Image of the Day: Stomach of sea turtle ulcerated by plastic pollution [graphic]

By Sandra Kinnaman Nordström28 October 2015 (Facebook) – This week I am travelling around in Brazil and lecturing about Zero Waste, The Good Talents, and the opportunities in switching to a circular economy. With me on this trip I have lots of inspiring people that are experts in their fields. Charles Moore is a famous […]

A megacity without water: São Paulo’s drought

By Jon Gerberg13 October 2015 (TIME) – The biggest city in the Western hemisphere is facing its greatest water crisis in over 80 years — and climate change is only part of the problem. Millions of residents in São Paulo, Brazil face daily water shutoffs unless the city manages its water better. It is not […]

Deforestation and drought – ‘The pace of change is far outpacing our understanding of what the change is doing, and by the time we do understand it’s probably going to be too late”

By Jim Robbins9 October 2015 (The New York Times) – Like California, much of Brazil is gripped by one of the worst droughts in its history. Huge reservoirs are bone dry and water has been rationed in São Paulo, a megacity of 20 million people; in Rio; and in many other places. Drought is usually […]

A third of cacti facing extinction due to human encroachment, study finds – ‘The scale of the illegal wildlife trade, including trade in plants, is much greater than we previously thought’

5 October 2015 (AFP) – Thirty-one percent of cacti, some 500 species, face extinction due to human encroachment, according to the first global assessment of the prickly plants, published Monday. The finding places the cactus among the most threatened taxonomic groups on Earth, ahead of mammals and birds and just behind corals, according to the […]

Graph of the Day: Phosphorus emissions of world cities

18 November 2014 (Urban Water Blueprint) – Impacts on water quality are not limited to sedimentation rates. As watersheds are exploited for agricultural purposes, and as agriculture turns intensive, the use of fertilizers increases and more fertilizers end up in the water. The two most common nutrients that cause problems are excessive phosphorus and nitrogen, […]

Brazil’s São Francisco River lowest in a century – ‘The river was never like this. It is green and without force.’

[Translation by Bing.] By André Martins 14 September 2015 (O Globo) – The drought, the worst in a century in the São Francisco River, affects the lives of Brazilians of all ages and backgrounds who live in cities or villages bordering the river. The problems range from difficulty in taking care of the Earth up […]

Global drought: why is no one discussing fresh water at Cop21?

By Katherine Purvis16 September 2015 (The Guardian) – Around the world, fresh water supplies are drying up: California in the US and São Paulo in Brazil are enduring historic droughts, groundwater sources have been plundered in south Asia, and globally more than 750 million people lack access to safe drinking water. The global fresh water […]

Brazil water utility cut to junk by Moody’s amid São Paulo drought

By Dimitra DeFotis4 September 2015 (Barron’s) – Moody’s Investors Service said in a note this week that the credit rating of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s drought-starved water utility Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de São Paulo or Sabesp (SBS) is at risk. As the Brazilian real stumbles lower against the dollar, shares of Sabesp, the […]

Why are Brazil’s environmentalists being murdered? ‘Magnates buy off local politicians and policemen, and kill anyone who challenges their agricultural practices’

By Michael E. Miller 27 August 2015 (Washington Post) – The killers came from the forest, the very same forest Raimundo Santos Rodrigues so loved. The environmentalist had spent years defending one of the last pristine swathes of the eastern Amazon rain forest from loggers, miners and farmers. But his activism had earned him enemies […]

Brazil’s special forces wage uphill fight against Amazon destroyers – ‘These people are causing incalculable environmental damage’

By Vincent Bevins10 July 2015 (Los Angeles Times) – Carrying guns and wearing jungle fatigues, the three men don’t look like scientists as they push their way through the thick foliage of the Amazon. They’re trying to reach a clearing they’ve seen on satellite images. When they finally get there, they discover that the largest […]

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