Subscribe to My Feed
Loading ...Protecting Andean High Plateaus from Mining
Friday, March 13th, 2009Should mining be banned from, or severely restricted in, the Andean high plateaus? Most national environment agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), scientists and academic experts in the Andean Community (CAN) nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) seem to think so. They argue that without strong restrictions and supervision, mining in the highlands may seriously harm the role the plateaus play […]
Recovering Used Oil in Colombia
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008Recently Colombia’s Environment Minister, Juan Lozano Ramírez, lauded an industry initiative in that country to collect and environmentally manage used motor oil and lubricants known as the Used Oil Fund (Fondo de Aceites Usados – FAU). “This process is progressing successfully, ” declared Lozano, “because the trend now is, without a doubt, business strengthening that […]
Update: Colombian Eco-Authorities Now Have Sharp Teeth?
Friday, August 8th, 2008Last year I did a post about Colombia’s Environment Minister, Juan Lozano Ramírez, calling upon that country’s Senate to finally give environmental authorities “teeth” — a true, tough environmental sanctions regime. Proposals for such a law had been before the national legislature for years (Lozano says it’s been decades). A few weeks ago the legislature […]
Finding Eco-Diagnoses for LAC
Friday, June 20th, 2008In a prior post on the Temas library of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) legal texts for download, I promised to highlight other changes and additions to the updated site. The biggest addition to the site has been the Temas Tools Section, a collection of references and tools that help in understanding, shaping and managing […]
Ecomoto Comes to Colombia
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Synopsis in English: Motorola’s take-back program for cell phones (and two-way communicators) and their batteries and accessories (chargers, cords, earphones, etc.), ECOMOTO, has now expanded in Latin America from Brazil to Colombia. Designated collection points established in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga and Pereira will accept used cell phones, two-way radios, their batteries and accessories […]
Dia Sem Carro
Friday, September 21st, 2007Tomorrow, Saturday 22 September, is World Carfree Day. The annual event begun in France in 1998 and now worldwide, is intended as a day when everyone leaves their car at home and utilizes public transport, walks or rides a bicycle. The resulting quiet, lack of traffic congestion and cleaner air is intended to make people […]
It’s Clean Up the World Weekend — Get Involved!
Friday, September 14th, 2007This weekend across the world, including much of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), people will be joining NGOs and community groups in events designed to clean up beaches, coastal waters, rivers, lakes, parks, reserves and their surroundings as part of the annual Clean Up the World Weekend. Copied below is the official press release […]
Imposing EPR for End-of-Life Medicines and Batteries
Thursday, May 31st, 2007Back in April, Colombian Environment Minister Juan Lozano promised proposals for mandatory extended producer responsibility (EPR) regimes for expired medicines and end-of-life (EOL) lead-acid batteries. Earlier this month he made good on that promise: the Environment Ministry (Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial –MAVDT) has published for public comment two draft decrees, one on […]
Smoke Signals in Cali
Sunday, May 27th, 2007Synopsis in English: Here’s a snapshot of just how bad tobacco dependence is in some parts of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Late last week the Municipal Secretary of Health for Colombia’s second largest city, Cali (pop. 2.2 million), released the results of a recent study on risk factors for chronic non-communicable diseases conducted […]
Eco-Authorities Need Teeth, Says Environment Minister
Thursday, May 17th, 2007Earlier this week Colombia’s Environment Minister, Juan Lozano Ramírez, told the audience at that country’s National Environment Forum that he supported the bill now before the Senate (where the Forum was held) on an environmental sanctions regime. The Ministry, he said, has this dream of “getting the teeth we don’t have” so that Colombia can […]