Amazon fires: Brazil accepts extra planes from Chile to fight forest fires

The Amazon includes many more South American countries than just Brazil,which covers about 60% of the Amazon area.

The vast Amazon also includes Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, an overseas region of France.

These other countries, which together control 40 percent of the Amazon will be getting together soon to put forward their own unified plan to fight the raging fires.

Read more at: 

https://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2019/aug/28/brazil-accepts-planes-from-chile-to-fight-amazon-f/

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Peru: Lima number one gourmet capital in Latin America for exceptional food

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https://www.finedininglovers.com/stories/latin-america-50-best-restaurants-peru-story/?utm_source=InstaStory&utm_medium=Storia&utm_campaign=latin-america-50-best-restaurants-peru-story&utm_term=FDL

Energy: The fossil fuel industry’s Jekyll-and-Hyde trick: Back climate reforms while quietly financing lobby to kill them - by Lee Fang

Several fossil fuel interests are here at the United Nations climate negotiations, putting on their best public face in support of reducing carbon emissions. Despite the lofty rhetoric, with some pledging to lead the way in reducing carbon pollution, the same corporate actors are also fueling efforts to block any substantive reforms.

It’s been called the “Jekyll and Hyde Approach to Climate Change.” In other words, businesses are boosting their brand by appearing to support climate reforms, while working to block policies to achieve these goals at very same time.

Republic Report talked to several corporate lobbyists and business representatives at the summit this week about their ties to pressure groups working to block action on carbon reduction in the United States.

The Edison Electric Institute, a lobbying group that represents utility companies, many of which rely on coal-based power plants, is indicative of this approach. The group claims that it is “committed to addressing the challenge of climate change” and says its member companies, including American Electric Power, Duke Energy, Xcel Energy, and others, “have undertaken a wide range of initiatives over the last 30 years to reduce, avoid or sequester GHG emissions.”

But EEI doesn’t just support both sides of the aisle, they support both sides of the moral spectrum on climate change. Brian Wolff, the executive vice president of the group, told us that his organization is a dues-paying member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a group that recently released a slew of anti-environmental template legislation to express support for abolishing the EPA, delaying greenhouse gas-related regulations, and undercut the federal government’s ability to enforce climate change rules, including on power plants.

“There are benefits of having stakeholder engagement,” Wolff contends. “We’re involved with many Republican, Democrat organizations,” said Wolff at an event in Lima sponsored by the European Union pavilion. Wolff told us that he sent a staffer to a recent ALEC conference to see “what is going on there and the action coming up,” but said he could not recall if his representative voted to approve ALEC’s new bills focused on climate change.

Shell Oil plays from a similar script. Shell, also a member of ALEC, was revealed recently in a Bloomberg News investigation to be a donor to a campaign in California to attack the state’s landmark climate law, AB32.

Read more: The fossil fuel industry’s Jekyll-and-Hyde trick: Back climate reforms while quietly financing lobby to kill them - Salon.com

Fishing Industry: Fish farms seek new feed to fend off 'peak salmon' problem - by Khalil Akhtar,

With increasing demand and flatlining production, technological solutions are needed to meet the growing market for seafood.
More and more fish sold for human consumption is farmed, and the UN has said 2014 will be the first year the consumption of farmed fish overtakes that of wild fish.

• Why farmed fish need more veggies in their diet​
• Farming salmon on land is viable, project suggests​

That reality is shaping the salmon industry in unique ways. But with demand rising five to 10 per cent annually over the past few years, traditional salmon production is hitting its limit.

A main issue is the growing demand and limited availability of fish oil and fish meal, ingredients needed to manufacture the food pellets fed to farmed salmon.

Read more: Fish farms seek new feed to fend off 'peak salmon' problem - Canada - CBC News

Latin - America: EU to Eliminate Visa Requirement for Colombians, Peruvians

The European Union reached an accord to eliminate the visa requirement for brief stays by Colombians and Peruvians, the EU delegation in Bogota said Tuesday.

The agreement is a “verbal political decision” that was reached in Strasbourg by the European Parliament, Council and Commission, and must be ratified by the Permanent Representatives Committee, after which the official announcement will be made in Brussels on Wednesday.

“The decision adopted today ratifies the political will of the EU to eliminate the visa requirement for Colombians and gives a green light to beginning the legislative process that will allow the measure to be implemented in the near future,” the bloc’s ambassador to Colombia, Maria Antonia van Gool, said in a communique.

The elimination of the visa requirement for Colombians and Peruvians to visit the Schengen Area, made up of 26 European countries, was proposed last August by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

The date when the decision will take effect has not yet been decided.

Read more: Latin American Herald Tribune - EU to Eliminate Visa Requirement for Colombians, Peruvians

Brazil blames Argentina for delays in EU free trade accord

Brazilian agribusiness leaders are blaming Argentine government policies for delays in concluding a free trade deal with the European Union -- an accusation has come from Brussels as well.

EU negotiators reported frustration in attempts to advance negotiations that both sides see as timely, leading to a deal that will benefit both sides.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed for EU-Latin America free trade talks. A free trade deal with Latin America's largest trade bloc, Mercosur, is seen in Brussels as a potential way out of recession for some of the EU's hard-pressed economies.

Mercosur's impressive demographics and cumulative growth figures are strong stimulants for EU nations seeking new business opportunities. The region has a population of about 276 million and total earnings of $3.47 trillion. An average per capita income of $12,599 translates into a burgeoning consumer market with unrivaled potential, analysts said.

Mercosur founding members are: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay. Venezuela, Associate Member since 2008, became a full member in July 2012. Bolivia and Chile are associate members and Colombia, Ecuador and Peru want to join.

Paraguay's membership is suspended because of Mercosur diplomatic wrangles over a June 2012 government change the regional bloc denounced as a coup. Other regional organizations including the Organization of American States in Washington, disagree over Mercosur's diplomatic isolation of Paraguay.

Brazil blames Argentina for delays in EU free trade accord - UPI.com

Logistica 2013: Free Trade Agreement Peru signed with the EU offers a "huge" business opportunities

The Export Director of the Commission on the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism (PromPerú), Luís Torres Paz, informed that Peru generated around 80 US$ million in business at the recent Fruit Logistica 2013, held in Berlin, Germany, between 6 and 8 February.

He stated that the volume of business experienced a 78% growth compared to last year, when US$ 45 million were generated. "This means we are on the right track, as our products are now more popular," he affirmed, highlighting that at least 10,000 commercial contacts were made.

The products attracting the most attention were asparagus, grapes, citrus, avocados, mangoes and peppers. There was also a big demand for products that Peru is only starting to develop, like pomegranates, blueberries and Cape gooseberries.

For his part, the coordinator of Promperú's Agro Industry Department, William Arteaga Donayre, explained that Europe's growing demand for Peruvian fruit and vegetables has allowed many Peruvian entrepreneurs to expand their markets and analyse trends, giving direction to their investments.

Regarding the Free Trade Agreement Peru signed with the EU, which came into force last Friday, he stated that it offers a "huge" opportunity to continue growing commercially.

Read more: Peru generated US$ 80 million in business at Fruit Logistica 2013

Agriculture: EU-Peru Free trade agreement takes effect

Trade barriers between the EU and Peru were lifted as of 1 March 2013, when the EU's ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement concluded with Peru and Colombia in 2012 will be provisionally applied with Peru. The Agreement will open up markets for both EU and Peruvian exporters eventually bringing annual savings of more than €500m.

In this context, the agreement will substantially improve market access for Dutch and Peruvian exporters. In the long run, exporters of industrial and fisheries products will no longer have to pay customs duties and markets for agricultural products will be opened up considerably.

Besides the trade dimension of the agreement, the new regime will improve investment conditions, providing a stable, transparent, predictable and enforceable business environment.

The Trade Agreement will considerably improve the already increasing business relations between Perú and the Netherlands. This is expected to create significant new opportunities for businesses and consumers on both sides.

The economic bilateral relations between Peru and the Netherlands have greatly expanded in the last decade. The Netherlands has become a Hub for Peruvian exports to Europe, mainly for the agribusiness sector, with a total bilateral trade of nearly 1 billion dollars; the fourth main investor in Perú, with an investment stock of more than 1.5 billion dollars; and the sixth European country with the largest number of tourists visiting Perú, who benefit from the Dutch KLM daily non-stop flights Amsterdam-Lima.

Read more: EU-Peru FTA takes effect

Dutchman Van der Sloot gets 28 years for Peru murder

A Peruvian court on Friday sentenced Dutch national Joran van der Sloot to 28 years in prison for murder of a young woman he met at a Lima casino.

Prosecutors had asked for a 30-year sentence for first-degree murder and theft in the May 30, 2010, killing of Stephany Flores. She died five years to the day after the unsolved disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway on the Caribbean island of Aruba.

The 24-year-old van der Sloot, who pleaded guilty in the Flores death on Wednesday, was also ordered by the Lima court to pay $75,000 in reparations to the family of the 21-year-old victim. He said he reserves the right to appeal.

For more: Van der Sloot gets 28 years for Peru murder - World - CBC News

Guardian.uk: China's President Latin America tour cements Beijing's trade clout

For the complete report from The Guardian click on this link

China's President Latin America tour cements Beijing's trade clout

China's president, Hu Jintao, is leading scores of Chinese business people on a sweep through Latin America to reinforce Beijing's growing economic clout in the region. Hu launched free trade talks on a visit to Costa Rica, before flying to a rapturous reception in Cuba. This week he will also be one of the stars at a Pacific rim summit of 21 nations in Peru. By then, Beijing's delegation will have grown to 600 people, including 12 ministers."China's relations with Latin America and the Caribbean have never been so close," Hu told Peru's El Comercio newspaper. In contrast to Russia's politically charged push into the region - which involves selling arms and challenging US influence - Beijing's focus is on agriculture, raw materials and markets for its exports.

EU-Digest: Flower Industry - How safe are the flowers you are buying

A special EU-Digest report about environmentally unsafe practices by the flower industry

How safe are the flowers you are buying

The flower industry keeps those flowers perfect for our enjoyment with a heavy douse of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, growth hormones, fungicides, and highly toxic pesticides. Imports can have unregistered chemicals or those otherwise banned because of the high costs at stake. If bugs are found in the cargo, the entire lot can be rejected. Studies have found more than 50% more pesticides on flowers than the allowable limit on produce; roses had 1000 times more cancer-causing pesticides than food! The pesticides used are very strong toxic chemicals. They travel to neighboring farms and into their water supply. Many of these chemicals are listed as "category 1" and include the most hazardous of chemicals (Methyl Bromide). Some of these chemicals are known to deplete our ozone layer and cause birth defects. When you touch a chemically treated conventional flower, you get poisons on your skin which can be ingested when you put your hand to your face or your child's face or can even penetrate your body through your skin. When you smell the fragrance, you are also inhaling poisons. Worse yet, the workers (many sorely underpaid) on flower farms and in green houses usually work in toxic environments. Studies show that they are exposed to 60 times the "safe" standard. As you can imagine, the toxic fumes are intensified in green houses! And as the farm hands return from work toxic chemicals also enter their homes and into the lives and bodies of their children and loved ones. But it does not end there. When the flowers are shipped and arrive at their destinations around the world, health hazards can now also enter the home of the consumer. This time with the addition of usually environmentally unfriendly packaging.

Have you ever checked if the packaging or sleeves around the flowers you are buying are made from recyclable and sustainable materials. Like corn-based flower sleeve made from polylactic acid (PLA), a natural, rapidly biodegradable alternative to traditional petroleum based cellophane sleeves used by most flower companies! Are they safe to the environment, can they be recycled? Do the flowers you buy carry a sticker which says that the flowers are eco-friendly and have not been treated with poisonous chemicals?

The next time you buy flowers for someone or for some special occasion, make sure they are not only appealing to the eye, but also carry a label guaranteeing they are eco-friendly. These are all serious questions that need to be addressed by the multi-billion flower industry, which at the moment seems to be burying their head in the sand.