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Loading ...$104 Mn. for Water Pollution Control in São Paulo / US$104 milhões para controlar a poluição da água em São Paulo
Friday, July 10th, 2009From the World Bank: US$ 270.65 Million to Support Infrastructure and Water Pollution Control Projects in the State of São Paulo The World Bank Board of Executive Directors approved today two loans for a total of US$ 270.65 million for two major projects aiming at improving transport conditions and controlling environmental and water pollution in […]
Linking the Pharmacopeias of Argentina and Brazil
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Brazil’s National Sanitary Vigilance Agency (Anvisa) today issued a regulation (Resolution RDC 37) permitting reference chemical substances certified by either the Argentine Pharmacopeia or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Pharmacopeia to be used for evaluating the quality of pharmaceutical raw materials (active ingredients and excipients) and medicines produced in Brazil. Anvisa already allowed that, […]
From Used Balloons and Gloves to New Rubber Products
Sunday, July 5th, 2009Researchers from the Forest Products Laboratory (LPF) of Brazil’s Forestry Service (SFB) have demonstrated that they can recycle used latex gloves and party balloons by combining them with sawdust, in the process turning them into floor tiles, shoe soles, floor mats and other rubber artifacts. The cost of producing a floor sheet from these wastes […]
Brazil and Uruguay Take the Lead in Implementing GHS
Saturday, July 4th, 2009Yesterday Uruguay became the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to implement the Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) (known in Spanish as the Sistema Globalmente Armonizado – SGA) through binding legislation. President Tabaré Vázquez and his Council of Ministers signed Decree 307/009 on safety measures for chemical industry […]
Brazil Begins Awarding Building Efficiency Labels
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009Earlier this year I posted about Brazil’s trailblazing initiative to provide energy efficiency labels for buildings. Well, the National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro) has just announced that first five Brazilian buildings were given the labels in the form of steel plaques about the size of an A4 sheet of printing paper. […]
Latin America’s First Hydrogen Bus
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009Brazil is known for many “green” experiments and firsts in transportation. Think of Curitiba’s groundbreaking work on bus rapid transit, Brazil’s pioneering work on sugarcane ethanol and use of flex-fuel vehicles, the country’s aggressive biodiesel program, Vale’s trains run on biodiesel, Itaipu’s development of electric cars that can be charged from biodigestors, and the use […]
Ecological Cities as Economic Cities
Saturday, June 27th, 2009From the World Bank: New Urban Development Program to Promote Ecologically Sustainable and Economically Viable Cities The World Bank today launched a new urban development program that supports cities in developing countries in their move towards greater ecological and economic sustainability. Called Eco² Cities – Ecological Cities as Economic Cities, the program recognizes that successful […]
Trash Photos XIX: A Visit to Minas’ Center on Waste
Thursday, June 25th, 2009Yesterday I visited an institution in Belo Horizonte (BH) that, to my knowledge, is unique in Brazil, if not the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The Minas Waste Reference Center (Centro Mineiro de Referência em Resíduos – CMRR) opened in 2007 with the mission to serve as the focal point in the […]
Vale Invests Heavily in Biodiesel from Palm Oil
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009Desde Vale: Vale vai investir na produção de biodiesel Consórcio será o maior produtor de óleo de palma das Américas A Vale acaba de dar mais um passo em busca de uma matriz energética mais sustentável. A empresa anuncia hoje (24/06) o consórcio com a Biopalma da Amazônia S.A para produzir óleo de palma, matéria-prima […]
Computer Take-Back in Rio de Janeiro / A Lei Sobre E-lixo do Municipio de Rio de Janeiro
Monday, June 22nd, 2009Last week the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (MRJ) (population 6 million) became the first major Brazilian city to adopt an e-waste law. The law is rather short and simple. It requires manufacturers and suppliers of computers to receive in their offices, branches or headquarters in the City “obsolete” computers discarded by consumers. The Law defines […]