Subscribe to My Feed




Tell a Friend




  • Polls

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

    View Results

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

  • 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

    Uruguay Closer to Plastic Bag Law

    Saturday, September 19th, 2009

    This week Uruguay came one step closer to restricting the use of plastic carry bags in the nation’s retail establishments. On the 17th the Chamber of Deputies approved a law that would require all supermarkets, hypermarkets, shopping centers, markets and stores in general to only use carry bags for their merchandise that is either degradable, […]

    Share

    Ceará Limits Public Smoking

    Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

    Today Ceará (CE) became the latest Brazilian state (after São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) to severely restrict smoking in public areas.  The governor signed a law that prohibits smoking any product, whether derived from tobacco or not, in “collective enclosures” except in segregated areas that have a physical barrier separating them from nonsmokers with […]

    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

    Trash Photos XVIII: Fluorescent Lamp Collection in Brasilia

    Thursday, June 18th, 2009

    I’m in Brasilia now, and had some time between meetings, so I wandered through Patio Brasil, one of the shopping centers here.  If times allows, I like to wander through shopping centers in the cities that I visit.  I do it not so much for actual shopping or even window-shopping in the usual sense, but […]

    Share

    Oaxaca Gets a Comprehensive Waste Law

    Friday, June 5th, 2009

    The legislature of the Mexican state of Oaxaca (OX) just sent the governor a gift for World Environment Day: a comprehensive state solid waste law. Since Mexico adopted its federal General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Wastes in 2003, the Federal District (DF) and many states have adopted their own general waste […]

    Share

    SP Governor Proposes Very Tough Smoking Ban

    Thursday, September 4th, 2008

    On August 28 — Brazil’s National Day to Combat Tobacco — José Serra, the Governor of the state with the biggest market in the nation, São Paulo, sent to the state legislature a bill would ban smoking in areas of collective use, whether public or private. The bill looks to be one of the toughest […]

    Share

    Getting Tough About Lamp Take-Back

    Saturday, August 9th, 2008

    Brazil [as have several other Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations] has been wrestling with the issue of proper disposal of fluorescent lamps for some time now. This becomes quite apparent just by browsing the Temas download list of laws and regulations regarding batteries and lamps — there are numerous lamp entries for Brazil, and […]

    Share

    Morelos Gets a Comprehensive Waste Law

    Wednesday, October 10th, 2007

    The central Mexican state of Morelos (home of Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata) just adopted its own comprehensive state solid waste law. Since Mexico adopted its federal General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Wastes in 2003, the Federal District (DF) and many states have adopted their own general waste laws, or else amended […]

    Share

    Jalisco Gets a Waste Law

    Monday, February 26th, 2007

    The Mexican state of Jalisco (JL) just published in its official gazette the text of its recently passed Law on the Integrated Management of Wastes.  Jalisco joins the Federal District (DF) and the states of Colima, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Veracruz in adopting its own waste law to supplement the federal Law for the Prevention and […]

    Share