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Loading ...Now Renewables Have Their Own International Agency
Saturday, January 31st, 2009The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was created at a founding conference in Bonn, Germany, this week, followed the next day by a short working session of the preparatory commission charged with getting it up-and-running. The brainchild of renewable advocate Germany, with strong backing from Denmark and Spain, IRENA is intended to raise the profile […]
DR & Central America Agree on Common Health, Pharma Policies/Programs
Saturday, January 31st, 2009It doesn’t get much attention outside this corner of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), but the annual Meeting of the Health Sector of Central America and the Dominican Republic (Reunión del Sector Salud de Centro América y República Dominicana – RESSCAD) is quietly doing important work to change health policy among its seven member […]
Wal-Mart to Reduce Phosphates in Detergents, Promote Sustainable Packaging in Americas / Compromiso de Wal-Mart reducir fosfatos en detergente, promover envase más sustentables en las Américas
Monday, January 26th, 2009From Wal-Mart: Wal-Mart Americas Aims to Reduce Detergent Phosphates 70% Company makes commitment to more sustainable packaging in the region Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. committed today to reduce phosphates in laundry and dish detergents in the Americas region by 70 percent by 2011. Wal-Mart also announced plans to accelerate its drive toward more sustainable packaging in […]
What the Other Guy Blogs About: Wind Energy in Central America
Monday, January 19th, 2009The Panama Post has published online an excellent overview of the current state of development of wind power in Central America, particularly eight new projects slated for Guatemala, one for El Salvador, six in Honduras, four in Nicaragua and five new ones in Costa Rica. My only quibble with the article: at the end of […]
New IDB Financing Facility for Sugar & Bioenergy / Nova Linha de Financiamento do BID para Açúcar e Bioenergia / Nueva facilidad de financiamento del BID para azúcar y bioenergía
Friday, January 16th, 2009From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): IDB backs $150 million Regional Financing Facility for Sugar and Bioenergy Program will focus on northeastern Brazil, Mexico and Central America The Inter-American Development Bank will support the establishment of a $150 million facility to provide short-term trade financing and medium-term investment loans to sugar and bioenergy companies and […]
Wal-Mart’s Plastic Bag Reduction Strategy in Central America
Thursday, January 15th, 2009Wal-Mart Central America is pursuing an interesting strategy to achieve its announced target of a 50% reduction in plastic bag use in its more than 500 stores in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua by 2013. Whereas its brethren in Brazil have elected to offer discounts for consumers bringing their own alternatives to […]
The Ecoclubs Movement in Latin America and the Caribbean
Friday, January 2nd, 2009A couple of years back, while I was working on a series of posts for the Green Team about Dominican cities attempting to come to grips with their litter problems, I ran into some local news posts about how the mayor of La Vega attributed some of his success in cleaning up that city to […]
“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!), […]
Progress Towards the Health MDGs in LAC / Progreso hacia los ODM relacionado con la salud en ALC
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008Recently 14 United Nations (UN) agencies* released a report (English, Spanish) reviewing the status of efforts of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations toward meeting the health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The report addresses the following health-specific MDGs: reducing the under-five mortality rate by 2/3 between 1990 and 2015; reducing the maternal mortality ratio by […]
Improving Water and Sanitation Services in Greater Managua / Mejorando servicios de agua y saneamiento en el área metropolitana de Managua
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008From the World Bank: US$40 Million to Improve Water and Sanitation Services Project benefits low-income population in Managua The World Bank’s Board of Directors approved yesterday a US$20 million grant and a US$20 million credit to the Nicaraguan government. The funds will be used to increase access to reliable water and sanitation services for the […]