A new analysis calculates that vegetation in the world’s tropical regions stores about 229 billion tons of carbon, which is about 21 percent more carbon than previously believed.

Using remote sensing satellite data — including cloud-penetrating LiDAR — and field observations (more…)

A new study of land use in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso shows that deforestation rates decreased significantly from 2006 to 2010 even as agricultural production in the region reached an all-time high. (more…)

A recent auction held by the Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL), resulted in 42 new electricity generation projects with a total installed capacity of 1,211.5 megawatts (MW), to meet the projected demand of distribution companies in 2016. Of this total, 39 projects were wind farms, totaling 976.5 MW, or 81 percent of the total power traded in the (more…)

Fernando de Noronha is one of Brazil’s eco hot spots, famous for its breathtaking geography, surf and marine life. The archipelago lies 220 miles off Rio Grande do Norte state and is a UN World Heritage Site.

An agreement signed on December 26 will bring solar power to the island in 2012, thanks to a new (more…)

Mexico City has announced plans to close one of the world’s largest open-air garbage dumps as part of an initiative to convert more of the city’s waste into reusable materials or energy.

By the end of the year, garbage trucks will no longer be allowed to drop trash at the Bordo Poniente, a (more…)

At the IBM Smarter Cities forum in Rio de Janeiro last week, I had the chance to go behind the scenes and take a first-hand look at Rio’s smart city project. My main impression is that the project represents one of the purest emerging examples of a smart city project that is simultaneously developing smart solutions on (more…)

Another oil spill is taking place in the world right now from an off-shore drilling operation.

The incident was at Chevron’s deep-sea drilling operation off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. The country’s federal police says information released by Chevron does not match what they have seen, that is, the spill is larger, (more…)

The numbers surrounding urbanization worldwide are staggering. In 2008, the number of people living in cities, for the first time in civilization, surpassed the number of people living in rural settings. Although urbanization is happening on every continent, the story could not be more dramatic in (more…)

Four water districts in the western U.S. are working with Mexican officials to develop two huge desalination plants in Playas de Rosarito, a coastal city located in the Mexican state of Baja California, as communities on both sides of the border look to wean themselves from the drought-prone Colorado (more…)

The controversial $10 billion Patagonian HidroAysen hydroelectric mega-dam approved in May by the Chilean government has recently had a Chilean appeals court in Puerto Montt vote 3 to 1 to reject seven lawsuits filed against it, with supporters of blocking it vowing to appeal to the country’s Supreme (more…)