Posted in Nature & Environment, The Region, tagged citgo, development, eco-friendly design, Energy, energy-efficient lighting, environment, environmentalism, oil, poverty, u.s. and venezuela, venezuela, venezuela anti-poverty effort, venezuela charity on July 16, 2008 | No Comments »
For many low- and middle-income people in the U.S., helping the environment can take a back seat to the everyday demands of simply making ends meet. Citgo, the Venezuelan-owned gas company, is helping to address this problem through its new Energy Efficient Lighting Program.
The program donates energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs to families in cities across [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, tagged caracas, El Avila, El Avila National Park, environment, National Parks in Venezuela, Nature, Parks Venezuela, Parque Nacional El Avila, Venezuela environment, Venezuela tourism on July 14, 2008 | No Comments »
Venezuela’s most-visited national park turns 50 this year!
Parque Nacional El Avila is just outside of Caracas, encompassing the steep, forested mountains that stand between the capital city and the aquamarine waters of the Caribbean. Hiking on the more than 100 miles of trails that criss-cross El Avila is a common Sunday ritual for many residents [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, Society & Politics, tagged environment, venezuela, Cuba, venezuela anti-poverty effort, Petrocasas, eco-friendly design, housing, oil, poverty, development, environmentalism, bbc, James Ingham on June 25, 2008 | No Comments »
We love petrocasas, the eco-friendly houses that are taking poor families out of the crumbling barrios in Venezuela and also in Cuba.
That’s why this new coverage from BBC News is so exciting!
The petrocasas program is setting new standards for how developing countries can address poverty and related housing issues in a way that is affordable [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, Society & Politics, tagged agriculture, cooperatives, farming, food, food crisis, food security, food supply, land reform, venezuela on June 20, 2008 | No Comments »
Now here is something that is good for the economy and the environment.
Idle estates in rural Venezuela are being used for small-scale agricultural production by local farming cooperatives. This is a result of a program of land reform that has benefited over 100,000 families. The cooperatives have helped poor and previously landless communities become powerful [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, tagged cattleya, easter orchid, flor de mayo, florida, flowers, natural beauty, Nature, orchids, venezuela, venezuela festivals, Venezuela nature on May 22, 2008 | No Comments »
The orchid is Venezuela’s national flower. It’s no surprise, then, that the country was well represented at the Redland Orchid Festival in South Florida this week. Seasoned growers of these perennial plants hailed from Caracas and Maracay.
The Miami Herald quoted Alexis Pardo, the Maracay horticulturist, as saying: “This is a wonderful festival, both [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, The Region, tagged caribbean, conservation, Cuba, development, eco-friendly design, economy, environment, environmentalism, housing, latin america, oil, oil and environment, Petrocasas, venezuela on May 21, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Remember the petrocasas we told you about back in March? These affordable, eco-friendly homes made of waste generated by oil refining are now being used to ease a housing shortage in Cuba. Reuters reports that 40 new petrocasas are being built per day to reach a total number of 14,000 this year.
Petrocasas are [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, Society & Politics, tagged agriculture, cafe venezuela, citgo, coffee, economy, environment, food security, heating oil, sustainability, venezuela on May 14, 2008 | No Comments »
Consumers in the U.S. will soon be able to buy specialty coffee from Venezuela in Citgo gas stations. Citgo is a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Pdvsa, and its charitable donations of heating oil in the U.S. are well known. Now, Citgo is helping bring small producers in Venezuela to the [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, tagged conservation, economy, environment, gold, green, Imataca Forest, mining, Nature, oil, politics, sustainability, venezuela, Venezuela conservation, Venezuela environment, venezuelan economy on May 12, 2008 | No Comments »
Because its economy based largely on natural resource exports, Venezuela faces particular challenges with regard to environmental sustainability. How can a country draw on the Earth’s riches while ensuring their long-term availability?
One way is to prevent excess exploitation. This is exactly what Venezuela’s Ministry of the Environment has recently done by curtailing gold mining activities [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, tagged cattleya, easter orchid, environment, flor de mayo, flowers, Nature, orchids, Otilio Galíndez, semana santa, venezuela, venezuelan symbols on April 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
We brought you Venezuela’s national bird. We brought you its best-known literary traditions. And also some other, lesser known traditions. Now, it’s time to find out about the national flower.
The Cattleya Orchid, also known as the “Easter Orchid” and “Flor de Mayo,” blooms during the months of April and May. Its spiritual [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, The Region, tagged ALBA, Bolivarian Alternative, Bolivia, Cuba, food crisis, food security, haiti, Hugo Chavez, latin america, Nicaragua, politics, UN, venezuela on April 23, 2008 | No Comments »
With concerns about global food security mounting, a group of Latin American leaders including Venezuela’s President Chavez met to create a special fund that would offset future crises.
The food security fund, which is under the auspices of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, or ALBA, begins with $100 million. The investment will be [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, The Region, tagged Al Gore, caracas, conservation, earth day, earth day in venezuela, environment, Gulf of Maracaibo, latin america, Maracaibo, Nature, students in venezuela, universities in venezuela, venezuela on April 21, 2008 | No Comments »
April 22nd is Earth Day, and Venezuela is gearing up for an entire week of events aimed at honoring the planet and helping to inspire environmental conservation.
In Caracas, “Earth Day Week” begins today with a gathering of university students at the city’s Botanical Garden. The students will voice ideas for saving energy and reducing [...]
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Posted in Nature & Environment, tagged economy, environment, fishing, fishing in venezuela, law of fisheries, venezuela, Venezuela conservation, Venezuela environment, Venezuela nature, venezuelan economy, venezuelan law on April 10, 2008 | No Comments »
Last month, Venezuela banned trawling, a method of netting fish that had a devastating affect on marine life. The move to end trawling will help protect fragile fish populations and seabeds. Small fishers are celebrating the decision as a boost to their livelihood.
This is one of many environmental conservation initiatives undertaken in Venezuela in recent [...]
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