Mexico this month banned the use of genetically modified corn in some foods, but backed down from a pledge to prohibit all transgenic corn imports by 2024 amid intense pressure from the United States, which annually sells billions of dollars’ worth of yellow corn to its neighbor. The government of Andres Manuel López Obrador did, however, stick to a promise to eliminate glyphosate, an herbicide used on crops that are genetically modified to tolerate it. Commercial cultivation of gene-altered corn is not allowed in Mexico, but plantings of certain other transgenic crops are permitted. In a decree published Feb. 13, the government prohibited the use of genetically engineered corn for consumption in tortillas, flour, and dough. It said transgenic corn should be gradually substituted as an ingredient in processed food by Feb. 2024 and eventually for animal feed—but without imposing a deadline. Lori Ann Burd, director of the...
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Argentina says it has removed nearly 500 metric tons of waste, approximately half of which is classified as hazardous, from its Antarctic territory bases. Cleanup of the waste, much of which has accumulated over more than a decade, has been conducted during this and the previous two Southern Hemisphere summers. Argentina asserts a 1,461,597-square-kilometer (564,326-square-mile) Antarctic territorial claim, much of which overlaps with claims of other countries. It maintains seven permanent and six seasonal bases used by over 1,000 scientific and military personnel. “The question of waste from Argentine bases in Antarctica has been a longstanding problem that was exacerbated when a fire aboard the ship Almirante Irízar practically paralyzed [waste] removal, which is required under the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, known as the Madrid Protocol,” Gen. Edgar Calandín, chief of the Argentine military’s Joint Antarctic Command, told EcoAméricas in an interview...
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Income from fines levied last year by Paraguay’s Environment and Sustainable Development Ministry (Mades) significantly outstripped those of the previous year, increasing from US$490,000 in 2021 to $837,000 in 2022. Figures released by Mades show that the number of completed fine procedures rose from 176 in 2019 to 412 in 2020, then to 899 in 2021 and more than 1,200 during 2022. Mades Legal Affairs Director María Laura Bobadilla says several changes made by the agency contributed to the improved performance. These include the use of electronic files on a single platform, generation of evidence through electronic monitoring and satellite maps, and the hiring of additional attorneys. “With transparency and traceability, files are no longer lost or stuck in an office,” Bobadilla says. The greatest number of violations involved improper solid-waste disposal on public property, including in lakes and streams. Mades is empowered to issue regulations concerning air...
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The Brazilian Navy’s sinking of a decommissioned aircraft carrier off the country’s coast this month prompted criticism from environmentalists that asbestos and other pollutants on the ship would enter the marine ecosystems and pollute the marine food chain. On Feb. 3, the Navy detonated explosives placed on the hull of the 266-meter (872-foot) São Paulo, sending the French-made warship to a seafloor depth of 5,000 meters (16,400 feet), some 350 kilometers (217 miles) off the country’s coast. The move, backed by Brazil’s foreign ministry and the legal office of left-leaning Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, prompted green groups to criticize the president for the first time since he took office on Jan. 1. The Navy advised Ibama, the enforcement arm of the Environment and Climate Change Ministry, of its plans on Jan. 30, at which point Ibama also signed off on the decision, a...
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