The Temas Blog

Computer Take-Back in Rio de Janeiro / A Lei Sobre E-lixo do Municipio de Rio de Janeiro

Keith R — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 02:44:21 +0000

Last week the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro (MRJ) (population 6 million) became the first major Brazilian city to adopt an e-waste law. The law is rather short and simple. It requires manufacturers and suppliers of computers to receive in their offices, branches or headquarters in the City “obsolete” computers discarded by consumers. The Law defines [...]

Eye on Ads: Latin American Idol Urges Paper, Tetra-Pak Recycling

Keith R — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:38:32 +0000

An interesting ad from Panama, featuring Margarita Henriquez Vuela, the 2008 Latin American Idol winner (this is the Latin American version of the hit US television contest, American Idol) from Panama. Paper packaging manufacturers and Tetra-Pak, the lead manufacturer of aseptic packaging, are pushing a recycling campaign with Margarita as one of their spokespersons. Related Posts:Taking [...]

Ceará Adopts Lamp and Battery Take-Back Law

Keith R — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:39:40 +0000

Yesterday the governor of the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará (CE) signed a law that would require the take-back of fluorescent lamps, batteries and piles. The very brief and simple law requires vendors of such products in the state to provide collection bins on their premises for consumers to drop off those at the end of [...]

$22 Mil. Loan to Help Guatemala’s Protected Areas / Prestamo de US$22 milliones para fortalecer las áreas protegidas de Guatemala

Keith R — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:16:19 +0000

From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Guatemala strengthens protections for sensitive areas through investments in land registration A $22 million IDB loan will finance the implementation of a physical cadastral registry for protected areas Guatemala will bolster its national network of protected areas by improving its land registration system with a $22 million loan from the Inter-American Development [...]

Still Possible to Challenge Projects on Environmental Grounds in Trinidad

Keith R — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 02:33:52 +0000

Just read an interesting article in IPS News about the latest development in community efforts in Trinidad to stop plans for two aluminum smelters on the island. Trinidad’s High Court quashed the Environmental Management Authority’s (EMA) grant of a Certificate of Environmental Clearance (CEC) for the construction by Alutrint of a smelter in La Brea. Alutrint [...]

IDB Supports LAC Efforts to Combat A(H1N1) / BID apoya esfuerzas de ALC combatir el gripe A(H1N1) / BID apoia ALC combatir a influenza A(H1N1)

Keith R — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:31:36 +0000

From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): IDB provides support for prevention and control of the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic in Latin America, Caribbean Japan top donor in Bank’s contribution to project aimed at strengthening disease surveillance and improving response to public health emergencies, to focus initially in Central America The Inter-American Development Bank approved today a $5 million grant [...]

São Paulo’s Car Emissions Inspection Regime Unconstitutional?

Keith R — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:47:45 +0000

Stuck in a hotel lobby in the City of São Paulo, waiting since dawn to be allowed to check in my room, I have been catching up on my reading on Latin America environment, health and consumer affairs, in both electronic and print formats. One of the electronic tidbits I found involves this very city: [...]

The Largest Basin Clean-up Loan in Latin America

Keith R — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:39:34 +0000

From the World Bank: World Bank: Approves Largest Sanitation Operation in Latin America for US$840 Million to Clean the Matanza-Riachuelo River Basin in Argentina The Board of Directors of the World Bank today approved a loan for US$840 million in support of the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Sustainable Development project. The loan will support the government’s Integrated Basin Cleanup [...]

São Paulo Adopts a WEEE Law

Keith R — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 00:19:51 +0000

The state assembly of the state of São Paulo (SP) today passed a law on “technological trash” (lixo tecnológico) that is likely to have a significant impact on the electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) product and component business in Brazil. SP is Brazil’s biggest EEE market and home to much of its EEE industry, and [...]

An Online Database of Marine Protected Areas / Un base de datos online sobre las áreas marinas protegidas

Keith R — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 22:48:34 +0000

From the UN Environment Programme (UNEP): UNEP launches new online system to view and study the world’s marine protected areas UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK At a time when the world’s oceans are facing unprecedented pressures from human impacts in the marine environment, a new decision-making tool is being launched to provide the most current [...]