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Jamaican Voices for Climate Change
By Keith R | August 19, 2009 @ 8:18 pm |
Topics: Climate Change | No Comments »
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From UNDP Jamaica:
Voices For Climate Change Project Launched
Jamaican entertainers, including Lloyd Lovindeer, Queen Ifrica, Tony Rebel, Boris Gardiner, Pam Hall and many others, have come together for the Voices For Climate Change Project which was launched on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at the Mona Visitor’s Lodge, UWI. The project is a national public education campaign on climate change being implemented by Panos Caribbean, a regional organization which helps journalists to cover sustainable development issues, and Jamaica’s National Environment Education Committee (NEEC).
UNDP, with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is supporting the project through the Meteorological Service of Jamaica – the Focal Point for preparing Jamaica’s second National report on Climate Change – the Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). UNDP and the Meteorological Service view the Voices for Climate Change project as a key strategy for raising public awareness of the issues. UNDP joins other partners – the Environment Foundation of Jamaica and Christian Aid in supporting this project.
The artistes, who have participated in two training workshops and a field trip on climate change, have produced a strong package of information designed to educate the Jamaican public. The package consists of:
- A theme song titled Global Warning, written by Lloyd Lovindeer and arranged by Grub Cooper of the popular group Fab 5.
- A series of public service announcements written mainly by the artistes themselves
- A mini album of songs on climate change
- A music video to accompany the theme song
The public education campaign will educate Jamaicans on the issues and impacts associated with climate change to help with adaptation planning. Climate change impacts include rising sea levels, changes in weather patterns resulting in more frequent droughts and more intense hurricanes; as well as health hazards like increased transmission of vectoral disease such as dengue and malaria. Such impacts seriously threaten development prospects for countries like Jamaica and other small island Caribbean states which are on the global hot spot list for climate change.
The involvement of the artistes is part of a broader national strategy of the ‘Voices for Climate Change’ project which will see other sensitization and awareness initiatives being conducted with various public and private sector interest groups. School Tours and community sensitization will also be a part of the 18 month Project.
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Sam’s Club to Sell Fair Trade Certified Coffee from Brazil
By Keith R | August 19, 2009 @ 10:58 am |
Topics: Food/Beverage Issues | No Comments »
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From Walmart:
Sam’s Club Introduces New Fair Trade Certified Coffee from Brazil
- Brazilian coffee farmers link with mass market coffee consumers
Today, Walmart, TransFair USA, SEBRAE-Minas Gerais and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that a new Fair Trade Certified coffee from Brazil will be sold to Sam’s Club members across the country. The two new Fair Trade Certified™ Member’s Mark coffee options will be available in more than 600 Sam’s Club locations in the United States. These new products are part of the innovative Responsible Sourcing Partnership Project that links Brazilian coffee farmers with mass market coffee consumers in the United States through Fair Trade certification.
“We are excited to be expanding our offering of high quality Fair Trade Certified coffee at clubs throughout the U.S.,” said Jill Turner-Mitchael, senior vice president of Merchandising, Sam’s Club. “This partnership falls in line with the company’s mission of providing opportunity in communities around the world, as nearly 30,000 Brazilian producer family members are being positively impacted.”
Through the Responsible Sourcing Partnership Project, Brazilian producers and their families receive increased employment opportunities, expanded access to new domestic and international markets, increased use of environmentally-sound production methods, and, in turn, improvements in their quality of life. Partner cooperatives are located in the Brazilian states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo.
Jeffery Bell, director of USAID/Brazil, said, “USAID believes that public-private partnerships are the most effective mechanism to respond to global challenges. The Responsible Sourcing Partnership Project is a successful alliance that combines our complementary assets to promote sustainability, expand social and economic opportunities within the Brazilian coffee value chain.”
The project aims to expand and improve the quality of Fair Trade Certified coffee supply through investments in infrastructure, technical assistance with production and post-harvest processing, as well as training in coffee quality management. These investments will result in increased producer capacity through organizational strengthening including financial management operations and marketing. The partnership also raises the marketing capacity of Brazilian coffee growers to improve the reputation of Brazilian coffee, raises awareness of Fair Trade impact and empowers producers in the marketplace.
Paul Rice, TransFair USA president and CEO, said, “Sam’s Club is an innovative partner in offering high-quality Fair Trade Certified coffee in a manner that both expands the marketplace and delivers value back down the supply chain to the farmer. A year from now we will be able to trace Member’s Mark coffee sales directly to improved environmental management at Fair Trade coffee farms and higher quality of life in farming communities.”
In 2008, imports of Fair Trade Certified coffee grew more than 30 percent. Fair Trade is a market-based approach to sustainable development, seeking to empower millions of disadvantaged producers worldwide while protecting the environment for future generations. Fair Trade empowers U.S. consumers to make a difference in the world simply by adjusting their shopping list. The dramatic growth of Fair Trade products proves that consumers are voting for a better world with their purchases, demanding sustainable, ethically-sourced goods.
Roberto Simões, SEBRAE Minas Gerais president, said, “The Fair Trade program is in line with the purpose of SEBRAE’s activity to increase business and promote Small and Medium Enterprises with social, environmental and economic sustainability. We support entrepreneurship and cooperation, and the program matches with our intention of helping local producers access international markets.”
Sam’s Club also sells Fair Trade Certified bananas, dried fruit and wine, among other products.
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Chile Creates a Center for Renewable Energy
By Keith R | August 18, 2009 @ 6:31 pm |
Topics: Renewable Sources | No Comments »
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Chile has created a Renewable Energy Center (Centro de Energias Renovables – CER) to serve as a national focal point for research, development, information and promotion of investment and technology transfer in non-conventional renewable energy (known by its Spanish acronym, ERNC), such as solar, wind, geothermal and ocean. CER was created jointly by the National Energy Commission (CNE) and Chile’s economic development agency, the Corporation for Promotion of Production (CORFO).
Among its official functions:
- Study the evolution and development of ERNC technologies and their applicability in Chile, in order to facilitate the removal of barriers to realizing such projects;
- Promote and develop a network of agreements with national and international schools and institutions working to promote and innovate in ERNC;
- Serve as a center of information and guidance to government bodies, investors, project developers and academic researchers;
- Generate registries of natural resources for the development of ERNC;
- Ensure proper accreditation and certification for products and services linked to ERNC projects (such as consulting, engineering, laboratories, technology providers, maintenance, etc.).
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Directional Signals in Brazilian Federal Waste Policy
By Keith R | August 17, 2009 @ 10:30 pm |
Topics: Electronic/Electrical Equipment, Packaging, Waste & Recycling | No Comments »
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A body most people have never heard of, part of a larger organization many people do not know or understand, met today and took a series of decisions that will help shape new directions in waste policy in Brazil.
The larger organization many do not know and a good many do not understand is Brazil’s National Environment Council (CONAMA). CONAMA is a collegial policy-making body in which representatives from all levels of government (federal, state, local) and various non-governmental actors (trade unions, scientific and technical bodies, environment NGOs, etc.) participate and have equal say and vote. CONAMA has set national environment standards on such diverse questions as end-of-life (EOL) batteries and tires, recycling used motor oil, motor vehicle emissions, sound pollution and water quality standards.
I discussed/explained this rather unique environmental norm-setting body last January, and why I think more Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations would benefit from establishing something similar.
A CONAMA subsidiary body most people have never heard of is its Technical Committee for Health, Environmental Sanitation and Waste Management (CSSAGR), which, as the name implies, is responsible for all waste and sanitation issues. This latest meeting focused on which of the CSSAGR’s working groups (GTs) will start work, which must wrap up work, and which proposals for a GT to reject. That may sound like a big yawn to some of you, but to those of us who closely follow waste policy, it’s an very interesting indication of federal waste policy priorities in the next year or two. Read the rest of this entry »
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An Interesting Way to Educate Mexicans About Endangered Species
By Keith R | August 16, 2009 @ 7:38 pm |
Topics: Conservation | No Comments »
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I’ve been in Mexico City this past week for a UN Development Programme (UNDP) consultation on biodiversity and ecosystem services (more on that in a future post). Every time I visit Mexico City I like to stroll the Paseo de la Reforma, the City’s beautiful answer to Paris’ Champs-Élysées. One of the reasons (besides people watching) is that there is always art on display.
At this particular time there is a series of sculptures intended to educate the average Mexican about endangered species. The displays are arranged by a coalition of entities, including the government of the City of Mexico (GDF), Mexico’s Environment Ministry (SEMARNAT), and the Committee for the Preservation of Wild Species (Comité para la Conservación de Especies Silvestres, A.C. – Naturalia). Each sculpture has a plaque giving a factoid about the particular endangered species (such as the panda being born practically blind) plus its current plight — see the example below of one for the panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). Many plaques also bear the logo of whoever helped pay for an individual display — whether an NGO, corporation, government entity, etc. For more information on the collection, see the site dedicated to it, www.animalcelebration.com.mx
These pictures below (click to see larger versions) are of sculptures interpreting a blue whale’s (Balaenoptera musculus) tail. Mexico has a special interest in whales because of the sanctuary in the bay of Baja California, where whale-watching has become very popular (and good eco-biz).
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Toward Brazilian Environmental Norms for Electro-Electronics
By Keith R | August 15, 2009 @ 11:47 pm |
Topics: Electronic/Electrical Equipment, Hazardous Substances, Waste & Recycling | No Comments »
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Several jurisdictions in Brazil — most notably the States of São Paulo (SP) and Mato Grosso (MT), and the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (MRJ) — have recently adopted e-waste laws, and several states look interested in following suit (here, here and here). There’s rumors that the National Environment Council (CONAMA) will soon decide to create a working group to draw up environmental norms about end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).
And now this! At the request of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT), the Brazilian Association of Technical Norms (ABNT), Brazil’s representative in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), has created a study group to elaborate national technical norms “to help national manufacturers of electro-electronic equipment and components meet international environmental requisites.” The study group will focus principally on the requisites of the European Union’s (EU) waste EEE (WEEE) Directive (English, Portuguese) and the restriction on hazardous substances (RoHS) Directive (English, Portuguese).
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Acordo Mineiro Sobre a Gestão de Resíduos Eletroeletrônicos
By Keith R | August 13, 2009 @ 10:37 pm |
Topics: Electronic/Electrical Equipment, Waste & Recycling | No Comments »
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Desde a Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente (FEAM):
Acordo irá incrementar ações de gestão de resíduos eletroeletrônicos
Previsto para acontecer ao longo de 2010, o projeto estabelecerá uma parceria, inicialmente, com 25 empresas que irão repassar equipamentos como computadores, telefones, celulares e impressoras em desuso para a Feam, que dentro do projeto 3RsPCs – Resíduos Eletroeletrônicos, dará um destino ambientalmente responsável ao material.
De acordo com a coordenadora do projeto 3RsPCs, Susane Meyer, os equipamentos recebidos serão separados de acordo com o estado de aproveitamento. “Uma parte será utilizada no curso de recondicionamento de computadores que já é oferecido periodicamente no Centro Mineiro de Referência em Resíduos (CMRR) para jovens provenientes de escolas públicas”, explicou. Os equipamentos recondicionados serão doados com o objetivo de ampliar a inclusão digital de pessoas de baixa renda.
Os materiais não recondicionados serão enviados para o curso prático de processamento de resíduos eletroeletrônicos, que será oferecido aos catadores de materiais recicláveis também no CMRR. Os materiais serão, então, destinados de maneira ambientalmente adequada para indústrias recicladoras de plástico, metal, placas de circuito impressos e empresas que tratam de tubos de raios catódicos dos monitores de computadores. “Tudo será quantificado e acompanhado para que se conheçam as melhores possibilidades de destinação desses resíduos e para que se tenha um controle de todo o processo”, acrescentou Susane.
De acordo com o Presidente da Sucesu, Márcio de Souza Tibo, a assinatura do Protocolo simboliza a união de esforço entre o governo e a sociedade civil na busca por soluções adequadas ambientalmente e economicamente viáveis para a questão dos resíduos eletroeletrônicos. “O esforço conjunto entre o 3RsPCs e a Suceso trará vários benefícios às empresas e usuários de informática e à população” declarou.
Cooperação com a Microsoft Brasil
O Servas e a Microsoft também assinaram um Termo de Cooperação Técnica com o objetivo de apoiar o projeto 3RsPCs, desenvolvido pela Feam. O projeto busca soluções ambientalmente adequadas para os resíduos eletroeletrônicos, fomentando a formulação de políticas públicas relacionadas ao tema.
Entre as ações apoiadas pela Microsoft está o curso de Montagem, Manutenção e Recondicionamento de Computadores, voltado para jovens vindos de escolas públicas. O trabalho é voltado para jovens vindos de escolas públicas que aprendem a trabalhar com hardware enquanto efetivamente recondicionam máquinas obsoletas de prédios do Governo do Estado. Os alunos também aprendem sobre noções de meio ambiente e sobre os riscos dos resíduos eletroeletrônicos se mal geridos.
O projeto tem como objetivo promover a disseminação de políticas voltadas para a destinação social e ambientalmente correta desses resíduos, fomentando a formulação de uma legislação específica para o setor no Estado, além de estimular o desenvolvimento de pesquisas voltadas para o reaproveitamento e reciclagem de REE.
Segundo informações do diretor de Assuntos Coorporativos da Microsoft Brasil, Rodolfo Fucher, há no Brasil mais de 40 milhões de computadores pessoais (PCs) da empresa instalados. “A cada ano novos 10 milhões chegam ao mercado e cerca de 2 milhões são descartados. Por isso a Microsoft apóia a iniciativa da Feam, Servas e CMRR, por meio do Projeto 3RsPCs, para que essa grande quantidade de resíduos gerada tenha uma gestão adequada”, disse.
“Há toda uma cadeia que envolve fabricantes, importadores, revendedores e os consumidores. Queremos que toda a cadeia seja envolvida na solução dda questão. As políticas públicas que estão sendo elaboradas pelo Governo de Minas Gerais em parceria com a sociedade civil visam levar ao Conselho Nacional de Meio Ambiente (Conama) uma proposta de norma que abranja todos os envolvidos”, informou o presidente da Fundação Estadual do Meio Ambiente, José Cláudio Junqueira.
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Toward an ISO Energy Management Standard
By Keith R | August 12, 2009 @ 11:57 pm |
Topics: Climate Change, Electronic/Electrical Equipment, Energy & the Environment | No Comments »
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Last week in Rio de Janeiro and yesterday in São Paulo, Eletrobrás and the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) co-hosted workshops to try to get Brazilian business more actively involved in the process now underway in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop an international standard for energy management, ISO 50001. One of ABNT’s motivations for soliciting more involvement from Brazilian industry is that it has agreed to share the secretariat function of the new ISO committee (PC 242 Energy Management) with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
ISO 50001 will establish an international framework for industrial plants or entire companies to manage all aspects of energy, including procurement and use. The standard will provide organizations and companies with technical and management strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve environmental performance. It should cover relevant terminology, measurement and metrics — including measuring and reporting on their carbon emissions. To make it compatible with, and able to be integrated with, other management systems, ISO plans to use the Plan-Do-Check-Act approach employed in ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management).
If, as anticipated, the new standard is broadly adopted and applied by corporations, their partners in the supply chain, retailers, utilities and energy service companies, among others, the standard could influence up to 60% of the world’s energy demand.