Mexican Consumer Group Demands Vehicle Efficiency Labeling / Los consumidores mexicanos exigen etiquetado de eficiencia y de las emisiones de los vehículos
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009Synopsis in English: A Mexican consumer group, The Power of the Consumer (El Poder del Consumidor – EPC) is calling upon automobile manufacturers to label all new vehicles sold in Mexico regarding their fuel efficiency [kilometers (km) per liter consumed] and greenhouse gas emissions [primarily grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted per km], similar to […]
Colombia Offers 2 Draft Rules on Detergents for Public Comment
Monday, January 12th, 2009Colombia’s Environment Ministry (MAVDT) has released for public comment two draft resolutions that, once adopted, would become binding rules on the detergent sector. The scope for both is the same: washing and cleaning products in any form (liquid, powder, paste, bar, cake, molded forms, etc.) and whether marketed for household, institutional, industrial or service uses. […]
Brazil Proposes LAC’s First Mandatory Standby Power Labels for Projection, Plasma & LCD TVs
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008On 15 December Brazil’s National Institute of Metrology, Standardization and Industrial Quality (Inmetro) released for public comment a proposed compulsory energy labeling scheme for plasma, projection (if between 42 and 65 inches measured diagonally) and liquid crystal display (LCD) screen televisions. If the measure is adopted unchanged, the rule will require all new sets manufactured […]
“Cereal Offenses” in LAC
Sunday, December 28th, 2008If you have kids and read the labels of foods you shop for or buy, you probably know well the struggle to avoid buying breakfast cereals that are not loaded with sugar and/or sodium (salt). Sometimes even when you avoid the obvious culprits (after all, if the name is “frosted,” most of us can guess!), […]
Brazilian Fuel Economy Labels for Cars
Sunday, December 28th, 2008Latin America, it seems, is becoming more interested in fuel economy. I wrote in an August post about Chile’s proposal for a fuel efficiency/greenhouse gas emission label for cars, and more recently about Mexico’s new government website for consumers to use in shopping for fuel-efficient vehicles. Now it’s Brazil’s turn. In November its National Institute […]
Plan for Establishing Caribbean Public Health Agency Agreed
Monday, October 13th, 2008From the Caribbean Community (CARICOM): CARICOM MINISTERS OF HEALTH AGREE ON A PLAN TO ESTABLISH CARPHA Ministers of Health of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have endorsed a plan of action for the transition of the Regional Health Institutions into the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) by 2010. The endorsement was made at the annual Caucus […]
An E-Waste/RoHS Bill For Uruguay
Monday, September 29th, 2008Earlier this month a bill was introduced in the Uruguayan legislature to “create a management system for waste from electrical and electronic apparatuses.” Uruguay, it seems, is joining Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Costa Rica among the Latin American nations finally moving to tackle the WEEE issue. The bill is relatively short (2 pages) and simple, […]
¿Un Perú Libre de Transgénicos?
Friday, September 19th, 2008Desde el Ministerio de Ambiente (Minam): “SE DEBE EVALUAR QUE EL PERÚ SEA UN PAÍS LIBRE DE TRANSGÉNICOS” El Ministro de Ambiente, Antonio Brack Egg recomendó evaluar objetivamente la posibilidad de declarar al Perú como un país libre de transgénicos, a fin de garantizar la conservación de los recursos genéticos nativos y la mayor competitividad […]
An E-Waste Bill for Santa Catarina / Projeto de Lei Sobre E-Lixo para Santa Catarina
Thursday, September 18th, 2008Earlier this month a bill was introduced in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (SC) to impose extended producer responsibility (EPR) for end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment — WEEE, e-waste or “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) as Brazilians like to call it. SC is not the first state to attempt legislation on this subject. Mato […]
An Alcohol Control Bill for Uruguay
Friday, September 12th, 2008Uruguay’s National Drug Board (Junta Nacional de Drogas – JND), Inter-sectoral Coordinator on Alcohol Policies (CIPA) and Ministry of Public Health (MSP) recently presented to the press and public an unusually tough (for a Latin American nation, at least) alcohol control bill that they are sending to the national legislature. A Law, Not a Decree […]
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