Environment

• Wednesday, April 24th 2013 - 05:49 UTC

  Brazil to the rescue of the sugar-ethanol industry with lower taxes and soft credit

  

  The Brazilian government has come to the rescue of the sugar-ethanol industry announcing that as of next May first the mandatory content of ethanol in gasoline will increase from 20% to 25%, taxes on the sugar-cane fuel will be eliminated and there will be soft loans to keep expansion going.

• Monday, April 22nd 2013 - 08:54 UTC

  Antarctica tour operators hold four-day annual meeting in Punta Arenas

  

  Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile will be hosting until next Thursday the four-day annual meeting of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, IAATO which has a confirmed attendance of over a hundred representatives from the industry.

• Tuesday, April 16th 2013 - 03:30 UTC

  Antarctica summer ice melt at it highest level in 1.000 years

  

  The summer ice melt in parts of Antarctica is at its highest level in 1,000 years, Australian and British researchers reported on Monday, adding new evidence of the impact of global warming on sensitive Antarctic glaciers and ice shelves.

• Tuesday, April 9th 2013 - 02:14 UTC

  US Navy launches latest state-of-the-art oceanographic survey ship

  

  The United States Navy christened and launched its newest oceanographic survey ship, USNS Maury (T-AGS 66), the last of its class at VT Halter Marine’s shipyard in Moss Point, Mississippi.

• Sunday, April 7th 2013 - 23:58 UTC

  Brazil planning agency to manage fluvial ports, waterways and locks

  

  The administration of President Dilma Rousseff is working on the creation of a new agency which will be responsible for Brazil’s fluvial ports and terminals, waterways and locks. The ‘Hidrobras’ project is being drafted by the Ministries of Transport and Planning and will look after shipping in the fluvial system, “which is currently exploited far below its possibilities and potential”.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 08:10 UTC

  Death toll of 54 as torrential rain and flash floods hit La Plata and Buenos Aires

  

  The death toll from the heavy rains and flash floods that have pounded Buenos Aires City and La Plata, capital of the Buenos Aires province have climbed to at least 54, and could increase, Argentine authorities said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, April 4th 2013 - 02:06 UTC

  Expanding Antarctic sea-ice triggers different scientific explanations

  

  Climate change is expanding Antarctica's sea ice, according to a scientific study in the journal Nature Geoscience. The paradoxical phenomenon is thought to be caused by relatively cold plumes of fresh water derived from melting beneath the Antarctic ice shelves.

• Wednesday, April 3rd 2013 - 06:48 UTC

  Buenos Aires collapses after 155mm of rainfall in seven hours flood the city

  

  At least eight people are reported dead after torrential rain and powerful winds battered Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires and surrounding neighbourhoods flooding streets, knocking out power, downing trees and damaging homes and cars, officials said Tuesday. An estimated 350.000 people have been affected by the floods.

• Tuesday, March 26th 2013 - 05:02 UTC

  Brazilian supermarkets will not sell meat from cattle raised in Amazon rainforest

  

  The main group representing supermarkets in Brazil says it will no longer sell meat from cattle raised in the rainforest. The Brazilian Association of Supermarkets, which has 2,800 members, hopes the deal will cut down on the illegal use of rainforest for pasture.

• Friday, March 22nd 2013 - 21:20 UTC

  British Antarctic Survey has a new director: climate expert Professor Jane Francis

  

  Professor Jane Francis has been appointed as the new Director of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). Ms Francis, a geologist by training, is Professor of Palaeoclimatology at the University of Leeds where she is currently Dean of the Faculty of Environment.