Tierramérica

Issue of September, 16, 2006



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Illustration of what the ozone hole over the South Pole looked like on Sep. 10, based on data from a NASA satellite.
Credit: NASA)

Report
60 Years to Restore the Ozone Layer Over Antarctica
By Stephen Leahy
The ozone layer is recovering almost everywhere, but over Antarctica the process will take until 2065. "We cannot take the ozone layer for granted," says the director of UNEP, the global environmental authority.

An ethanol pump in the United States, which imports this biofuel from Brazil.
Credit: Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.

Accents
Biofuel Boom Sparks Environmental Fears
By Mario Osava
Many countries in Latin America seek to emulate Brazil's use of ethanol and biodiesel. But environmentalists warn that intense deforestation is often the result of the expansion of these otherwise more eco-friendly fuels.

Eco-Briefs

BRAZIL: Pesky El Niño Returns
The cyclical climate phenomenon known as El Niño will return at the end of theyear, but will lack the strong intensity if had in 1997-1998, when it triggered droughts and devastating fires in Brazil, say meteorologists here.

Aguará-Guazú
Credit: Sergio Minini.

URUGUAY: The Return of the Aguará-Guazú
The reappearance in Uruguay of an "aguará-guazú", or maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the first one sighted here in 16 years, could help finance a study of this canid species.

VENEZUELA: Volunteers Clean Up 300 Beaches
Some 20,000 volunteers took part in a beach clean-up Sep. 16 in Venezuela, targeting 300 areas along the Caribbean, as well as around lakes and riverbanks, coinciding with the end of school vacation.

CHILE: Indians Fight Garbage Dumps
A dozen representatives of indigenous Mapuche communities in Chile's Araucanía region charged that they are the target of racism and discrimination by the authorities who set up 19 garbage dumps less than one kilometer from their homes.

HONDURAS: Journalists Launch New Environmental Award
A small association of journalists in the Honduran interior has announced the creation of the "Bellota de Oro" (Golden Acorn), an award to recognize efforts to defend the environment.

CUBA: Eco-Gardens Outside Your Door
Several vacant lots in central and heavily populated areas of 14 of Havana's 15 municipalities have been refurbished for "organoponic" gardening as part of an urban agriculture program for 2006 in the Cuban capital.

ITALY: Ant Farming Is Good Business
In the northern Italian hills of Ascoli, beekeeper Emidio Ferreti is raising ants to sell them at market. The ants are used for fighting other crop-destroying insects, pollinating olive trees, and even for filming movie scenes.

Lessons From a Unique Decade - José Graziano da Silva *
Rio+20 and Beyond: Together for a Sustainable Future - José Graziano da Silva *
Why Inclusive Green Growth Can Sustain Recent Gains in Latin America - Hasan Tuluy*
The Global Food Crisis and the Latin American Paradox - Pamela Cox