Subscribe to My Feed
Loading ...Satellite Monitoring of Climate Change Impacts for 3 LAC Nations
Saturday, December 27th, 2008Mostly lost in all the media coverage of the recent climate change negotiations in Poznan, Poland was this announcement from the UN Development Programme (UNDP). I’m glad to hear that this initiative includes Colombia, Peru and Uruguay, particularly since the latter two cannot afford on their own this sort of satellite monitoring. Why, I wonder, […]
Energy Efficiency Loan to Brazil’s Largest Flat Steelmaker / Empréstimo para financiar eficiência energética em siderúrgica brasileira
Monday, November 10th, 2008By my count, this is the second loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to Usiminas to improve energy efficiency in their steelmaking, cut carbon emissions and calculate their carbon footprint. The loan from last May covered its Ouro Branco mill, this one its new Santana do Paraiso mill, both in Minas Gerais state. ________________________ […]
The Carbon Footprint of Biofuels
Sunday, June 29th, 2008It is becoming increasingly difficult to find balanced discussions of any issue associated with biofuels. Biofuel proponents talk as if biofuels can solve all ills and can do little to no wrong (whether they have data to back that up or not), and their detractors tend to reject any notion whatesoever that they can be […]
The Eco-Provision Tucked Into a Steel Loan
Saturday, June 7th, 2008In mid-May the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved two loans worth US$200 million to the Brazilian steel firm Gerdau Açominas S.A. for “capital investment” at its Ouro Branco mill in Minas Gerais state (the mill is located about 100 kilometers southeast of Belo Horizonte). Loan A of US$50 million is from the Bank’s capital, Loan […]
Can a Huge Luxury Resort = Sustainable Tourism?
Wednesday, September 26th, 2007Can a 650-acre seaside luxury resort in Costa Rica be a full-fledged "sustainable tourism" destination? Steve Case, the co-founder of America Online (AOL), says it can. Case launched the company Revolution LLC in 2005 "to build companies based on disruptive business models that give people more choice, control and convenience in the important aspects of […]
Locomotives Run on Biodiesel
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007Last May the Doce River Valley Company (Companhia Vale do Rio Doce – CVRD) announced plans to use biofuels in its locomotives. I knew that was economically significant news, since in addition to being the world's second largest mining company, CVRD is Brazil's largest logistics operator, owning three railroads — Estrada de Ferro Carajás (EFC), […]
A Call for a Reality Check on Biofuel
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007If you listen to their proponents, biofuels are the answer to many environmental, energy and economic ills and can do no wrong. They are destined to unseat OPEC and free us all from hydrocarbon dependence. If you listen to their detractors, biofuels are a sham that may bring environmental disaster and servitude to multinational corporations, […]
Greening the IDB / A Verdecer el BID
Saturday, April 21st, 2007From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Calling for eco-efficiency at the IDB In celebration of Earth Day, IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno will challenge IDB staff to participate in a Bank-wide greening campaign On the occasion of Earth Day (April 22), the Inter-American Development Bank renews its commitment to the protection of our environment, and […]
A Sustainable Biofuels Policy for Chile?
Monday, March 19th, 2007I scribbled some notes on this story when the report was first released in late January. But when I could not get back to finishing and publishing it right away, I thought about just dropping it because I half-expected President Bachelet to act on it quickly. Instead she appears to be holding off, digesting it […]