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Loading ...RIACT Focuses on Smoke-Free Environments
Thursday, December 25th, 2008Recently the Ibero-American Tobacco Control Network (Rede Ibero-Americana de Controle do Tabagismo – RIACT) held in Rio de Janerio its first full-fledged meeting since its creation in 2007. Attending the two-day meeting were representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The […]
Dengue on the Rise Again / Dengue Avance de Nuevo
Friday, October 12th, 2007If you’ve ever had dengue before, you can testify to its agony. My wife got it from a mosquito while we lived in Santo Domingo in the late 1990s, and for a week she experienced fiery pain in every joint and muscle, a steady headache and fever that will not respond to any medicines. She […]
Toward a National Waste Exchange for Brazil
Thursday, October 4th, 2007Recently Brazil's National Confederation of Industry (CNI) pulled together a meeting in Curitiba, Paraná (PR) of officials from Brazil's existing 12 state waste exchanges operated by state industry associations. Also attending were industry representatives from Argentina, Paraguay and Portugal. The focus of discussion: a CNI proposal to link the exchanges electronically and create a de […]
World Heart Day – Are You Caring for Your Heart?
Saturday, September 29th, 2007Tomorrow, Sunday, 30 September, is World Heart Day. How well are you taking care of your heart? The World Heart Federation (WHF), a small NGO based in Geneva, Switzerland, created the annual campaign in the year 2000 to increase public awareness of the threat of heart disease and stroke and the importance of a heart-healthy […]
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, […]
Country Profiles of Environmental Burden of Disease for LAC
Friday, August 3rd, 2007Several weeks ago the World Health Organization (WHO) released what it billed as "the first ever country-by-country analysis of the impact environmental factors have on health." It phrased it that way ("country-by-country") because it released a more global analysis of the issue last year — in fact, that report was the subject of one of […]
IDB Solicits Proposals for “Regional Public Goods” to Fund / BID solicita para propuestas promover “bienes públicos regionales”
Friday, July 27th, 2007The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has issued its call for proposals for its fourth round of funding what it calls “regional public goods.” Every year the IDB provides up to US$10 million to finance selected proposals to support collective solutions for common or cross-border challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) that can be […]
Consumer Protection in LAC II-B – Consumer Legislation in LAC Nations
Tuesday, April 17th, 2007To make up for missing World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), I promised to give you a five-part overview of consumer protection in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In Part I, I looked at how consumer agencies and consumer NGOs in the region celebrated the Day. In Part II-A, I provided an overview of […]
LAC Use of Biotech Crops Grew in 2006
Saturday, January 20th, 2007The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) just released its annual “brief” on growth of genetically engineered crops (“biotech crops”) worldwide, covering 2006. While the full report must be purchased, the executive summary is quite detailed and is available for download in several languages, including English, Spanish and Portuguese. Among other things, […]
Parque Nacional do Iguaçu será o primeiro do mundo a receber o ISO 14001
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007Synopsis in English: Brazil’s Environment Ministry (MMA) says that Brazil is about to have the world’s first national park to receive the ISO 14001 environmental management certification. Iguaçu National Park, which includes the famous breathtaking waterfalls on the border with Argentina and Paraguay, is due to receive ISO 14001 certification in March. In order to […]