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Loading ...A Unique Environmental Institution
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009Right now, until 05 February, environmental groups across Brazil are electing their representatives on the National Environment Council (Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente – CONAMA). The more than 500 environment nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the Environment Ministry’s (MMA) National Registry of Environmental Entities (Cadastro Nacional de Entidades Ambientalistas – CNEA) are voting for which individuals […]
Minas’ New State Waste Law Features Take-Back
Sunday, January 18th, 2009Last week the governor of Minas Gerais (MG) signed the State Solid Waste Policy Law. The Law’s 57 articles establish the principles, guidelines, goals and instruments for the correct management of waste, and defines the obligations of different waste generators and the users of urban sanitation services. Minas is not the first Brazilian state to […]
Trash Photos XIV: From Used Tires to Furniture
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009I’ve mentioned here in the past my constant struggle with having more to blog about than I have time to blog, and the resulting build-up of a long backlog queue of post drafts, some of them dating back to the early days of The Temas Blog. This post, I am ashamed to admit, is one […]
ADS Quiere Cambios en Ley Sobre Reciclaje de Neumáticos
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008Desde la Autoridad de Desperdicios Solidos (ADS): URGEN CAMBIOS A LA “LEY DE MANEJO DE NEUMÁTICOS” En Puerto Rico se desechan alrededor de 18,000 neumáticos diarios (aproximadamente 4.7 millones anuales), los cuales son generados por las 3,400 gomeras registradas alrededor de la isla. La mayoría de los neumáticos son recogidos, procesados, exportados y reciclados por […]
US-Mexico State Partnership on Climate Change & Air Pollution?
Friday, September 26th, 2008Last month Mexico’s Environment Secretary, Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada, suggested even closer cooperation on climate change and air pollution issues between the states on both sides of the US-Mexico border. Speaking at the Border Governors Conference in Hollywood, California, Elvira Quesada proposed that the six Mexican border states (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Sonora, […]
A Solid Waste Plan for Costa Rica
Friday, July 18th, 2008Recently Costa Rica was presented its long-awaited Solid Waste Plan (PRESOL) by the entities belonging to the Inter-Institutional Platform of the Competitiveness and Environment Program (CYMA): the Health Ministry (MinSalud), the Planning Ministry (Mideplan), the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Institute for Municipal Development and Advice (Instituto de Fomento y Asesoria Municipal – […]
Bahia to Adopt Paraná’s Zero Waste Program Model
Saturday, October 13th, 2007I’ve mentioned here several times the innovative Zero Waste Program (Programa Desperdício Zero) of the southern Brazilian state Paraná, such as how it applies to glass recycling, pesticide packaging, aseptic packaging and finding new ways to reuse/recycle plastic (PET) bottles (such as building solar water heaters). At some point I should do a comprehensive post […]
Tetra-Pak Chooses to Deal
Thursday, July 26th, 2007Synopsis in English: In May the environment officials of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná called in Tetra Pak officials and told them to come up with a proposal to solve the post-consumer waste problem in that state associated with their long-life (aseptic) packaging — or face drastic action by the government, such as banning […]
WHO Calls for Combatting Occupational Cancers
Sunday, April 29th, 2007Yesterday was World Day for Safety and Health at Work. Although the WHO press release reproduced below has a global scope, its message is very relevant for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). There are still some LAC nations that do not have comprehensive occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation, some which have not banned […]
Clean Shores I: International Coastal Clean-Up Day in LAC
Tuesday, October 10th, 2006ICC in St. Maarten / Photo: Rajesh Chintaman In my prior series on protecting coral reefs, I underlined the importance of keeping coastlines and coastal waters clear of trash/debris. In this first segment of a two parter on “clean shores,” I will examine the efforts of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to sensitize the public around the […]