By Levi Novey •
April 17, 2009
A project that trained medical personnel to install solar power at hospitals and mobile clinics along the war-torn border of Burma has won the top prize at this year’s Energy Globe environmental awards.
The medical centers provide crucial aid to approximately 200,000 refugees who have fled Burma because of the catastrophic, genocidal efforts of its military-dominated government.
Located in numerous locations along the border of Burma and Thailand, the remote clinics help people with serious injuries and also with basic care. They are often the only source of medical care refugees have. About 1 million displaced people are estimated to be hiding in the heavily land-mined border zone, doing their best to hang on despite the ever-present possibility of violence.
By Jake Richardson •
January 26, 2009
The January 8th, 2009 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern central Costa Rica places the Crucitas gold mine project in a new light. Crucitas is located about 60 miles north of the earthquake’s epicenter so the Crucitas area was not impacted significantly. But could it have been? The Associated Press reported that the 82 mega-watt Cariblanco hydroelectric dam near San Jose was damaged in the earthquake and will be out of operation for one year. Bridges and highways were also destroyed. So it seems only reasonable to wonder how a tailings dam would hold up, especially considering how a release of a huge amount of toxic wastewater after an earthquake could grossly compound the environmental destruction wrought by it.
The Crucitas project outline calls for an open pit operation with a tailings pond for catching the water used in cynidation. Its tailings pond will have a dam crest 80 meters (260 ft.) high and 18 meters wide with some rock lining for erosion protection. Infomine.com’s project summary mentions no infrastructure measures for prevention of a tailings pond dam failure due to an earthquake, and possible aftershocks. The site’s project profile also provides no information about seismic activity in the region. However, the Observatorio Vulcanologico y Sismologico de Costa Rica website states that the area near the proposed gold mine is potentially dangerous: “Historically, the central region of Costa Rica has been very active seismically”.
By Mridul Chadha •
December 26, 2008
Battered by the fluctuating oil prices Nicaragua seeks to tap its renewable energy sources to build a reliable energy sector and reduce its dependence on oil-based energy to merely 3 percent.
By Levi Novey •
July 31, 2008
A new machine that pasteurizes milk by using solar energy was recently installed in Nicaragua, thanks to researchers from the Agrarian University of Nicaragua and Spain’s University of Lérida. The primary goal for the machine is to help communities to save money. With its use of clean energy, it will also help to curtail global warming and perhaps will eventually help Nicaraguans to start new businesses.
Right now, the machine is primarily used like a small factory to make cheese as well as other dairy products. It is currently housed in the Agrarian University of Nicaragua’s Department of Animal Sciences. Solar panels contribute the energy for a mechanical system that heats the milk to 185° Fahrenheit (85° Centrigrade). Approximately 240 liters of milk can produced in 6 hours using the prototype.
The machine’s arrival and its probable success is good news for Nicaragua and many other developing countries. The prototype was made from resources found locally, and will hopefully serve as a model for others who might want to make such a machine from easy to find materials. The design plans for the invention will eventually be made public via the internet.
By Paul Smith •
May 29, 2008
How do you sell $2 CFL lightbulbs in Nicaragua, a country where the average monthly income is $60-$100? If you’re Llamadas Heladas, you do it by directly demonstrating the savings, and appealing to their desire for reliable power. Let me back up. Nicaragua, especially in the rural areas, is a place that largely depends on generators for power. And it often goes out, due to various reasons, including too much power usage. People are quite price conscious there.
Putting those two together, Llamadas Heladas, a company that offers among other things a phone booth on wheels, partnered up with TecnoSol, a local renewable energy company, to promote the use of CFLs during Earth Month. Yes month, they don’t mess around down there. The joint campaign was called No Apagones. Basically, it’s reframing these lights to be a source of less blackouts, due to reduced energy use. They may cost four times a regular lightbulb, but they last 10 times as long, and use less energy, saving you both money and the headaches of power outages. A simple, compelling argument. Watch the video on their site. No Espanol needed, the message is clear.
