More Brazilian States Opt for Smoke-Free Environments
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009The push for smoke-free environments continues to march across Brazilian states — how long before federal legislators decide to extend such protections nationwide? Today the governors of the southern state of Paraná (PR) and the western state of Amazonas (AM) signed new tobacco control laws, joining Ceará (CE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and São Paulo […]
A WEEE Bill for Amazonas
Saturday, September 26th, 2009This week Amazonas (AM) became the latest state in which a bill on “technological trash” (lixo tecnologico or e-lixo) – the Brazilians nickname for what is known elsewhere as WEEE or e-waste — has been introduced. Unlike bills recently introduced in the northeastern states of Bahia and Pernambuco, which are based primarily on a Law on […]
Brazil Invests in International Research Cooperation on Second Generation Biofuels
Friday, May 29th, 2009Brazil will invest R$11.6 million (about US$ million at current exchange rates) in international research cooperation regarding second-generation biofuels with the 27 member states and the many associate states of the European Union (EU). A request for proposals from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) calls for projects that develop new production […]
Stay at Marriott, Save the Brazilian Rainforest?
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009From Marriott International: Green Your Marriott Hotel Stay for $1/Day: Help Preserve The Rainforest and Combat Climate Change In a bold move to help improve the climate, Marriott International, Inc. is launching a new way for guests to “green” their hotel stays. Now, when you book a room on www.Marriott.com or visit http://www.marriott.com/green-brazilian-rainforest.mi, you can […]
US$15 mil. to Improve Rural Health Care in Peru / US$15 millones para mejorar salud rural en el Perú
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009From the World Bank: US$15 Million to Improve Health Care for Poor Rural Populations Expands the capacity and quality of women’s and child health care services in the poorest areas of the country The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$15 million loan to Peru to improve the equity of and expand […]
Coke Donates R$20 mil. to Sustainable Amazon Foundation
Friday, February 6th, 2009Coca-Cola Brasil has just donated R$20 million to the Sustainable Amazonas Foundation (Fundação Amazonas Sustentável – FAS) to promote forest conservation in Brazil’s Amazonas state and improve the quality of life for around 2,000 families living in those forests. The Coke donation matches funds from the state government, Bradesco bank and Banco do Planeta for […]
Brazil Creates 22 New National Research Institutes
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009Brazil’s National Council for the Development of Science and Technology (CNPq) just announced the creation of 22 new National Institutes of Science and Technology (INCTs), bringing the number of such national institutes to 123, with total financial resources for R&D of R$581 million. Nine of the new INCTs will go to São Paulo (SP), four […]
Targeting Key States in Brazil’s Battle vs. Amazon Deforestation
Monday, November 24th, 2008The Norwegian government is funding, and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is administering, a US$4.3 million pilot project by Brazil’s Environment Ministry (MMA) and the governments of three states — Acre (AC), Mato Grosso (MT) and Pará (PA) — to combat deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. As I’ve noted here in the past, MT and […]
Brazilian States Publicize Consumer Complaints
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008In September the 21 Brazilian state consumer agencies (known in Brazil as “Procons”) belonging to the National System of Consumer Defense Information (Sistema Nacional de Informações de Defesa do Consumidor – SINDEC) opened (mostly on the internet) their registries of consumer complaints, including their rankings of which firms were the subject of the greatest number […]
Brazilian Resistance to Beer in PET Bottles
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008Brazilian brewers wanting to market their beers in PET bottles are not having a good year. First a court ruling that such bottles pose a significant risk to the environment, and therefore require environmental impact studies and licensing. Then a state ban on pigmented PET, and now a looming state ban on PET bottles for […]
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