News of environment

'We don't eat lithium': Latin America longs for benefits of metal boon

27-10-2022 18:08 Global demand has exploded for lithium – the "white gold" found in huge quantities in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. But in Latin America's "lithium triangle," there are growing concerns about the impact on regional groundwater sources and doubts about whether the benefits of a metal bonanza will truly local communities near plants, many of whom live in poverty.

Chile to vote on overhauling dictatorship-era constitution

02-09-2022 09:30 Chileans will vote on their country’s future Sunday, for the third time in two years, choosing whether to replace Pinochet-era constitution with new one with aims to enact social change.

Chile President Boric receives draft constitution

04-07-2022 13:22 Chile's constitutional convention on Monday handed its proposed new constitution to President Gabriel Boric ahead of a planned September referendum on adopting the text.

Jubilant Gustavo Petro elected Colombia's first leftist president

20-06-2022 14:35 Ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro elected Colombia's first ever left-wing president after defeating millionaire businessman rival Rodolfo Hernández in run-off.

Colombian outsider makes run-off with real shot at presidency

31-05-2022 11:18 Rodolfo Hernández, who was little known at the start of the year, surged into Colombia’s presidential run-off – and he now has a real chance at winning against leftist rival Gustavo Petro.

Earth's degraded land at 'breaking point,' warns UN expert

06-05-2022 00:23 Decades of unsustainable agriculture have depleted soils worldwide and accelerated both global warming and species loss, says UN official Ibrahim Thiaw.

Indigenous lands block Brazil deforestation, concludes study

20-04-2022 16:26 Brazil's indigenous reservations have acted as a barrier against deforestation over the past three decades, although destruction of the Amazon rainforest has accelerated recently under President Jair Bolsonaro.

The new energy crisis could suit Argentina

11-03-2022 11:30 Fossil fuels are back in fashion. Western leaders are now searching frantically for exploitable oil and gas deposits that are beyond Putin’s reach.

by James Neilson

Unprecedented drought fuels devastating fires in Corrientes Province

16-02-2022 22:26 Fires fuelled by an unprecedented drought are ravaging hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in the northeastern province of Corrientes, causing serious economic and environmental damage.

Argentina wants to triple mining exports, despite social conflicts

12-01-2022 22:31 Government introducing new incentives to grow the sector over next decade, but social and environmental organisations warn of impact.

by Javier Lewkowicz, Diálogo Chino