In a world of higher electricity demand growth, clean electricity is stepping up to the challenge. Spearheaded by exponential solar expansion, clean power is set to grow faster than demand, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation. 2024 both clarified and consolidated the shape of the global …
The worldwide decline in amphibians has been attributed to several causes, especially habitat loss and disease. We identified a further factor, namely "habitat split"
The World Trade Organization (wto) ruled on October 15 that the us has failed to bring subsidies and export credit guarantees to its cotton farmers in conformity with wto rulings. The ruling is a major victory for Brazil and four West African countries
Smallest vehicle segments are gaining popularity Nearly 40 per cent of the Chinese market is A and B segment. The B segment will increase by around 30 per cent till 2012 In Brazil about 50 per cent of household will be able to buy cars by 2012. Low-cost cars will …
us President George W Bush has announced a climate meeting for the end of September. The announcement comes at a time when there is already a un-led initiative to hammer out an agreement on emission targets after the expiry of Kyoto Protocol, and must been seen as another instance of …
>> Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary The 11th Hour opened in theatres on August 17. The film starts with a bleak outlook on issues like global warming. Much of the roughly 90-minute movie is, however, not bleak. It suggests ways to heal the environment with human, government and corporate action. >> Ushuaia …
The Brazilian government recently reached an agreement with the producers of the HIV/AIDS drug Kaletra to reduce its price by 29.5 per cent. Following the deal, Thailand has also demanded higher cuts than those in Brazil from the drug's producers Abbott Laboratories Inc. The cost per patient per year for …
There was a time when officious scientists held out climate change warnings and boisterous activists would take the issue out on to the streets. They still do that. But increasingly, celebrities are also warming up to climate change. On July 7, pop stars and a panoply of celebrities lent their …
The river Amazon, not the Nile, is the world's longest river, claims a group of Brazilian scientists. Scientists from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics have recently traced the Amazon's source to a snow-capped mountain in southern Peru. The Amazon, though the world's largest river by volume, is believed …
This article is based on extracts from a recent report published by the World Alliance for Decentralised Energy (WADE) entitled 'Concrete Energy Savings'. The WADE report establishes that significant untapped potential for onsite power in the cement industry remains despite the many benefits it offers, both to society in general …
The more stringent environmental quality specifications for oil products worldwide are tending to step up energy use and, consequently, CO2 emissions at refineries. In Brazil, for example, the stipulated reduction in the sulfur content of diesel and gasoline between 2002 and 2009 should increase the energy use of Brazil's refining …
India's retail sector's estimated worth is US $350-380 billion. About US $15 billion of this is in organised retail chains. Although the retail boom in India started quite late, the growth rate in the past two years has been very high
Brazil recently issued a compulsory licence that will allow the manufacture of generic versions of a drug, which is used to treat hiv/aids patients. The drug, Sustiva (efavirenz), is marketed as Stocrin by Merck and Co in developing nations. The licence will allow generic versions in spite of Merck's patent …
In November last year, Brazil's National Health Monitoring Agency launched a public debate on regulations that would ban radio and tv advertising for soft drinks and foods with sugar, saturated fat or salt. The government is expected to issue a decree on such measures in June. Brazil is not alone. …
Now that the reality of climate change has been accepted even by its strongest sceptics, there is a rush to find answers. The latest buzz is to substitute the use of greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels with biofuels - fuel processed from plants. Unfortunately, the way we are going about implementing …
in a recent meet in Germany's Potsdam city on March 16-17, 2007, g8 countries and five other major developing countries agreed to launch the Potsdam Initiative aimed at preventing biodiversity loss due to climate change. It was for the first time that developing nations took part in the annual g8-ministerial …
The us and Brazil, which account for more than 72 per cent of global ethanol production, recently finalised a pact to jointly research biofuels and develop standards for their global commercialisation. Presidents George Bush and Luiz In
Brazil's Catholic bishops have condemned the government for its failure to address deforestation in the Amazon. The government was "absent' in combating "predatory development' in the world's largest rainforests, notes a media statement issued by the Brazilian National Bishops' Council. Concerned over the increasing soybean farming in the region, the …
Following illegal logging of mahogany trees across Peru's rainforests, the region's indigenous people , who have no contact with the outside world, are now fleeing their tradition territory and seeking shelter in Brazil along its border with Peru. The Brazilian government tracked them during an aerial inspection of the area. …
