Venezuela to Help Bolivia Build Recycled ‘Petrocasas’

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales announced today that Bolivia will soon begin building recycled “petrocasas” with the help of Venezuela. These low-cost plastic dwellings are built with waste generated by oil refining, and are providing a solution to economic and environmental pressures. Tens of thousands have already been erected in Venezuela as well as Cuba and Peru. It was in Peru where Morales first saw the petrocasas and the role they played in the country’s recovery after a 2007 earthquake.

With an investment of $80 million, Bolivia will open a factory to produce petrocasas in Oruro. The first recipients will reportedly be the relatives of the victims of Bolivia’s “gas wars” of 2003. The eco-friendly houses will go up in low income areas, including El Alto and Trinidad. The project was announced at an event commemorating the 228th anniversary of the first uprising against the Spanish colonists.

See our last post on petrocasas here. For coverage in Spanish, see Reuters.

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Citgo Delivers on U.S. Heating Oil Promise

Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum held its official launch of the 2009 home heating oil assistance program today in Washington, DC. A press conference was held in the backyard of one recipient, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker House in the Northeast neighborhood of Petworth. In the picture above, Kathy Boylan expresses her appreciation for the much-needed help.

Citgo President Alejandro Granado (pictured above) said:

We are making an enormous effort. Despite the limited resources available at the moment, we are continuing the program as a demonstration of the solidarity of the Venezuelan people. Our critics have called this political, and it is true: our politics are aimed at building bridges between the people of Venezuela and the United States.

In 2009, the fourth year of the program, some 40 to 45 million gallons of home heating oil will be distributed in the U.S. through Citizens Energy at a cost of about $75 million. The resources will benefit around 200,000 homes across 23 states.

AP coverage is available in English and Spanish.

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Venezuela’s Heating Oil Aid to the U.S. Continues

For the past four years, 23 states and 65 Native American tribes have been keeping warm thanks to the generosity of the Venezuelan people. Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of Petróleos de Venezuela, is continuing it’s home heating oil program in 2009.

Together with Boston-based Citizens Energy, headed by Joe Kennedy II (above at left), Citgo is providing cut-rate heating oil to those who can’t afford it.

Kennedy thanked President Chavez for Venezuela’s continued support and said:

This decision is a clear, direct message from President Chavez of his desire to strengthen relations between his country and the United States, particularly at this time, when a new US administration is scheduled to be sworn in within the next few weeks.

The low-cost heat is a vital contribution, as the temperature continues to drop and many U.S. citizens have found themselves out of work and overwhelmed. Venezuela has helped to ease the burden many people in freezing climates must bear.

Representative William Delahunt of Massachusetts is also grateful:

It’s really important to continue the program. In New England, it has been extraordinarily helpful to get low-income people through the tough winters we have had.

Delahunt said he thought it could also pave the way for better relations between the U.S. and Venezuela.

Citizens Energy is now taking applications, and fuel deliveries will begin in 2-3 days.  Those in need of assistance can call 1-877-JOE-4-OIL.

Click here for more from the Boston Globe and the Associated Press.

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Winds of Change Bring Renewable Energy to Venezuela

Venezuela may be known as an oil country, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t taking steps to explore the renewable energy sources of the future.

News came today that the state oil company PDVSA is beginning to invest in wind power. A Spanish company called Gamesa has been contracted to install and maintain machinery that will deliver 100 megawatts of wind power to Venezuela.

The country’s first wind farm will be located in the state of Falcon, an area of the country which juts out into the Caribbean with its arid Coro peninsula. This land mass is so desert-like, it has sand dunes that are protected as part of the Medanos de Coro National Park (pictured here).

According to Reuters, 76 wind turbines will be installed. The pricetag: almost $150 million.

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Venezuela the Unfair Target of “Mercenaries 2″ Game

The new video game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames advertises that players can wreak unbridled havoc in a “fully destructible Venezuela.” The plot line is a hypothetical one about a “tyrant” who seizes oil and then the government.

But what sounds like a playful — if unabashedly violent — romp could be an extremely damaging assault on the reputation of a country about which many young people have no other source of information. In the virtual world of Mercenaries, players open fire on shantytowns and assassinate leaders. Audiences may not realize — or not care to know — that Venezuela has been democratic for half a century, and is a stable trading partner of the U.S.

Will players be able to distinguish fiction from reality? Read about the ongoing controversy from BBC News here.

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Venezuela Helping Paraguay

With the people of Paraguay still celebrating last Friday’s swearing-in of the new President and former “Bishop of the Poor” Fernando Lugo, a dozen new accords signed between that country and Venezuela are making the future look even brighter.

Presidents Chavez and Lugo (pictured at right, singing) signed 12 accords. One of them is designed to help Paraguay avoid energy shortages. The Venezuelan oil company PDVSA will send 23,500 gallons of oil per day to the small country in order to “guarantee the energy sovereignty of Paraguay.”

Also included in the deal is a one-time supply of diesel fuel — an amount of 440,476 barrels — to stave off shortages that are plaguing Paraguay.

Cooperation on energy issues in the Americas has been a top policy priority for the Chavez administration. As one of the world’s largest exporters of oil, Venezuela has been able to lend a hand to needy people in countries from Argentina to the U.S.

This news shows that cross-border cooperation on energy pays off! To read more from PDVSA’s website in Spanish, click here, or for an English-language AP story, click here.

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Corporate Responsibility, Venezuelan Style

A little over a week ago, we brought you highlights from the Venezuela-Citgo energy efficient lighting program. Before that, we reported on their discounted heating oil program and the Bronx development project. Today, we bring you the latest in Citgo’s efforts to give back to American communities in need.

In a Maryland suburb just outside of Washington DC, Citgo and Venezuela announced a $1.5 million donation to CASA de Maryland (CASA), a service and advocacy organization assisting Latinos and other immigrants. Just as with the free light bulb program, Citgo’s donation will help this non-profit replicate the successful model of cooperatives that has flourished in Venezuela in recent years.

According to CASA, comprehensive educational, vocational training, and economic development programs will be created through the grant and will serve about 5,000 low-income participants. Read the Washington Post’s take in their article published yesterday.

Now that’s the kind of corporate responsibility we can get behind.

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New Hampshire Signs on for Venezuelan Aid

The Venezuelan-owned gas subsidiary Citgo has been providing cut-rate home heating oil to poor communities in the U.S. for three now. Last winter, 23 states relied on the donations, which exceeded $100 million in value. New Hampshire has just become the latest to sign on.

The small state, which borders Canada and registers brutal temperatures in the winter, has suffered from high energy costs just as much as any other. State leaders have been pressured to address the economic conundrum by accepting the help from Venezuela.

Last year, hundreds of New Hampshire residents in fact went around the system to apply on their own to get the aid despite the state’s hesitance. As the owner of a local heating oil company put it, “It’s actually a pretty good program.”

To read more, click here.

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Venezuela’s Citgo Delivers Energy Efficiency to U.S. Cities

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 the U.S. It is based on a successful initiative in Venezuela that oversaw the nation-wide switch to eco-friendly bulbs. Also, it marks a second phase of the Community Assistance Program by Citgo, which has donated discounted home heating oil to more than 1.2 million U.S. residents since 2005.

At the launch in Washington DC on Tuesday, neighbors watched Shirley Braxton (pictured above) install the first free light bulbs in her home. Speeches were made by the CEO of Citgo, the Venezuelan Ambassador, and Joe Kennedy of the host charity Citizens Energy.

By distributing nearly half a million energy efficient bulbs, Citgo will help recipients in 23,000 households to save $14.9 million and cut their energy use by 165 million kilowatt hours.

The lighting program is taking place in DC and everywhere Citgo refineries operate, in Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas; Lemont, Illinois; and Lake Charles, Louisiana. Other cities set receive the aid include New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Madison, and Minneapolis. To see figures for each city, click here. For information about how you can participate, call 1-800-315-7682.

UPDATE: Read news articles from the AP and the Houston Chronicle.

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Venzuela’s Petrocasas Featured in BBC News

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 and effective. Not only that, but petrocasas are far better for the environment than hodgepodge slums are. They are made from recycled waste generated by oil refining!

BBC correspondent James Ingham reports. Click here to watch.

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Venezuela and Paraguay Look Toward Cooperation

Paraguay’s President elect, former Bishop Fernando Lugo, visited Caracas yesterday to meet with President Chavez. We can probably expect to see lots of cooperation between Venezuela and Paraguay once Lugo is sworn in in August.

Amazingly, Paraguay spent the last 60 years under one-party rule. With the election of Lugo last April 20th, the country voted to renew democracy.

Read about yesterday’s meeting between Chavez and Lugo here (in English) or here (Spanish).

Oh — and did you hear? Venezuela will produce more oil.

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Venezuela Gives Cuba Affordable, Eco-friendly Petrocasas

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 donated or sold at a low cost to needy families. They are pre-fabricated, and are made from polyvinyl chloride, a recycled plastic.

The houses are an innovative way to pursue sustainable development and raise the standard of living among poor communities while helping to mitigate the environmental impact of oil refining. They are just one way in which Venezuela is helping Latin American countries achieve a greener future.

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