Daily Headlines: October 25, 2016

* Bolivia: A new scientific report found that glaciers in Bolivia have shrunk by 43% from 1986 to 2014 and “glacier recession is leaving lakes that could burst and wash away villages or infrastructure downstream.”

* Brazil: Aircraft manufacturer Embraer agreed to pay $205 million and officially claim responsibility in order to settle numerous corruption investigations in Brazil and the United States.

* Haiti: According to the United Nations heavy rainfall over the last few days has impeded the distribution of food and medicinal aid to areas of Haiti devastated by Hurricane Matthew.

* United States: An “unprecedented” number of Latinos have reportedly cast their ballots in early voting in Florida but is this a sign of a large Latino turnout on Election Day in two weeks time?

YouTube Source – Deutsche Welle (Video uploaded in 2010).

Online Sources – Science Daily, Xinhua, The Atlantic, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: October 16, 2014

* U.S.: Prolific Latina television and film actress Elizabeth Peña died at the age of 55 reportedly due to natural causes.

* Venezuela: Venezuela’s president alleged that a Colombian paramilitary group helped carry out the murder of ruling legislator Robert Serra and his companion Maria Herrera.

* Peru: According to the Peruvian government 1000 high-altitude lakes have appeared in the country since 1980 from glaciers melting due to climate change.

* Argentina: A Morgan Stanley report released this week concluded that Argentina “could become the next big thing in shale oil.”

Video Source – YouTube user GeniusInMotionInc (Recently deceased actress Elizabeth Peña participated in numerous movies and TV series including “La Bamba,” “Jacob’s Ladder,” “Modern Family” and “American Dad”.)
 
Online Sources – The Huffington Post; Reuters; ABC News; Business Insider

Today’s Video: Melting Away

The latest edition of Earth Day was held on April 22nd with the theme of “The Face of Climate Change.”  While some strides have been made towards addressing global warming, the phenomena have been blamed for environmental problems in parts of the world.

Scientists have identified climate change as the main reason for the rapid melting of glaciers in several Latin America countries.  Such is the case in Peru where the nation’s eighteen mountain glaciers are vital to the region's water sources for drinking, irrigation and electricity.  The possibility that Peru’s glaciers could disappear over the next few decades has officials in Peru and the U.S. worried over the political ramifications of “millions and millions of hungry and thirsty” individuals. 

Peruvian communities have created innovative ways to prevent the shortage of water caused by the shrinking glaciers.  It remains to be seen if catching moisture from fogs and other measures will be sufficient to help Peruvians:

Report: All Colombian Glaciers to Disappear in 30 Years

A new Colombian government report concluded that all of the country’s glaciers would be gone by 2050.

According to the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies, (IDEAM in Spanish) only six glaciers can be currently found in Colombia compared to seventeen in 1850.  Over the past 163 years, the IDEAM believes that the glacial surface in Colombia has dropped by 84% and observed that glaciers have melted at a much faster rate of 3% to 5% over the past three decades.

IDEAM director Ricardo Lozano expressed his hope to the local press that the new report could serve as a “valuable resource for the creation of public policy related to climate change and the hanging high mountain ecosystems.” (All of the glaciers in Colombia lie higher than 5100 meters above sea level).

Colombia isn’t the only South American country where climate change seems to be accelerating the rate of melting in glaciers: