Subscribe to My Feed




Tell a Friend




  • Polls

    How Is My Site? / ¿Cómo es mi sitio web?

    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...
  • Recent Comments:

  • « Previous Entries

    A Computer Waste Bill for Rio Grande do Sul

    Friday, October 2nd, 2009

    A bill on information technology (IT) waste has been introduced in the state legislative of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS) that is similar to a law adopted in 2008 by its neighbor, Paraná. The bill would require producers, distributors and vendors of “informatic equipment” to create and maintain programs for […]

    Share

    More Brazilian States Opt for Smoke-Free Environments

    Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

    The push for smoke-free environments continues to march across Brazilian states — how long before federal legislators decide to extend such protections nationwide? Today the governors of the southern state of Paraná (PR) and the western state of Amazonas (AM) signed new tobacco control laws, joining Ceará (CE), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and São Paulo […]

    Share

    A WEEE Bill for Amazonas

    Saturday, September 26th, 2009

    This week Amazonas (AM) became the latest state in which a bill on  “technological trash” (lixo tecnologico or e-lixo) – the Brazilians nickname for what is known elsewhere as WEEE or e-waste — has been introduced. Unlike bills recently introduced in the northeastern states of Bahia and Pernambuco, which are based primarily on a Law on […]

    Share

    São Paulo to Ban 14 Pesticides?

    Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

    I’ve mentioned in the past that Brazilian states sometimes get impatient waiting for the federal government to act on environmental issues and elect to take their own action, which eventually prods the feds into action (sometimes because industry complains about conflicting state rules on the same subject). It looks that may be about to happen […]

    Share

    Brazil Launches Unparalled Study of Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes

    Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

    Diseases of the circulatory system are the leading cause of death in Brazil. According to the Health Ministry (MS) there are 300,000 deaths and over one million hospitalizations per year, and hypertension and diabetes mellitus are major risk factors. Hypertension affects approximately 35% of the Brazilian population over the age of 40 years and of […]

    Share

    Sam’s Club to Sell Fair Trade Certified Coffee from Brazil

    Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

    From Walmart: Sam’s Club Introduces New Fair Trade Certified Coffee from Brazil Brazilian coffee farmers link with mass market coffee consumers Today, Walmart, TransFair USA, SEBRAE-Minas Gerais and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that a new Fair Trade Certified coffee from Brazil will be sold to Sam’s Club members across the country. […]

    Share

    Directional Signals in Brazilian Federal Waste Policy

    Monday, August 17th, 2009

    A body most people have never heard of, part of a larger organization many people do not know or understand, met today and took a series of decisions that will help shape new directions in waste policy in Brazil. The larger organization many do not know and a good many do not understand is Brazil’s […]

    Share

    A Smokeless Rio?

    Monday, August 17th, 2009

    If you’ve ever been to Rio de Janeiro (RJ), you know that it’s not exactly a nonsmoker’s paradise.  Despite all the health warnings and studies issued over the years, quite a bit of smoking still occurs in public places within the state. Not for much longer. Or at least that’s the stated legislative intent of […]

    Share

    Toward Brazilian Environmental Norms for Electro-Electronics

    Saturday, August 15th, 2009

    Several jurisdictions in Brazil — most notably the States of São Paulo (SP) and Mato Grosso (MT), and the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (MRJ) — have recently adopted e-waste laws, and several states look interested in following suit (here, here and here). There’s rumors that the National Environment Council (CONAMA) will soon decide to […]

    Share

    Toward an ISO Energy Management Standard

    Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

    Last week in Rio de Janeiro and yesterday in São Paulo, Eletrobrás and the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) co-hosted workshops to try to get Brazilian business more actively involved in the process now underway in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to develop an international standard for energy management, ISO 50001.  One of […]

    Share
    « Previous Entries