Brazil
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Chevron admits that it hasn’t been able to stop the Brazil oil leak
Remember how last month Chevron spilled more than 100,000 gallons of oil off the coast of Brazil? The oil industry likes us to think that spills like this are no big deal: They'll clean that right up! But this spill's not following that script. The company tried to plug the offending well with cement, but […]
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Critical List: Brazil notices oil drilling has consequences; bikes made out of wood
Brazil discovers that oil drilling is not good for the environment. Also, Congress is kicking renewable energy to the curb the way a mean person would a really cute puppy. Like these. Oh, wait, don't buy those, they came from puppy mills. People collectively put their fingers in their ears and go LA LA LA […]
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Amazon deforestation decreasing … but not for long
Despite reports of localized deforestation and violence against rainforest activists, a study on deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon found that the number of square kilometers disappearing each year has hit a record low. But politics has a way of screwing up progress like this, and Brazilian politicians are voting today to weaken the forest code […]
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Chevron on Brazil spill: ‘Oh whoops, our bad’
Earlier this month, an oil well that Chevron was drilling off the coast of Brazil sprung a leak, and as many as 110,000 gallons of oil have spread over the sea bed and into the ocean. Chevron didn’t even notice at first — Brazil's state oil company had to sound the alarm about the spill, […]
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Critical List: Protesting a Chinese solar plant’s pollution; Solyndra will never go away
Solar power isn’t all rainbows and puppies. In China, protesters have spent the past few days outside a solar panel plant, which they say polluted a nearby river.
A U.S. wind turbine company is suing a Chinese company for paying an employee of American Superconducter more than $1 million to steal wind turbine technology.
China's also put $15 billion into Alberta's tar sands in the past year and a half.
We're going to keep hearing about Solyndra all next year. -
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One billion cars clog traffic worldwide
India and Brazil are also helping to accelerate worldwide auto sales -- and greenhouse-gas emissions.
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Monkeys go on looting spree in Rio
This video is in Portuguese, so just mute it and cue up a bit of old Ludwig Van as you watch sneaky monkey thugs infiltrate a Brazilian home. With humans perpetually up in their business, monkeys in Rio de Janeiro are fighting back by turning to a life of crime.
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Renewable Energy Keeps Growing: Earth Summit in Rio provides an opportunity for even more action
Several new reports released over the past few days show that renewable energy keeps growing, with more countries implementing policies or incentives to spur renewable energy deployment. The studies found that renewable energy accounted for $211 billion in new investments in 2010 – an increase of 32% from the previous year. Next year at the […]
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Ranchers are clearing the Amazon rainforest with Agent Orange
In Brazil, ranchers are opting to use Agent Orange -- one of the most toxic herbicides ever concocted, infamous for its use as a defoliant and de facto weapon during the Vietnam War -- to clear acres of rainforest. It's illegal to clear the forest, but by spraying swaths of trees with Agent Orange, deployed by helicopter, ranchers stand less chance of detection than if they cleared the land by bulldozing or cutting down trees.
