Tierramerica

Bottles Versus Faucets

By Stephen Leahy and - -
The bottled water business leads to privatization of water utilities, say water rights activists. But the industry counters that bottled water is safe and environmentally friendly.
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Penguins Revive Debate of Homosexuality in Animals

By Julio Godoy and - -
At a German zoo, six endangered Humboldt penguins prefer mates of the same sex. Scientists debate whether this behavior has biological or social origins -- or both.

Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: A Tree Nursery for a National Park

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Groundbreaking for nursery that is to hold 5,000 species of trees and other plants, some in danger of extinction, took place in El Avila National Park, which encompasses the mountain that separates the Venezuelan capital from the Caribbean coast.

Ecobreves – CHILE: Controversy Rekindled on Cellulose Plant

By IPS Correspondents and - -
A technical report leaked to the press has rekindled the debate between activists and the environmental authorities that authorized the reopening of a cellulose factory that has been blamed for the deaths of thousands of black-necked swans.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Tourism and Pollution Threaten Reefs

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Tourism and pollution in the beautiful Bahía Islands threaten the coral reefs of the Honduran Caribbean, environmental attorney general Aldo Santos told Tierramérica.

Ecobreves – CUBA: Drought Extends Across the Island

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The drought that has been thrashing Cuba's eastern provinces for almost two years is now hitting the central and western regions of this Caribbean country, report the authorities.

Law on the Side of Transgenics?

By Diego Cevallos and - -
A new Mexican law on biosecurity and genetically modified organisms could be taken as a model by other Latin American governments. Environmentalists and some scientists disagree on the virtues of the legislation.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Amatitlán Lake Slated for Clean Up

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The Guatemalan government will invest 29 million dollars to clean up Amatitlán Lake, 25 km south of the capital. The lake is full of algae and waste, which threatens to turn it into a swamp in just 10 years.
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The Refuge of the Pink Flamingo

By Dalia Acosta and - -
Thousands of flamingos will reach Cuba's Máximo-Cagüey wetlands in April for their nesting season. Workers at this nature preserve have everything ready to welcome the birds.
Mapuche children in traditional dress - COPESA

Mapuche Culture a Boon to Health and Palate

By Daniela Estrada and - -
Chilean Indians are opening pharmacies and restaurants as a means to disseminate their view of the world... and to create jobs. Most of Chile's 600,000 Mapuches live in poverty.

Spain Lags Behind in Kyoto Protocol Compliance

By Tito Drago and - -
Spain is the European nation with the biggest increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. Many companies are expected to turn to Latin America in order to meet their emissions reduction quotas. The energy company Endesa has announced it will invest 3.2 billion dollars in the region.

Industry's Hidden Environmental Costs

By Mario Osava and - -
Contaminated soil threatens the health of some two million people in Brazil, say authorities. Gas stations are the leading culprits behind this type of pollution in the state of Sao Paulo, the nation's industrial center

Violence Against Environmental Activists

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The assassination on Feb. 12 of Dorothy Stang, a U.S.-born Catholic nun working in the Brazilian Amazon state of Pará, turned international attention to the human rights of environmental activists. Tierramérica offers this guide for navigating the issue on the Internet.
The wax palm - Juan Manuel Rengifo

Ecobreves – COLOMBIA: Holy Week, but No Palm Fronds

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Colombia's Environment Ministry and Bogotá's Botanical Garden have launched the ''Reconcile with Nature'' campaign to prevent the use of the fronds of the wax palm (Ceroxylon quindiuense) in the celebrations of Christianity's Holy Week.

Ecobreves – MEXICO: 'Export' of Law on Transgenics?

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The environmental watchdog group Greenpeace warned that the new Mexican law on biosecurity for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) --opposed by environmentalists, a group of farmers, and scientists -- could be used as a model for similar legislation in Central America.

Ecobreves – PERU: Oil Companies Resist Ethanol

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Sugarcane growers in Peru are demanding that the government comply with the law on Promotion of Bio-Fuel Market, in effect since Jan. 1, and which obligates petroleum refineries to replace the lead in gasoline with ethanol.

Ecobreves – HONDURAS:: $320 Million to Fight Water Shortage

By IPS Correspondents and - -
Honduran authorities need 320 million dollars to build a reservoir for potable water in the capital, where tight rationing of water supplies has been in effect because of a dry summer and the climate phenomenon known as El Niño.

Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: To Jail for Littering

By IPS Correspondents and - -
The municipal government of Quiché, a tourist destination in central Guatemala, will send anyone who dumps trash in the streets to prison for 10 to 60 days.
The Toyota Prius is a favorite hybrid car in the United States -

Car Industry Challenges California Law

By IPS Correspondents and - -
In 10 years, all new cars in California must emit at least 30 percent less carbon dioxide, says the first law of its kind in the world. But car manufacturers have filed a lawsuit to halt the legislation.

Inuit to Charge U.S. for Climate Change

By Stephen Leahy and - -
The Inuit peoples of the Arctic regions hope the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights will find that the United States, the leading emitter of carbon dioxide, is threatening their existence. Their action is seen as the first case that links climate change and the rights of indigenous communities.
Klaus Toepfer -

''We'll need imagination after Kyoto''

By Diego Cevallos and - -
Klaus Toepfer, the world's top environment official as chief of the United Nations Environment Program, spoke with Tierramérica in the lead-up to Feb. 16, the day the Kyoto Protocol on climate change takes effect.
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