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Loading ...Mexico Uses Environmental Service Payments to Protect Millions of Hectares
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008Synopsis in English: Since 2003 Mexico has put 3.22 billion pesos into environmental services payments (pago por servicios ambientales – PSA). What is a PSA, you might ask. PSA is an environmental policy concept that is quite the rage in recent years, pushed by such institutions as the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United […]
The CEC’s “Annotated Bibliography” on Environmental Impacts of Biofuels
Sunday, October 5th, 2008Normally I would not stick an annotated bibliography in the Temas Recommended Reading List, much less do a review of the “bibliography.” But the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) recently released an “Annotated Bibliography on the Environmental Effects of Biofuels” that I find a bit unusual and noteworthy. It’s more like a review […]
CO2 Emission Labels for Vehicles
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008Chile may become the first Latin American or Caribbean (LAC) nation to require cars to bear labels about their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Several European nations already require such labeling, and a regulatory agency recently proposed a unique GHG emission label for cars sold in California. The lower house of Chile’s legislature, the Chamber of […]
Grappling with Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008How best to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from ships? That is the tricky issue the London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) is currently grappling with. The IMO is the United Nations specialized agency created in 1959 to facilitate cooperation among governments in all technical matters involving shipping engaged in international trade, including prevention and control […]
The Challenge of Land Degradation / El desafio de la degradación del suelo
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008I must admit that, just as was the case with deforestation, in the past I paid very little attention to the issue of land degradation. I won’t bore you with the explanations and excuses as to why, just suffice it to say that it was not high enough on my list of priority environment issues. […]
Gas Flaring, LAC & Climate Change
Thursday, October 4th, 2007Take a look at the two images to the right. The first is of an offshore platform flaring gas. The second (click to enlarge) is a computer-enhanced satellite photo of gas flaring off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago. Yes, if you use the right technique, you now can document flaring from space. Why is […]
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, […]
Aluminum Recycling Reconsidered
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007A Sixth Year as Aluminum Can Recycling Champion The Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL) recently announced that Brazil recycled 139,100 metric tons (Mt) of aluminum cans (about 10.3 billion cans) in 2006 for a recycling rate of 94.4%, assuring the first-place position for Brazil for the sixth year in a row, ahead of Argentina, Japan, Switzerland, […]
Colombia’s First Official Carbon Sequestration Through Reforestation Project
Friday, June 29th, 2007Synopsis in English: Last week the Environment Ministry approved the first officially sanctioned reforestation project aimed at capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) as a clean development mechanism (CDM) project under the Kyoto Protocol. The project involves 15,000 hectares in the Chinchina River Basin in the department (similar to a state or province) of Caldas. The project […]
Serra’s 21 Strategic Environmental Projects for São Paulo
Monday, April 9th, 2007On 02 April the new Governor of São Paulo, José Serra [Brazilian Social Democratic Party (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira – PSDB)], announced a series of 21 “strategic environmental projects” he said will guide his Administration and help one of Latin America’s biggest economies — and still the industrial and agricultural powerhouse of Brazil (accounting […]