Section » Enviromental Issues

Rising Gasoline Prices Are Shifting Central America’s Energy Industry To Cleaner Sources Of Fuel, Such as Hydroelectric Power In Costa Rica

Soaring international prices for oil and gas are driving the expansion of renewable energies in Central America, a region that has plenty of untapped potential for producing hydroelectricity, wind power and geothermal energy. “What stands out the most is that all the countries are interested in wind energy, and in continuing to make the most of hydroelectric power, with the development of large scale megaprojects,” said José María Blanco, head of the Fundación Red de Energía (BUN-CA), a Costa Rica-based non-governmental organization. Read Article

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Correa: Amazonia will be Ecuador’s Most Prosperous Region

The Ecuadorian government publicly reiterated its commitment to turn its Amazon regions into the country”s most prosperous, as President Rafael Correa announced during a tour of Orellana province. Read Article

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Canadian company ready to begin exploiting lithium in north Argentina

Canadian miner Lithium Americas Corp said it plans to start building a lithium carbonate facility next year at its Cauchuri project in the Argentine province of Jujuy. The plant with a total capacity of 40,000 tons per annum is expected to start adding to the company’s revenue in 2014, Lithium Americas said in a statement. […]

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Belo Monte Dam Faces Endless Hurdles and Controversies

The Xingu river flows around small isles and islands and across rapids and waterfalls in Brazil’s Amazon jungle, and has a dramatically reduced flow during dry season. Navigating it presents constant hurdles and risks. Read Article

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Endangered Monkey Survives in Tiny Private Paradise

A conservation area covering a mere 23.5 hectares has become a refuge for a unique and endangered animal species in the northeastern Peruvian region of San Martín: the Andean titi monkey. This wilderness preserve was created by a local woman who singlehandedly set out to re-establish a small area of native forest. Read Article

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Recurring Risks from Radioactive Materials

Mexico needs to take urgent steps to tighten oversight of the storage, handling and disposal of radioactive materials that can threaten the lives and health of its population, experts warn. Read Article

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Ecuador, Galapagos to have first green airport

The Ecuadorian Government and the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DAC) signed today the agreement American Corporation to build the world’s first green airport on Baltra Island, Galapagos, which details the Agency Andes.The agreement was signed at a ceremony held in the Plaza San Francisco Santa Cruz Island, in the presence of President of the Republic, […]

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Deforestation, Collapse And Plastic Pollution At Easter Island

A peak of wind over 40 knots (a lot) rocked us out of the South Pacific and we finally reached Easter Island, the end point of our trip with the 5 Gyres project exploring plastic pollution in the ocean. Read Article

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Mexico, U.S. jumbo jet assisting in fighting fires

At 16:30 pm yesterday the U.S. plane Jumbo Boeing 747-10 (“Supertanker”) held yesterday its first flush of 76.000 liters of water and fire retardant chemicals in the Rancho El Bonito municipality of Acuña, Coahuila, reported the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT). Read Article

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Peru’s Less-Than-Benign Environmental Policy

The enormous segment of Amazonian rainforest that covers over half of the country has always been an issue of contention for Peru due to the number of indigenous tribes that inhabit it. As early as the 16th century, the Peruvian Amazon has been linked to the world market, providing such products as timber, rubber and […]

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Colombia ban may spur illegal gold pits

Colombia’s ban on mining in highland ecosystems could be a double-edged sword — it may attract illegal miners to the delicate areas where established mining companies cannot operate. Read Article

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Brazil, Belo Monte: a powder keg ready to explode

In the wake of the works of the third largest dam in the world, labor strife and the outbreak of violence will come to the region of the Xingu River in Para. When you start building at least 100,000 people will migrate to the region. Some talk on the double. In addition to possibly facing […]

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Blackout hits about 62 percent of power demand

A major blackout struck Caracas and most of Venezuela on Thursday at about 3:30 p.m. local time, hitting at least 18 states and the Greater Caracas. Read Article

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Coahuila, the worst wildfire in Mexican history

The whole forest fire that has damaged nearly 43 thousand hectares of Coahuila and became more severe in the country’s recent history. The phenomenon has not been fully controlled and so far there is no estimate of when it might be extinguished. Read Article

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Effort to protect Miches’ natural assets gathers force

Miches, Dominican Republic – What started as a singular effort by a team from Columbia University to establish measures to conserve natural assets in the zone of Miches, today gathers force with representatives from local, national and international technical institutions, and experts with a long track record in development and conservation. Read Article

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$415 Million Road to Slice Rainforest and Isiboro Securé National Park

The plan for a new 306 kilometer road between Chaparé’s Villa Tunari (Cochabamba) and San Ignacio de Moxos (Beni) near Trinidad has been approved. The new road will be financed by a $332 million dollar, 15 year loan from Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) and Bolivia will provide $83 million dollars of financing. Read Article

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Ecuador Leaves Oil Riches in Ground to Save Ecosystem

Ecuador’s decision to forego potentially lucrative oil drilling in the Amazon forest in order to protect a biologically rich and fragile ecosystem is the focus of two documentaries at the Washington Environmental Film Festival. Read Article

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Argentina, Bolivia – Gas Pipeline to Boost Development, Revenues – But Not for Everyone

“The pipeline will carry gas to Bolivia and seven provinces in Argentina, but we who live in Campo Durán, where the pipeline starts, will not have gas,” Julio Palavecino told IPS. Read Article

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Brazil Beefs Up Nuclear Emergency Plans

The Brazilian government is tightening safety procedures at its two nuclear power stations. Although this South American country is not prone to earthquakes or tsunamis, it is not exempt from natural disasters like landslides and flooding that could jeopardise evacuation plans if a radiation leak occurred. Read Article

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Mexico, Hog Farmers being investigated for environmental damage

To act against pork producers who are making poor management in the disposal of dead animals on farm, causing heavy pollution, a report is required to act accordingly. Crimes against nature are not prosecuted ex officio. A spokesman for the Committee on Ecology and Sustainable Development of the State of Sonora (CEDES), reported that they […]

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Brazil Starts Monitoring Food Products Imported From Japan

The Brazilian government started on Monday to monitor food products imported from Japan in order to prevent radiation-contaminated goods from entering the country. Read Article

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Santiago, loss of nearly 10 percent of forests in seven years

In just seven years, the capital fell by 9.8% the rate of afforestation. This means that during that period the city cut down 512 000 trees and shrubs to replace houses or streets, or which became vacant lots due to lack of resources to maintain the vegetation. Read Article

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Chile’s Glaciers Melting At Fastest Rate In 350 years

New research, published Sunday in the journal Nature Geoscience, highlights San Rafael Glacier in Patagonia, which has retreated about 5 miles since the peak of the Little Ice Age, BBC News reports. Glaciers have lost volume on average “10 to 100 times faster” in the last 30 years. Read Article

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Chile, Israeli tourist caused small fire in Torres del Paine

Last Monday morning at 06:30 am and Israeli tourist started an unauthorized fire in Pudeto at the Horns of Paine Lookout at Lake Nordenskjola in Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile. The fire caused minimal damage but burned ten square meters. The tourist has been ordered to appear at the Magistrates Court in […]

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Maquipucuna Cloud Forest in Ecuador Yields New Species of Yeast

In a unique collaboration between scientists from the UK, Ecuador and Réunion, a new species of yeast has been discovered growing on the fruit of an unidentified and innocuous bramble collected from the biodiversity-rich Maquipucuna cloud forest nature reserve, near Quito, in Ecuador. Read Article

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In the Mountains of Patagonia, a Harbinger of a Rising Ocean

Land ice is melting virtually everywhere in the world, one of the central pieces of evidence that the earth is warming. Scientists have long known that this synchronized ice melt seemed to be picking up speed in many places, but detailed measurements for individual glaciers and ice fields have been hard to come by. Read […]

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Ecuador’s Amazon culture under renewed threat

Following the Chevron-Texaco US oil company’s $9bn fine for environmental damage in Ecuador’s Amazon region, the indigenous Huaorani people there worry about surviving in the rainforest because of the possibility of more oil exploitation in the area, as the BBC’s Linda Pressly reports. Read Report

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Studies show environmental damage in Ventanas since 1985

26 years ago the Health Ministry and Enami Codelco Ventanas Ventanas-today-were the first studies showing the presence of heavy metals in soil and water for Windows, V Region. So, be warned a “chronic poisoning” in people by emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM10). Read Article

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Ecuador, Government declares emergency in five provinces because of drought

The provinces of Loja, Los Rios, Guayas, Manabi and El Oro, were declared emergency due to lack of rain since February. The Ministry of Agriculture, along with the secretariats of Risk Management and Water within a Contingency Plan, adopted new preventive measures in those provinces. This is because, according to forecasts from the National Institute […]

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Galapagos authorities suspend construction of hotel

DPNG suspended construction of hotel At first the work was reported as a home and had permission from the municipality for its construction. Promoters Mauricio Ponce and Antonio Noboa Cartwight Ycaza, began construction of a work in Punta Estrada, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island Report as a home for what had municipal permits for this […]

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Guatemalan mayors reject mining

The Association of Mayors of the Northern Sector of Santa Rosa is against mining activities in the department, because it considers not only harmful to people, but to nature. Read Article

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Bolivia, 20 garages in La Paz approved to convert vehicles to CNG

The director of the Ministry of Hydrocarbons Conversion, Daniel Tapia, said Tuesday it approved more than 20 workshops in the city of La Paz, to start the conversion process at least 3,000 motor Natural Gas (CNG). Read Article

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Costa Rica, Indigenous group files suit to block Diquís Hydroelectric Project

A lawsuit could block Diquís Hydroelectric Project, which develops ICE in Buenos Aires, Puntarenas, and which has already invested $ 80 million. The claim as filed on March 21 Integral Development Association of the Indigenous Territory of Terra-formed by Indians, against the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) for the occupation of their territories to build […]

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Peru admits timber certificates faked in secret cable

Peru’s government has secretly admitted that 70-90% of its mahogany exports were illegally felled, according to a US embassy cable revealed by Wikileaks. Furthermore, Peru’s government is aware that the illegal timber is being ‘laundered’ using ‘document falsification, timber extraction outside the concession boundaries and links to bribes’. Read Article

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Construction Begins On New Hydroelectric Plant in Costa Rica

Enel Green Power has begun construction on a new hydroelectric plant in Costa Rica, between the provinces of Alajuela and San Jose. The new plant, named Chucas, will have an installed capacity of 50 MW, and once fully up and running, will generate around 219 million Kwh/year, equal to the annual consumption of over 81.000 […]

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Costa Rica, Temperatures highest on record

Costa Rica is hotter today than in the past, the average temperature increasing by one degree Celsius during the past half century, according to the results of an investigation by the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN). The investigators made ​​a comparative analysis of the average temperature in the country between the periods 1961-1990 and 1991-2005, in […]

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Chile, Red Alert Lolol commune by wildfire

The National Emergency Office (Onemi) said Monday Red Alert Lolol commune in the O’Higgins Region, by a forest fire in the area of “Nilahue High.” The fire affected an area of 60 hectares of eucalyptus, scrub and grassland, and also present a danger of spreading to inhabited areas. Read Article

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Colombia, Six detained in lumber smuggling

Were caught red handed six people allegedly involved in the crime of unlawful use of natural renewable resources. The action of the National Police on the road ahead of the municipality of San Marcos leads to the town of Majagual. At the same time, the armed forces seized more than 250 blocks of timber.

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Ecuador, coastline erosion warning

Living in or thinking of moving to Ecuador – Get this book Anyone who is thinking of purchasing real estate on the coast of Ecuador should considere a report filed in 2010 at the World Conference on Climate Change in Cancun, Mexico. Raul Medina Santamaria(professor of hydraulic engineering-University of Cantabria) reported to the newspaper El […]

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Ecuador 93 Percent of garbage not recycled or treated

In Ecuador, there are 10,020 daily tons of trash, that number only 952 are recycled and the remaining 9,068 tonnes (93%) are arranged in dumps or landfills, they confirmed María Auxiliadora Jacome, Director of Environmental Control Ministry of Environment. According to the official cities most garbage produced each day are Guayaquil and Quito, each with […]

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Bolivia, Cochabamba Still Thirsty

There is still no apparent solution to the unsatisfied demand for drinking water in Cochabamba, 11 years after this central Bolivian city made international headlines with a popular uprising that halted the privatisation of water service. Only 326,504 people, representing 48 percent of the population of Cochabamba, have piped water service, and the poorest are […]

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Magallanes, Chile – 10 types of dangerous spiders present

A few days ago found three cases of people who visited the Hospital and Clinic Magallanes, presumably spider bite, the health authority denied that these injuries were caused by the spider in the corner. Read Article FILE IN SPANISH REGARDING SPIDERS IN MAGALLANES, CHILE

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Lithium markets set to grow in South America

Lithium and lithium carbonate markets are set to grow in Latin America with the commissioning of a new lithium carbonate processing plant in Argentina and plans by Bolivia to use Iranian help in exploiting its deposits of the mineral. Read Article

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Chileans protest Obama visit, Nuclear deal

The angry protesters organized two peaceful rallies on Sunday, complaining that the nuclear agreement was signed despite major nuclear crisis that developed in Japan following the huge earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11, AFP reported Monday. Chilean opposition lawmakers and environmentalists argue that the Friday agreement is too risky for their […]

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South America reconsiders nuclear power as Japan crisis continues

As the nuclear crisis intensifies in Japan, thoughts have turned to the atomic power industries in other countries and to questions of safety. There are 439 nuclear reactors the world over, six of which can be found in Latin America. Argentina was the forerunner in this regard and currently has two plants in operation. A […]

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Costa Rica would be most affected by climate change

Costa Rica is among the countries likely to be most affected by prolonged droughts and destructive floods due to climate change. So on Wednesday warned U.S. former vice president. UU. UU. y premio Nobel de la Paz, Al Gore. and Nobel Peace Prize, Al Gore. The politician, who delivered the closing speech of the Business […]

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Up In Smoke: The Possible Demise Of Public Smoking In Chile

Smoking a cigarette at the Estadio Nacional or in a rock concert could soon be a thing of the past. The government plans to prohibit smoking in enclosed public areas, starting with sports stadiums and concerts, as part of its proposed reforms to the nation’s Tobacco Law. The new Undersecretary of Health, Jorge Diaz, announced […]

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Chilean Pulp Mill May Be Held Responsible For 2004 Environmental Catastrophe

Reports suggest that Valdivia’s Celco pulp mill is liable for death of black-necked swans. Preliminary reports from the case against Celulosa Arauco (Celco) indicate that the pulp mill will be held responsible for the environmental disaster in 2004 at the nature sanctuary on Río Cruces. Ximena Rosales, spokesperson for the environmental movement Acción por los […]

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Guatemala Registers 199 Wildfires

Guatemala’s National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction registered 199 forest fires so far in 2011, the local press reported on Wednesday. Given the growing number of these events, authorities declared Yellow Alert for the department of Peten as a preventive measure. Read Article

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Drawback in Chilean Nuclear Plant, Experts Say

Chilean scientists advised against the construction of nuclear plants in the country due to its high seismicity, as the world focuses on the dangerous emergency in Japan. The experts’ warning comes five days before U.S. President Barrack Obama’s visit to Chile. The two countries expect to sign a cooperation agreement on nuclear energy. Read Article

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Environmental Film Festival in Latin America and the Caribbean

Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will receive this year the travelling film festival “Cinema and Environment” sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The festival includes full-length and short films by the International Environmental Film Festival (FICMA) and UNEP. The main topic will be the environment and man’s relations with the […]

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Venezuela halts nuclear programme

Venezuela is suspending development of a nuclear power programme following the catastrophe at a nuclear complex in Japan, President Hugo Chavez said today. The South American country had hoped that a planned Russian-built nuclear power plant would provide 4,000 megawatts (MW) and be ready in about a decade. Read Article

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Brazil, International affairs dept now in charge of Paraopeba river cleanup

Brazil’s international affairs department (SAIN) has taken charge of the approval process for Minas Gerais state utility Copasa’s (Bovespa: CSMG3) project to clean up the Paraopeba river basin, program coordinator Paulo Fernando Lopes told BNamericas. Read rticle

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Peru, Amazon, New stingray species found

Two new species of freshwater stingray have been discovered in the Amazon rain forest. They both look like pancakes with noses, as images of the species show. The two “pancake” species belong to the first new stingray genus found in the Amazon region in more than two decades, according to Nathan Lovejoy, a biologist at […]

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Peru’s Ports Remain Closed, Despite Lifted Tsunami Warning

Peru’s ports remained closed Monday morning for the entry and exit of ships, despite the lifting of a tsunami warning issued Friday. Port authority officials said the continued closure is due to abnormal sea and tide conditions, adding that administrative activities are normal. Officials said the port closure would be reassessed in a few hours. […]

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JSPL to begin iron ore exports from Bolivia in 2-3 months

Industrialist Naveen Jindal led Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) today said it will start iron ore exports from Bolivia’s El Mutun mines in next 2-3 months. “We will begin the exports in this calender year… In next 2-3 months, it will begin in smaller quantity,” JSPL Vice Chairman and Managing Director Naveen Jindal told reporters […]

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Tracking penguins in Patagonia’s Monte Leon National Park

The sign at the start of the trail was a little disconcerting: If you see a puma, don’t run. Maintain eye contact, shout loudly, raise your jacket over your head and tell a park ranger. It seemed like a lot to remember should a hungry cat come loping down from the sandy hills. Would I […]

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Galapagos Islands, Assessment of Damage from Tsunami

The Galapagos National Park Service has conducted a preliminary analysis of the the impact the tsunami has had on the protected area including tourist sites. The area in Santa Cruz for tortoise breeding has been closed due to damage. Many of the tortoises are being housed in a shelter. Most impacted areas: Southwest side of […]

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Latin Americans evacuate, but no tsunami damage

Islanders and coastal residents along Latin America’s Pacific seaboard moved to higher ground Friday as a precaution against possible tsunami following the superquake that bashed northeastern Japan with huge waves. Read Article

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Costa Rica tries to spark electric car movement

Spreading the word about the Reva has been a slow process since it rolled out onto San José’s crowded streets. But that was to be expected. The concept of electric cars is one the world has been slow to latch onto, as some consider the switch from gas pumps to electric outlets more of a […]

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Belo Monte Builders Accused of Deterring Indians from Planting Own Crops

Norte Energia – the Brazilian consortium that made the winning tender offer for the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam and power plant in the state of Pará, on the Xingu River – did was distribute free food baskets to members of the indigenous community in the area around the dam site. Read Article

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Heat Damages Colombia Coffee, Raising Prices

Like most of the small landowners in Colombia’s lush mountainous Cauca region, Luis Garzón, 80, and his family have thrived for decades by supplying shade-grown, rainforest-friendly Arabica coffee for top foreign brands like Nespresso and Green Mountain. A sign in the center of a nearby town proclaims, “The coffee of Cauca is No. 1!” Read […]

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Bolivia, Chile, Crossing the world’s largest salt desert

Crossing the world’s largest salt desert is a well-marked signpost on the Gringo Trail. Travellers typically use it to journey from Bolivia into the Chilean Atacama, or vice versa. There’s certainly a lot of transport involved. It’s a four-hour bus ride from La Paz to Oruro, and then a seven-hour train to Uyuni, an outpost […]

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Arequipa: Residents complain of water pollution in Cerro Colorado

About 32 companies engaged in processing animal skins cause pollution to the environment affecting the health of residents of 15 settlements located in the district of Cerro Colorado, Arequipa, denounced the leader of the semi-Private Pachacutec, Jose Del Carpio. Read Article

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Mexico, beach closure threatens survival of long term residents

The time, money and patience is running out for the 175 ejidatarios the morning of August 4, 2010 were violently evicted from a property adjacent to the beach known as Tenacatita Jalisco state. Last August, after more than three decades of fighting the ownership of an area of 42 hectares, the employer Andres Villalobos obtained […]

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Lima, Peru, Large investment for water and sewer development

President Alan Garcia today signed a Supreme Decree authorizing a transfer of 148 000 000 625 000 144 nuevos soles for the execution of works of water supply and sanitation in Lima and provinces through local governments. Among the beneficiaries for drinking water works and sewerage scheme 7, 9 and 10, Sector Villa El Salvador, […]

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Mexico zoo destroys 114 birds due to Newcastle Disease virus

Mexican agricultural officials say they have euthanized 114 peacocks, ostriches and other birds at a zoo due to an avian virus. Read Article

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Buenos Aires urges measures taken to reduce dengue

Elcomercial.com.ar reported the Minister of Health for Buenos Aires is urging residents to take measures to reduce the risk of dengue fever. He indicated that March is susceptible to the disease because of the heat, humidity and rain. The minister recommended to empty or cover pools and to eliminate the accumulation of water.

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Landslides bury Bolivian neighborhoods

Evacuation efforts are underway in Bolivia following destructions caused by recent landslides, as entire neighborhoods have been buried in capital La Paz. Seven neighborhoods in the Bolivian capital have reportedly disappeared entirely under the landslides.Read Article

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Argentina Orders Glacier Inventory For Protection Effort

The Argentine government has taken the first step toward implementing a glacier protection law, ordering a nationwide inventory of glacial ice that will determine which areas will be put off limits to mining. President Cristina Fernandez issued a decree Tuesday ordering an extensive study of the country’s glaciers, peri-glacial areas and changes to the glaciers […]

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Peru, violence between protesters and police leave two dead, and numbers injured

Fighting between informal gold miners and national police on the river of Puerto Moldanado left two dead and more than 20 police injured. Seventeen miners were injured. Read Article

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More geoglyphs found in Peru

Japanese researchers have discovered 138 more hills and lines in Peru near the world-famous Nazca lines and geoglyphs. The purpose of the formations, thought to have been created more than 2,000 years ago, is unknown. Read Article

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Machu Picchu Inca Trail reopens after a month of maintenance work

The Inca Trail that leads to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cusco, tourism was reopened today after a month of maintenance work, cleaning of drains and maintenance charged by the authorities in charge of your care. Rene Carbajal, responsible for managing the Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu, the agency Andina reported that since […]

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Brazilian judge blocks plans for construction of Belo Monte dam

Plans for the construction of the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric plant in the Amazon rainforest have been suspended by a Brazilian judge over environmental concerns. The proposal to build Belo Monte, which would be the world’s third-largest hydroelectric dam, has sparked protests in Brazil and abroad because of its impact on the environment and native […]

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Locals Protest ‘Metal Rain’ Pollution from Steelworks

A protestor held out a handful of metal dust, part of the “silvery rain” falling that day in Santa Cruz, a low-income neighbourhood on the west side of this Brazilian city, as proof of the environmental nightmare affecting the area ever since a German steel plant opened there. Read Article

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Venezuela Extends State of Emergency Due to Rains

Venezuelan government on Monday announced a 90-day extension of a state of emergency decreed in late 2010 in parts of the country seriously damaged by torrential rains. According to the Official Gazette, the measure aimed at facilitating recovery efforts continue in the Capital District and in the states of Falcon, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Trujillo, Vargas […]

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Chile: Relatives of Convicted Mapuches denounced Judicial Conspiracy

Convicted Mapuche leaders in southern Chile are victims of a Draconian anti-terrorism law and a rigged trial, their families have denounced in a statement released Monday in Santiago. The message says that the verdict of the court of Cañete, in the Chilean Bío Bío, is a political persecution aimed at favoring the usurpation of Mapuche […]

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Mudslides Destroy Homes in Bolivia

Officials in Bolivia say heavy rains in the capital have caused mudslides that have destroyed at least 400 homes. Government officials say the mudslides that began Saturday are the worst La Paz has experienced. Read Article

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Chile President faces protests a year after quake

President Sebastian Pinera marked Sunday’s anniversary of one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history by praising his government’s progress on reconstruction and calling for national unity. Instead, his political opponents staged protests and questioned his numbers. Read Article

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Cusco Region, 8 provinces declare state of emergency

The president of the Regional Government of Cusco, Jorge Acurio said eight provinces in emergency for 60 days before the natural disasters in recent days. These are the provinces of Acomayo, Anta, Calca, Canas, Cusco, La Convención, Paruro and Quispicanchi. Read Article

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Peruvian Glacier Has Lost Half Of Its Ice

“Recent scientific studies indicate that between June 1983 and August 2006, a glacier on Peru’s Huaytapallana Mountain has lost 50 percent of its surface ice,” Erasmo Meza, manager of natural resources and the environment in the central Andean region of Junin, told the official Andina news agency. Read Article

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Ecuador, “The Verdict Against Chevron Is Enforceable, Because It Is Just”

On Feb. 14, a provincial Ecuadorean court issued the harshest environmental verdict in history against a major oil company, the U.S.-based Chevron. But is there any chance it will be carried out? Read Article

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Indigenous Ecuadoran woman humbles US oil giant

She has no legal training, and doesn’t speak the Spanish that dominates government in Quito but indigenous villager Maria Aguinda helped bring a landmark judgment against US oil giant Chevron for polluting the rain forest she calls home. Read Article

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Potential hazards of continued dome growth on Colombia’s Nevado del Huila

Earlier today, Dr. Boris Behncke posted a link to some fascinating images of the dome growing at the summit of Nevado del Huila (see below) in Colombia. The volcano started erupting again in 2007 after what is thought to be almost 500 years of quiet. The eruptions since 2007 have been relatively passive – VEI […]

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UNESCO Claims Machu Picchu Needs Fewer Tourists

Access to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Peru’s picturesque Inca city of Machu Picchu, suffering from a growing demand of tourists wishing to visit and access the site, must become limited to protect it, UNESCO chief Irina Bokova tells AFP. “Machu Picchu is a victim of its own success, because the interest is huge.Read […]

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Yellow Dragon Disease Could Wipe Out Costa Rica’s Citrus Production

The disease most feared by citrus growers worldwide is now in Costa Rica. At least 5 trees north of Alajuela tested positive for the presence of “Yellow Dragon. ” The State Phytosanitary Service confirmed the detection after a laboratory diagnosis. Trees with symptoms will be cut and efforts to eradicate the disease will be made […]

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Peru, armed forces attempt to destroy illegal operating barges

In a joint operation of the Armed Forces and National Police was located (Saturday) and appeared 13 dredges used in the illegal extraction of gold in Madre de Dios. So far, seven of these vessels were destroyed by personnel of the Navy of Peru, while in the next few hours will proceed in the same […]

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Mexico, U.S. and Canada to regulate discarded electronics trade

Experts from the United States, Mexico and Canada are working to draw up a new law regulating the trade in discarded electronics, Commission for Environmental Cooperation, or CEC, representative Marco Heredia told Efe. Environmental officials from the three countries and CEC representatives are meeting this week in Guadalajara, the capital of Mexico’s Jalisco state, to […]

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Rare harpy eagles have been found in a remote area of Belize, a discovery that has elated researchers. Until now, the massive predatory birds were thought to be extinct in the region

Two adult harpies and one five-week old nestling were discovered in November, during patrols of the Bladen Nature Reserve in the Mayan Mountains of Belize, a rugged, isolated area where scientists have searched for signs of the bird since 2005, when an adult was first spotted. Read Article

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Chevron, locals prepare Ecuador pollution appeals

Lawyers for Chevron Corp and plaintiffs who accuse the U.S. oil giant of pollution return to a provincial court in Ecuador’s Amazon this week to appeal one of the world’s largest ecological damage rulings. Lawyers for the 47 named plaintiffs in the lawsuit say they will file papers on Thursday before a three-judge panel at […]

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Bolivia, 8 of 9 regions still suffering heavy rains

Eight out of nine regions in Bolivia are still suffering the effects of heavy rains and flooding, according to the National Meteorological and Hydrological Service. According to the service, the rains will continue in Chuquisaca and as of this Thursday, will affect Chaco Boliviano, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba Tropic. Read Article

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UN Sees Latin American, African Nations at Risk From Food Riots

Countries in Latin America and Africa including Bolivia and Mozambique are most at risk of food riots as prices advance, said the United Nations. The past month’s protests in North Africa and the Middle East were partly linked to agriculture costs. World food prices climbed to a record in January, the UN said on Feb. […]

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Panama, Colombia sign electricity pact

Panama and Colombia will sign an agreement stipulating that the regulation of the electricity sector in both countries is consistent. This is part of the project to connect the power grids of the two countries. That project will link the two electrical systems through a 614-kilometer network. Read Article

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Multiple protests in Panama against mining law

Manifestations of rejection of the recently approved amendments to the Code of Mineral Resources were multiplied in the country yesterday. In Bocas de Toro, Chiriquí, Veraguas, and in different sectors of the province of Panama, here were street closings and protests. Read Article

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Peru, hidden waterfall (Gocta) in Cocachimba, Peru

In May 2005, a German economist named Stefan Ziemendorff went for a hike in the Utcabamba valley. He’d been working on a wastewater project in the Amazonas province of Northern Peru, and was taking a day off to hunt for one of the region’s abundant pre-Incan ruins. When he crossed into a blind ravine, though, […]

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Coal in Colombia information

Colombia has a relatively small proportion of the world’s proven coal reserves. World hard coal reserves have been estimated at 411,321 million t, while those of Colombia are an estimated 6434 million t, or less than 2% of the world’s reserves. In terms of world mining statistics, a similar story emerges: world hard coal production […]

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Chevron fined $8.6 billion in Ecuador

An Ecuadorean judge ruled Monday in an epic environmental case that Chevron Corp. was responsible for oil drilling contamination in a wide swath of Ecuador’s northern jungle and ordered the oil giant to pay $8.6 billion in damages and cleanup costs. The amount was far below the $27.3 billion recommended by a court-appointed expert but […]

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Chile, Earthquakes, aftershocks continue

Chile’s office of emergency services says it has no information about victims or damage from the magnitude-6.6 quake that struck just after midnight Sunday. A magnitude-6.8 quake Friday sent thousands running for higher ground. Read Article

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Honduras, litte Amazon being destroyed to traffic drugs

The tiny village of Las Marias lies on the banks of the Rio Platano, deep in the heart of Mosquitia, Honduras – the so-called “Little Amazon” of Central America, the largest area of tropical rainforest north of the Amazon Basin. In recent years, however, Mosquitia’s magnificent isolation has been shattered by intruders: drug smugglers and […]

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Colombia’s new mining request ban may extend to a year

The Colombian Government has hinted that its suspension of new requests for mining concessions may last longer than the initial six months. The calls for stricter Governmental supervision came in early February after a series of accidents and explosions in 2010 and 2011. A recent explosion at La Preciosa mine killed at least 20 people; […]

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