South America

"Rio Water Pollution Suspected as Cause of 13 U.S. Rowers' Illnesses"

"RIO DE JANEIRO - Thirteen rowers on the 40-member U.S. team came down with stomach illness at the World Junior Rowing Championships - a trial run for next summer's Olympics - and the team doctor said she suspected it was due to pollution in the lake where the competition took place."

Source: AP, 08/12/2015

Pope, in Ecuador, Urges More Protection of Rain Forest and Its People

"QUITO, Ecuador — Pope Francis on Tuesday called for increased protection of the Amazon rain forest and the indigenous people who live there, declaring that Ecuador must resist exploiting natural riches for “short-term benefits,” an implicit rebuke of the policies of President Rafael Correa."

Source: NY Times, 07/08/2015
August 7, 2015

DEADLINE: IRP Reporting Trip to Ecuador

The International Reporting Project (IRP) invites applications for an expenses-paid group reporting trip on health and development issues in Ecuador on October 18-29, 2015. Apply by Aug 7.

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"Taps Start to Run Dry in Brazil’s Largest City"

"SÃO PAULO, Brazil — Endowed with the Amazon and other mighty rivers, an array of huge dams and one-eighth of the world’s fresh water, Brazil is sometimes called the “Saudi Arabia of water,” so rich in the coveted resource that some liken it to living above a sea of oil. But in Brazil’s largest and wealthiest city, a more dystopian situation is unfolding: The taps are starting to run dry."

Source: NY Times, 02/17/2015

"Climatologists Balk as Brazil Picks Skeptic for Key Post"

"RIO DE JANEIRO — Calling Aldo Rebelo a climate-change skeptic would be putting it mildly. In his days as a fiery legislator in the Communist Party of Brazil, he railed against those who say human activity is warming the globe and called the international environmental movement 'nothing less, in its geopolitical essence, than the bridgehead of imperialism.'"

Source: NY Times, 01/07/2015

"South American Commodity Boom Drives Deforestation And Land Conflicts"

"A commodity boom has helped pull millions out of poverty across South America over the past decade. It has also unleashed a new scramble for oil, minerals and cropland that is accelerating deforestation and fueling a new wave of land conflicts from Colombia to Chile."

Source: Wash Post, 01/01/2015

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