than 51 employees and uses hot water. Their argument is that it is an expensive source of energy and adequate technology is not available.
Now the Spotlight Turns to Argentina's Pulp Mills
Paraguay is filing complaints against Argentina for the contamination of the border Paraná River. The operations of at least 12 pulp mills are being challenged.
Clean Air Plan for Santiago Fails
According to business leaders, the year's first declaration of "pre-emergency" for air pollution meant 3.9 million dollars in losses. They urge President Bachelet to take action.
Conservation of Fauna Is a Titanic Task”
Tierramérica spoke with Gerardo Ceballos, winner of the Whitley Award for his work to create a habitat reserve to protect the prairie dogs in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Youths to Live an Amazon Adventure
Some 45 students from Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela and French Guiana will retrace the same route followed by Spanish explorer Francisco de Orellana along the Amazon River in 1541 and 1542Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Legislators Halt Forestry Law
Honduran lawmakers are resisting approval of a new forestry law, and have agreed to start a new dialogue that overrules the one initiated more than eight years ago by civil society groups, politicians, labor unions and business organizations.Ecobreves – CHILE: No to Pulp Mill Waste in the Sea
Environmentalists, artisanal fisherfolk, community leaders and marine sport enthusiasts have told the Chilean government that the pulp mill plants must improve their technology and prevent discharge of their industrial waste into rivers, lakes and the Pacific Ocean.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Demands for Better Control of Chemical Spills
An inter-ministerial committee in Brazil has proposed a system that would obligate companies, ports and entities that handle chemical products to notify authorities about spills, given their serious threats to local populations.
State Oil Companies with a Nationalist Boost
Several Latin American countries are reclaiming control of a precious natural resource: hydrocarbons. How are state-run oil companies -- many of them weak and politicized -- confronting the challenge?Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Forest Fire Alert
Guatemala declared an "orange alert" due to 18 fires in the northern department of El Petén, which threaten the archeological sites of Tikal and Piedras Negras, as well as the protected area Laguna del Tigre.
U.S. in Pursuit of Canada's Prince of Pot”
The United States is requesting extradition of Canadian Marc Emery, who sold marijuana seeds over the Internet for 11 years. "I am not a dealer, but a political activist in favor of legalization," Emery told Tierramérica.Environmentalists Challenge Garbage Burning
The "Usina Verde" project aims to help curb climate change through a different approach to waste management, but it could be a source of other contaminants.
Ecobreves – ITALY: Aspartame Controversy Continues
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) upheld the safety of the artificial sweetener aspartame after evaluating the study by the European Ramazzini Foundation based in the Italian city of Bologna, which concluded that the widely used substance could have carcinogenic effects.Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: Parakeets Endangered on Margarita Island
Fewer than 20 blue-crowned parakeets (Aratinga acuticaudata neoxena) survive in the mangroves of La Restinga Park, on Venezuela's Margarita Island, in the Caribbean. The species is in grave danger of extinction, biologist Marialejandra Faría, of the environmental group Provita, told Tierramérica.Ecobreves – BRAZIL: Plans Made Against Invading Species
Brazil has identified 543 invasive exotic species, 155 of which directly affect agricultural production and 97 affect human health, according to a study published earlier this month by the Ministry of Environment as a first step towards a broader plan of combat against this problem nationwide.Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Garbage Collectors Recycle Too
The Argentine capital inaugurated on May 2 its first recycling plant, for separating out recyclable materials, employing former informal garbage collectors in the city.Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Expanded Market for Ecological Goods
Small producers in 17 associations from Colombia's Andean region will be able to market their ecological merchandise through a chain of supermarkets in the capital, thanks to an agreement established under the Ministry of Environment's National Plan for Green Markets.Ecobreves – MEXICO: A Space Agency Is Born
The creation of a space agency in Mexico, approved by the Chamber of Deputies in April, is a laudable goal, but difficult to achieve in the short term, say experts.
Telescope Could Reveal Origin of Universe
The gigantic array, whose 66 antennas will be erected in Chile's Atacama desert, is expected to produce crucial data about the cosmos beginning in 2012.
Ignorance Is Hurting the Amazon”
Brazilian activist Tarcisio Feitosa da Silva, a winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize -- known widely as the "Green Nobel" -- spoke with Tierramérica about his efforts to protect the Amazon.« 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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