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    A WEEE Bill for Amazonas

    Saturday, September 26th, 2009

    This 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 […]

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    Brazil Preparing New National Wind Atlas

    Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

    Agência Brasil reports that Eletrobrás‘ Energy Research Center (Centro de Pesquisas de Energia – Cepel) is preparing a new national wind atlas for release in late 2010.  Researchers feel that the existing wind atlas, prepared in 2001, may have greatly underestimated Brazil’s potential for electricity generation through wind.  At that time, the potential was estimated […]

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    Brazil’s PAC for Sanitation

    Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

    When Brazil’s multifaceted Program for Accelerated Growth (Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento – PAC) was announced in 2007, it included a segment earmarked for improving infrastructure in provision of drinking water and sanitation services. Today the head of the Civil House, Dilma Rousseff, and the Minister of Cities, Márcio Fortes, announced a list of 109 […]

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    Brazil Launches Unparalled Study of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes

    Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

    Diseases of the circulatory system are the leading cause of death in Brazil. According to the Health Ministry (MS) there are 300,000 deaths and over one million hospitalizations per year, and hypertension and diabetes mellitus are major risk factors. Hypertension affects approximately 35% of the Brazilian population over the age of 40 years and of […]

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    Directional Signals in Brazilian Federal Waste Policy

    Monday, August 17th, 2009

    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 […]

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    Another Momentum Indicator on Used Motor Oil Packaging in Brazil?

    Friday, July 24th, 2009

    A couple of months ago I wondered aloud if maybe a bill introduced in São Paulo‘s (SP) state assembly was an early indicator of a momentum shift in the hitherto slow-building movement in Brazil to promote the collection and recycling of the packaging that the new motor oil comes in. Now comes another curious indicator.  […]

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    An E-Waste Bill for Bahia

    Thursday, July 23rd, 2009

    I’m on vacation in the Caribbean, with limited internet access (and a damaged laptop) and in any case supposedly ignoring my inbox and not posting.  But I peeked at the web version of my inbox using a relative’s laptop and, seeing a note on this, could not resist a quick post. It shows something I […]

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    Caixa Creates Label for Sustainable Housing

    Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

    Caixa Econômica Federal (CEF, popularly known among Brazilians as simply “Caixa”), Latin America’s largest public bank, is already involved in promoting green building though its insistence on construction using certified wood and its concessionary financing for the installation of the solar panels and water heaters in Brazil’s recently announced “My House My Life” Program to […]

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    Pesticide Residue Levels in Brazilian Food

    Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

    Which fresh food sold in Brazil has been found most likely to present “irregular” pesticide residues — levels higher than those permitted by regulation, or even residues of pesticides banned or not authorized for use on the foodstuff it is found on? Peppers.  In 2008 more than 64% of the pepper samples analyzed by the […]

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    R$101 mil. for Small Hydro in Bahia / R$101 milhões para PCH em Bahia

    Monday, April 13th, 2009

    From the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES): BNDES approves R$ 101 million in financing for Bahia PCH I The directors of the BNDES have approved R$ 101 million in financing for the company Bahia PCH I. The funds will be used to construct a Small Hydroelectric Plant (PCH Sítio Grande), with installed capacity of 25 megawatts […]

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