Our air is becoming toxic due to pollution caused by fossil fuels dependence and energy inefficient buildings, among other factors. All this pollution causes serious health problems that can be magnified by the high temperatures and heat waves produced by climate change. The most affected are children, women, elderly and the poorest populations of developing countries. Now, take a deep breath before reading the following air pollution facts:
By Ana Cristina Barros * One of the tributaries of the Amazon river in Brazil forms a "meeting of the waters" so beautiful it rivals the one with the dark waters of the Rio Negro.
Mexico’s Tabasco and Chiapas states, bordering Guatemala, constitute a highly vulnerable region with high climatic risks.A comprehensive initiative to gather forest and land use data on a threatened biome in Brazil will support conservation measures and contribute to sustainable programs to mitigate GHG emissions. The project, which will be financed by the Forest Investment Program, will encourage the rational utilization of forest resources by fostering production chains of timber and non-timber forest products as well as measuring and adding value to environmental services.
The Brazil FIP Investment Plan will maximize the impact of actions being carried out by the country’s ministries of environment, science and technology, and agriculture to reduce deforestation in the Cerrado biome by improving environmental management in areas already altered by people and by producing and disseminating environmental information. The plan was endorsed by the FIP Sub-committee in May 2012. A vast savanna region that accounts for more than a fifth of Brazil’s territory, the Cerrado is home to many habitats and species as well as indigenous cultures.
Today we celebrate Earth Day. To preserve our planet’s natural resources of is not only a matter for political and international organizations: we can all do our bit by adopting a more sustainable lifestyle. If you also believe in sustainability, here are 10 commandments you can follow. There could be nine, there could be eleven. We do not seek to be dogmatic. Quite the contrary. Sustainability gives meaning to our work, and we ask you to help us promote it in our daily lives.
Today one of the most influential Latin American writers passed away. Internationally known for his book "A hundred years of solitude", Gabriel García Márquez helped us imagine how the lives of our future generations might be like. Holding the IPCC Climate Change Report at hand and imagining the future, we can only hope that our cities' future isn't as bleak as Márquez's Macondo — which was ultimately destroyed by a hurricane.
Sometimes climate change can seem a little abstract. Some of us believe we can only convince our partners with long-term benefits, geeky climate models, strong financial analysis and any kind of scientific tool we may find. But still, climate change projects are about people today. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Haiti working on an agricultural project to be implemented in the area of Boucle Artibonite.Sustainability is, thankfully, becoming a widespread concept in many industries. In the industrial design field, there are programs that allow you to swap out a material or production technique and factor their different environmental impacts.
