I admit it is hard to keep your head cool when you read such news, and this despite having discovered the power of positive psychology. To a new study the world has lost ten percent of its wilderness in as little as 25 tiny years…
Tag: South America
Good news from Brazil, and no it is not the Olympics
Last week the Brazilian Senate ratified the Paris Agreement, making it one step closer to make this major climate change mitigation effort a reality. Brazil is the sixth world biggest carbon emitter and the biggest to ratify to date.
Uruguay to invest $2.6 billion in Wind energy
The drought that is affecting Brazil so much is also undermining Uruguay and its large dependance on hydro energy ( 74 percent of local electricity ). The current alternative to hydro is oil. So the country will invest $2.6 billion ( 2.3 billion euros ) in wind energy in the next couple of years.
Peru to have 60 percent renewables by 2025
Currently in Lima, Peru, is taking place the 20th Conference of the Parties. It is an important event as the talks on our future climate are taking place there. In margin of these, the host country made some announcements.
Chile is preparing a carbon tax
It seems taxing carbon is becoming a really popular idea as Chile is the latest to consider it as Reuters reported recently. The country would be the first to do so in South America and the second in Latin America after Mexico. As Climate Progress reports, this tax would concern only utilities and thermal plants… Continue reading Chile is preparing a carbon tax
Latin America moves forward on renewable energy
While I write mostly about the United States, Europe or China, a lot is happening in other regions of the world. An example of this is the growth of renewable energy sources in Latin America. Lately, I have come across a few large projects in this region. In Chile, a 300 MW solar project worth… Continue reading Latin America moves forward on renewable energy
The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid
While reading Richard Branson’s latest book, Screw Business As Usual, I came across an interesting concept : the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. The term refers to the basic goods and services to sell to the poorest people. To a report from the World Resources Institute quoted in Branson’s book, the Bottom of… Continue reading The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid
Buenos Aires switches to LED lights, saves money
The capital city of Argentina, Buenos Aires, have switched its 125,000 streetlights to LED. This will cut energy consumption by half and will last five times longer. With 13 million inhabitants, it is the second largest city in South America. To TreeHugger : ” That’s just one city. It’s estimated that if cities around the… Continue reading Buenos Aires switches to LED lights, saves money
Deforestation in Brazil bumps up
Even if there have been many good news on the environmental fronts in the past few months, there are still some bad ones. While deforestation of the Amazon rainforest had been drastically reduced since 2004, it seems it increased last year. As Treehugger reports : “According to the Brazilian forest monitoring agency which uses satellite… Continue reading Deforestation in Brazil bumps up
Brazilian forestry code changes get vetoed
As deforestation in the Brazilian part of the Amazon rainforest was hitting its lowest levels in over two decades, some special interests had introduced to the local Congress some law to change that. Luckily, environmental organizations has been campaigning to avoid those catastrophic changes. Celebrities joined in too… Even more fortunately, the Brazilian President –… Continue reading Brazilian forestry code changes get vetoed
Chevron to pay $18 billion to Ecuador
To Reuters : ” An Ecuadorean appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Chevron Corp should pay $18 billion in damages to plaintiffs who accused the U.S. oil giant of polluting the Amazon jungle and damaging their health. “ ” A judge ordered Chevron to pay $8.6 billion in environmental damages last February, but… Continue reading Chevron to pay $18 billion to Ecuador
The much lesser known Amazon oil spill
The French daily Le Figaro publishes a translation of the best New York Times articles each Friday. This enabled me to come accross another huge oil spill, this time located in Ecuador, South America. During three decades Texaco operated more than 300 oil wells without taking any notice of environmental issues. As a result the company… Continue reading The much lesser known Amazon oil spill