6 Intriguing South American Eco-Stories from August

Below you will find summaries and links to several of the more interesting ecologically-related stories to come out of South American countries in the past month. The list is not meant to be comprehensive or definitive, but hopefully you will find something that teases your interest. Enjoy.

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Location: Brazil

Brazil Wants $21 Billion to Protect the Amazon Rainforest with No Strings Attached via Ecoworldly

Brazil’s choice to launch an international fund to raise money for conservation of the Amazon Rainforest has been controversial. They have publicly stated that they will exclusively manage the use of the money raised by the fund–without receiving input from the countries who donate the money. It will be interesting to see if this fund succeeds a) in raising money and b) in financing means to successfully protect one of the world’s most important ecosystems.

Location: Venezuela

Rabies from Bats Suspected in Venezuelan Deaths via the Associated Press

If you ever wondered if vampire bats are real, this story gives you the answer. While not as fearsome as Hollywood movies might have led you to believe, vampire bats do occasionally bite humans. It generally occurs during the night when people are sleeping, and the vampire bat approaches by hopping along the ground.

Location: Peru

Magnificent Waterfall “Discovered” in Peru– Perhaps One of World’s Tallest via Ecoworldly

A Peruvian explorer has “discovered” an extremely tall waterfall in part of the country’s Amazon Rainforest region. The word “discovered” is in quotes because the waterfall was guarded as a secret by local communities who had known about its existence for a long time, but feared promotion of the attraction would lead to destruction of the area via tourism. An expedition has departed to map, photograph, and measure the waterfall.

Location: Argentina

Buenos Aires to Remove 40 Thousand Billboards to Fight Visual Pollution via Treehugger

It’s great to see a big city in South America (or for that matter anywhere) recognizing the value of landscapes and how they affect our quality of life. It will be interesting to learn whether or not the removal of the billboards will also correlate with a drop in automobile accidents. There is a part of me though that likes billboards in cities, because they can add character in some cases, although usually this isn’t so.

Location: Ecuador

Chevron Lobbies White House to Pressure Ecuador to Stop $12 Billion Amazon Pollution Lawsuit via Democracy Now!

Shame on Chevron for their total disregard for humanity. If you haven’t heard before about how they polluted a region of Ecuador with toxic oil waste creating an “Amazon Chernobyl,” then their efforts to lobby Washington politicians to pressure Ecuador to drop a class action suit against them will make you sick. This article, via transcript from a recorded broadcast, even sheds light on how both John McCain and Barack Obama might be involved in future discussions and decisions regarding this tragedy.

Location: Uruguay

Uruguay is Receiving Free HydroElectric Power from Brazil this Winter– Altruistic Gesture or Ugly Bargain? via Ecoworldly

Energy has become a hot topic across the world these days. It’s nice to see one country lending another a helpful hand. In Uruguay’s case, they have so few energy resources that it makes countries that blunder them look like fools. But when it comes to energy, is there really any such thing as a freebee?

Read More Interesting August Eco-Stories from South America on the Green Options Network:

• Large Wind Power Park Will Be Peru’s First Major Alternative Energy Project
• The First Solar Radio Station in Argentina
• Will Peru Be the World’s Next Big Biodiesel Producer?
• Brazil Will Play Military War Game to Defend Recently Discovered Offshore Oil
• Neighborhood in Lima, Peru Takes on Noise Pollution By Passing 1 Dog Per Apartment Law

Photo Credits:

• BastetAcid on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
• lazlo-photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
• Wikimedia Commons under a GNU Free Documentation license
• Wikimedia Commons under a GNU Free Documentation license
• alex-s on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
• deherrera_96 on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
• ogwen on Flickr under a Creative Commons license

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