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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 BRASILIA 002321 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS USAID TO LAC/RSD, LAC/SAM, G/ENV, PPC/ENV 
TREASURY FOR USED IBRD AND IDB AND INTL/MDB 
USDA FOR FOREST SERVICE: LIZ MAHEW 
INTERIOR FOR DIR INT AFFAIRS: K WASHBURN 
INTERIOR FOR FWS: TOM RILEY 
INTERIOR FOR NPS: JONATHAN PUTNAM 
INTERIOR PASS USGS FOR INTERNATIONAL: J WEAVER 
JUSTICE FOR ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES: JWEBB 
EPA FOR INTERNATIONAL: CAM HILL-MACON 
USDA FOR ARS/INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH: G FLANLEY 
NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL: HAROLD STOLBERG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EAGR EAID TBIO ECON SOCI XR BR
SUBJECT: SOUTH AMERICA ESTH NEWS, NUMBER 104 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  001.2 OF 013 
 
 
¶1.  The following is the one-hundred-fourth in a series of 
newsletters, published by the Brasilia Regional Environmental Hub, 
covering environment, science and technology, and health news in 
South America.  The information below was gathered from news sources 
from across the region, and the views expressed do not necessarily 
reflect those of the Hub office or our constituent posts. 
Addressees who would like to receive a user-friendly email version 
of this newsletter should contact Larissa Stoner at 
stonerla@state.gov.  The e-mail version also contains a calendar of 
upcoming ESTH events in the region.  NOTE: THE NEWSLETTER IS NOW 
ALSO AVAILABLE ON THE BRASILIA INTRANET PAGE, BY CLICKING ON THE 
'HUB' LINK. 
 
¶2. Table of Contents 
 
Agriculture 
--(3)A Brazilian Engineer Uses Solar Power to Make the Desert Bloom 
 
Water Issues 
--(4)Brazil: Bishop Fasts Again for Sao Francisco River 
 
Forests 
--(5)Brazil Creates Voluntary Fund To Preserve The Amazon 
--(6)Brazil: Amazon Deforestation Continues To Drop, But Is Still 
High 
--(7)Cost of Zeroing Amazon Deforestation: USD $257 Billion 
 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
--(8)Fish Virus Worries Workers in Chile's Salmon Industry 
--(9)Argentina: Whale Deaths Double 
--(10)Chile's Surfer Activists Celebrate Environmental Victory 
 
Science & Technology 
--(11)Brazil, Argentina Launch Space Rocket 
 
Infrastructure Development 
--(12)Bolivia, Brazil, Chile Agree On Road Corridor Linking Pacific, 
Atlantic 
--(13)Brazil: Plans to Spend US$10.1 Billion on Amazon Iron Mine 
--(14)UNICEF: Lack Of Basic Sanitation Will Leave Brazil Short Of 
Millenium Goals 
--(15)Chavez, Allies Launch Bank of the South as Alternative to US 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  002.2 OF 013 
 
 
Backed Lenders 
 
Mining & Other Extractive Industries 
--(16)Green Gold (Oro Verde) Initiative Calls for Responsible 
Small-Scale Mining in Colombia 
--(17)Argentina and Chile to Sign Huge Andean Shared Mining Project 
--(18)Brazilian Foundation Leads Protest against Canadian Gold 
Corporation Kinross 
 
Energy 
--(19)Brazilian Consortium Wins Auction to Build Amazon Dam after 
Protests Delay Bidding 
--(20)Sugar Cane Threatens Brazilian Savannah 
--(21)Venezuela, Brazil Pledge Energy Cooperation as Chavez and Lula 
da Silva Deepen Ties 
--(22)Wind Energy Farm Launched in Chile 
 
Climate Change 
--(23)Climate Change a Killer for Chile's Antarctic Penguins 
--(24)Fleming Glacier in Danger in Chile's Antarctica 
 
----------- 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
¶3. A Brazilian Engineer Uses Solar Power to Make the Desert Bloom 
 
DEC. 10, 2007 - A report in Newsweek carries the successful story of 
a Brazilian Eco-Engenho (small company specializing in renewable 
energy), led by engineer Jos Roberto Fonseca, working in one of the 
most arid regions in northeastern Brazil.  Baixas (in the state of 
Alagoas) is the poorest zone of Sco Jos da Tapera, one of the most 
desperate municipalities on the continent, where the average monthly 
wage is $24, half the population is illiterate and the 
human-development index of .56 rivals that of the most wretched 
regions of Africa.   So when Jose Roberto Fonseca told the farmers 
of Baixas they could use solar energy to grow their way out of 
poverty, most thought he was crazy.  In the sertao, or semidesert, 
the sun has mostly been a curse, withering crops and baking the 
topsoil.  Using a solar-powered desalinator, Fonseca was able to 
help farmers grow hydroponic gardens of peppers and create a market 
for spices and condiments.  Currently, eleven families in Baixias 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  003.2 OF 013 
 
 
are making a good part of their income from peppers. 
 
Source - Newsweek 
 
------------ 
Water Issues 
------------ 
 
 
¶4. Brazil: Bishop Fasts Again for Sao Francisco River 
 
DEC. 11, 2007 - Brazilian Catholic Bishop Luiz Cappio has entered 
the third week of his hunger strike against the diversion of water 
from the Sao Francisco River, in the arid northeast of the country, 
amid expressions of support.  The Franciscan bishop, 61, is prepared 
to continue his fast to the death, Ruben Siqueira, of the Land 
Pastoral Commission (CPT), told IPS in a telephone interview from 
Sobradinho, a small village in the northeastern state of Bahia on 
the banks of the Sao Francisco, where Cappio is fasting and praying. 
A communique from Cappio's diocese of Barra, in Bahia state, says 
that the hunger strike will only end when Lula "finally shelves the 
initiative" which, according to the government, seeks to provide 
water for 12 million people in the semi-arid northeast of Brazil, 
the country's poorest region. The project involves the building of 
two canals to remove and redistribute water from the river, and will 
cost some 3.6 billion dollars.  Cappio is continuing his hunger 
strike, taking only filtered river water from the Sao Francisco with 
a little sugar. His chapel has become a centre of pilgrimage. Two 
years ago, Cappio called off his first hunger strike after 11 days, 
when the government promised more public debate and consultations 
before undertaking the project, after sending a representative to 
talk to the bishop.  Dialogue began, followed by the elections in 
which Lula won a second term of office. "Then, in spite of letters 
from the bishop and every possible action, nothing was decided, and 
the government resumed work on the project," Siqueira said. 
 
Source - International Press Service 
 
NOTE FROM THE HUB: A federal judge ordered the suspension of the Sao 
Francisco project, on the basis of technical arguments against a 
certificate of hydrological capacity issued by the National Council 
of Water Resources (CNRH). The military engineer corps in charge of 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  004.2 OF 013 
 
 
the work has halted excavations and studies of the terrain until 
January 07. Still D. Cappio did not end his hunger strike. After 23 
days of a hunger strike against the major project to divert Sao 
Francisco River waters throughout the Northeast Region, Bishop D. 
Luiz Cappio fainted and was taken to a hospital. The same day the 
Supreme Federal Court (STF) removed an injunction and rejected a 
request by the Public Prosecutors Office against the project. 
 
------- 
Forests 
------- 
 
¶5. Brazil Creates Voluntary Fund To Preserve The Amazon 
 
DEC. 13, 2007 - Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva 
presented at the UN Climate Change Conference in Bali a proposal for 
the creation of the Fund for the Protection and Conservation of the 
Brazilian Amazon. Under the proposal, the fund would accept 
voluntary international donations for Brazil to meet "internal and 
verifiable" goals of deforestation prevention. According to Minister 
Silva, there is an expectation of USD $150 million in donations, 
which would be administrated by the federal development bank BNDES. 
Also according to the minister, there is already a USD $100 million 
donation from Norway. Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim 
did not discuss how much his country would donate, but said that 
keeping tropical forests standing would help reduce emissions and 
have the added value of protecting biodiversity. 
 
Source - O Estado de Sao Paulo (no link) 
 
¶6. Brazil: Amazon Deforestation Continues To Drop, But Is Still 
High 
 
DEC. 07, 2007 -  The deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon forest 
has dropped for three consecutive years - in the period between 2006 
and 2007, 11,224 square kilometers have been deforested, or 20% less 
than in the 2005-2006 period. This result ties with the 1991 
deforestation, which is considered the year when there was least 
deforestation since the measurements began. Critics say that past 
reductions have been prompted by a drop in international commodity 
prices, which reduced the economic pressure for deforestation. 
According to the critics, which include Greenpeace, current figures 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  005.2 OF 013 
 
 
predict an acceleration of deforestation in 2008. 
 
Source - Public Affairs, US Embassy Brasilia.  Original Source: O 
Estado de Sao Paulo 
 
¶7. Cost of Zeroing Amazon Deforestation: USD 257 Billion 
 
DEC. 03, 2007 - Zeroing the deforestation of the Amazon over 10 
years and maintaining it for another 20 would cost USD 257 billion, 
according to a report prepared by U.S. and Brazilian researchers 
that was presented at the Climate Conference in Bali.  According to 
the report, that would be the "opportunity cost" of the other 
economic activities that would take place in the region with current 
deforestation trends.  The U.S. Woods Hole Research Center and 
Brazil's Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) participated 
in the study. 
 
Source - Public Affairs, US Embassy Brasilia 
 
----------------------------- 
Fishing & Marine Conservation 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. Fish Virus Worries Workers in Chile's Salmon Industry 
 
DEC. 10, 2007 - As the list of Chilean salmon farms officially 
infected with Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) continues to grow, it 
is becoming increasingly evident that the industry's ongoing 
problems with the illness are far from over.   Six months ago 
scientists confirmed the presence of ISA on at least two Chilean 
fish farms - both operated by Norwegian-owned Marine Harvest, the 
world's largest farmed salmon company.  ISA is a highly contagious 
virus that can be lethal to fish but does not affect humans. The 
situation confirms complaints that NGOs like Oceana, Ecoceanos, and 
the Pure Salmon Campaign have been making for years - Chile's salmon 
industry is blind to the environmental damage it is causing.  "ISA 
is the tip of the iceberg," said Juan Carlos Crdenas, director 
Santiago-based Ecoceanos. "It reflects all of the industry's 
problems - the lack of proper management, a policy that's focused 
exclusively on expansion and production without taking into account 
what (the environment) can really handle." 
 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  006.2 OF 013 
 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶9. Argentina: Whale Deaths Double 
 
DEC. 10, 2007 - The unusual spike in the number of dead whales found 
on the beaches of the southern Argentine province of Chubut in 
October and November has caused concern at the Whale Conservation 
Institute (ICB).  The annual average in recent years was about 40 
whales, but it more than doubled to 85 this year, ICB coordinator 
Roxana Schteinbarg told Tierramerica.  Some experts attribute the 
phenomenon to a health problem afflicting the species, while others 
suggest environmental factors, but it can't be determined for sure 
until test results are in, she said.  For the past five years, ICB 
and other groups have been conducting the southern right whale 
monitoring program. The species numbers about 5,300 in the waters 
around the Valdes Peninsula, on the Chubut coast. 
 
Source - Tierramerica 
 
¶10. Chile's Surfer Activists Celebrate Environmental Victory 
 
DEC. 01, 2007 - Chile's most revered surfers and their friends 
recently celebrated the withdrawal of the water company ESSBIO's 
proposed pipelined project in the coastal town of Pichilemu. The 
project would have channeled the community's wastewater - which now 
gathers in a nearby fetid lagoon - straight through the town's 
principal beach for deposit 1 kilometer into the ocean.  Steady 
community opposition, coupled with the international attention 
brought to the issue by surfer activists, succeeded in convincing 
the company and local government to scrap the project and invest in 
a proper water treatment facility.  With this campaign victory for 
Chile behind them, the international non governmental organization 
(NGO) Save the Waves Coalition (STW) and Chile-based non-profit 
Proplaya will continue to battle Chile's pulp producing giant, 
Celulosa Arauco (CELCO) in Cobquecura, with the hopes of promoting a 
healthy ocean ecosystem, while preserving this special spot for 
future generations of surfers. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
-------------------- 
Science & Technology 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  007.2 OF 013 
 
 
-------------------- 
 
¶11. Brazil, Argentina Launch Space Rocket 
 
DEC. 16, 2007 -- Brazil and Argentina successfully launched a rocket 
into space on December 16 in the first joint space mission by the 
two South American nations.  The VS30 rocket, which carried 
experiments from both countries, blasted off from Brazil's Barreira 
do Inferno launch center in northern Rio Grande do Norte state, 
Brazil's Space Agency said in a statement.  The rocket reached an 
altitude of 75 miles and its journey -- which lasted 9 minutes, 25 
seconds -- was considered ''perfect,'' the agency said.  Liftoff was 
delayed several times since December 12 by bad weather.  The mission 
was the fruit of a 1998 accord between space agencies in Brazil, 
which has launched rockets into space before, and Argentina, which 
has relied on other nations to send up satellites. 
 
Source - The New York Times 
 
-------------------------- 
Infrastructure Development 
-------------------------- 
 
¶12. Bolivia, Brazil, Chile Agree On Road Corridor Linking Pacific, 
Atlantic 
 
DEC. 17, 2007 -- Bolivia, Brazil and Chile have signed an agreement 
to create a corridor linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, 
according to reports.  Under the agreement signed by the presidents 
of the three countries on December 16, the road link will become 
operational in 2009.  The Bolivia stretch of the road totals 1,600 
km, 75 percent of which is ready for use. The three unfinished parts 
that link Santa Cruz to Puerto Suarez, Oruro to Pisiga, and Santa 
Matias to Concepcion require USD $415 million, USD $78 million and 
USD $260 in investment, respectively.  In Chile, two projects are 
under plan -- a 192-km road starting in Arica and another 216-km 
stretch linking Iquique to its eastern border with Bolivia.  Brazil 
will invest nearly USD $133 to refurbish a stretch of highway that 
is already in use. A total of 2,225 km of existing road will be 
re-profiled as part of this corridor. 
 
Source - China View 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  008.2 OF 013 
 
 
 
¶13. Brazil: Plans to Spend US$10.1 Billion on Amazon Iron Mine 
 
DEC. 12, 2007 - Compania Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest 
iron-ore producer, said it will spend US$10.1 billion to construct 
the Serra Sul mine in Brazil's Amazon (Para State) to meet rising 
demand from Chinese steelmakers.  The mine will produce 90 million 
metric tons a year after opening in the first half of 2012 Serra Sul 
would be the world's second-largest iron-ore mine after the 
company's Carajas mine.  Vale, already supplying more than a third 
of the world's iron-ore exports, said it is developing more new 
projects than any other mining company and will spend US$59 billion 
in the next five years to build them and expand existing sites. 
Prices of iron ore sold on spot markets has more than doubled to 
about US$100 a metric ton in the past year.  Vale also disclosed 
plans to spend US$2.21 billion to develop the Maquine-Bau mine, 
scheduled to open in 2011 and produce 25 million tons of iron ore 
annually. 
 
Source - Bloomberg 
 
¶14. UNICEF: Lack Of Basic Sanitation Will Leave Brazil Short Of 
Millenium Goals 
 
DEC. 12, 2007 - Brazil's slowness in increasing access to basic 
sanitation services to its population - the sewer collection and 
treatment infrastructure reached 71% of the population in 1990 and 
increased to just 75% in 2004 - will stand in the way of reaching 
the UN Millennium Goals by 2015, says the "Progress for Children" 
report unveiled by UNICEF. On the positive side, Brazil has had a 
good performance in reducing child mortality and malnutrition and in 
increasing school attendance. 
 
Source - Public Affairs, US Embassy Brasilia.  Original source: O 
Globo 
 
¶15. Chavez, Allies Launch "Bank of the South" as Alternative to US 
Backed Lenders 
 
DEC. 10, 2007 - Hugo Chavez and leaders of six other South American 
nations launched a regional development bank that they tout as the 
continent's alternative to U.S.-influenced international lenders. 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  009.2 OF 013 
 
 
With as much as US$7 billion in expected startup capital, backers 
say the Banco del Sur, or Bank of the South, will offer Latin 
American countries loans with fewer strings attached than those 
given by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund or the 
Inter-American Development Bank.  Officials say it will dispense 
loans for projects from road-building to anti-poverty programs and 
regional integration plans.  "It's a very interesting initiative 
which I think expresses the desire to find stronger cooperation 
between Latin American governments," the World Bank's chief 
economist for Latin America, Augusto de la Torre, said in a recent 
interview. "As far as the World Bank is concerned, this new 
initiative is not perceived as a competitor." 
 
Source - The Associated Press 
 
------------------------------------ 
Mining & Other Extractive Industries 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶16. Oro Verde (Green Gold) Initiative Calls for Responsible 
Small-Scale Mining in Colombia 
 
Inspired by the success of fair-trade tea and coffee, the Oro Verde 
initiative worked with local communities in the Choco region of 
Colombia to develop a set of environmental and social criteria for 
small-scale gold mining including reduction in mercury use and 
promotion of education and community development.  With the higher 
price miners receive from Oro Verde for sustainably produced gold, 
they are working to restore degraded areas and establish 
conservation zones within community territories.  Almost 200 
Afro-Colombian mining families have signed up under the initiative 
to date.  Internationally, the Association of Responsible Mining 
(ARM), an independent, multi-national initiative based in Colombia, 
is also using Oro Verde's experiences to develop a framework for 
responsible small-scale mining that can be applied in other regions 
of the world. 
 
Source - Green Gold Initiative 
 
¶17. Argentina and Chile to Sign Huge Andean Shared Mining Project 
 
NOV. 29, 2007 - The governments of Chile and Argentina signed an 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  010.2 OF 013 
 
 
agreement pushing forward the development of another massive 
bi-national mining project.  The deal is intended to hurry approval 
of work at "Las Flechas" mineral deposits by using existing treaties 
and protocols to govern its construction.  Under the agreement, the 
1.5 billion US dollars project, straddling Chile's Region III and 
Argentina's San Juan Province, would fall under the scope of the 
nearly ten-year old Treaty of Integration and Mining.  Investment at 
"Las Flechas" is a joint venture between the Japanese Jogmec and 
Brazilian CVRD mining companies.  Jogmec has a large division 
centered on making mine production less damaging to the environment. 
However, CVRD has come under criticism in the past for pollutants 
emitted at some of its plants. 
 
Source - MercoPress 
 
¶18. Brazilian Foundation Leads Protest against Canadian Gold 
Corporation Kinross 
 
OCT. 20, 2007 - Acangau foundation, a Brazilian non-profit 
organization, published an independent report on the environmental 
risks of Kinross Gold Corporation's mine in Paracatu, a town near 
the Brasilia (220km), population 75,000 people.  The report calls 
attention to some worrying health, social and environmental impacts 
of Kinross' large scale open pit mine located at the outskirts of 
Paracatu.  Citizens inflicted by the health and environmental losses 
caused by the gold mine in Paracatu are requesting that Kinross take 
mitigatory and compensatory actions in order to make its expansion 
project environmentally sustainable, socially fair, and thus 
acceptable by the people of Paracatu. 
 
Source - Acangau Foundation 
 
------ 
Energy 
------ 
 
¶19. Brazilian Consortium Wins Auction to Build Amazon Dam after 
Protests Delay Bidding 
 
DEC. 10, 2007 - A Brazilian consortium won an auction to build and 
operate a major dam (Santo Antonio) in the Amazon rain forest. 
Consorcio Madeira Energetica, a group that includes participation by 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  011.2 OF 013 
 
 
big construction company Norberto Odebrecht SA, beat out two other 
consortiums with participation by Spain's Endesa SA and the 
Franco-Belgian utility Suez.  The auction was delayed for hours 
while riot police removed about 80 protesters who stormed the 
Brasilia offices of Brazilian electric power agency Aneel.  Brazil's 
Movement of Dam-Affected People organized the protest along with 
groups representing landless workers, saying the 3,150 megawatt dam 
and another one nearby could force 10,000 people from their remote 
rural homes.  Environmentalists say the dam could harm a pristine 
part of the Amazon, but the government says it is needed to help 
prevent electricity shortages in Latin America's largest country. 
In May, the government is expected open bidding on the Jirau dam - 
along the same stretch of the Madeira River as the Santo Antonio 
dam- which is expected to generate 3,326 megawatts of energy. 
Together the two dams are expected to supply 8 percent of the 
country's energy needs. 
 
Source - The Associated Press 
 
¶20. Sugar Cane Threatens Brazilian Savannah 
 
DEC. 05, 2007 - While all eyes are turned to the Amazon, the 
expansion of sugar cane crops throughout Brazil threatens another 
delicate ecosystem: the Brazilian cerrado savannah.  According to a 
study prepared by Brazilian NGO ISPN, 47 new ethanol plants are 
planned for construction in cerrado areas of the states of Goias, 
Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais over the next few years.  The NGO 
estimates that 22,000 square kilometers of cerrado a year could be 
destroyed as a result of the expansion of the agricultural border 
over the next few years. 
 
Source - Public Affairs, US Embassy Brasilia.  Original source: 
Folha de Sao Paulo 
 
¶21. Venezuela, Brazil Pledge Energy Cooperation As Chavez and Silva 
Deepen Ties 
 
DEC. 14, 2007 - Venezuela and Brazil signed accords pledging to 
boost trade and link their economies through energy cooperation as 
presidents Hugo Chavez and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva seek to deepen 
ties.  Chavez said Venezuela will provide 100,000 barrels of crude 
oil per day to a refinery being built in Brazil by the two 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  012.2 OF 013 
 
 
countries' state-run oil companies - Petroleo Brasileiro SA 
(Petrobras) and Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA).  Petrobras will 
have a 60 percent stake in the refinery in the state of Pernambuco, 
with PDVSA holding 40 percent under an agreement signed by 
officials.  It was one of 12 commercial accords finalized after 
Chavez and Silva met privately.  Petrobras also is to help quantify 
oil reserves in Venezuela's lucrative Orinoco River basin. 
 
Source - The Associated Press 
 
¶22. Wind Energy Farm Launched in Chile 
 
DEC. 11, 2007 - Chile's president Michelle Bachelet launched on 
December 6 the first wind farm connected to Chile's national 
electricity network.  With this endeavor, Chile is closer to 
reaching its goal of having 15 percent of its electricity generated 
from renewable sources by 2010.  Currently, only 2.4 percent of the 
country's energy is renewable.  The wind farm in Canela, located in 
the region of Coquimbo, will generate 18.5 MW.  According to the 
company responsible for creating the wind farm, the project will 
avoid the emission of 27 million tons of carbon dioxide into the 
atmosphere.  It will also help diversify sources of energy in a 
country which imports two-thirds of its energy and is predicted to 
double its energy consumption over the next ten years. 
 
Source - SciDev 
 
-------------- 
Climate Change 
-------------- 
 
¶23. Climate Change a Killer for Chile's Antarctic Penguins 
 
DEC. 12, 2007 - Global climate change is posing a major threat to 
the various species of penguin that breed in Antarctica, according 
to a recent report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).   The world's 
South Pole, the group claims, is heating up at five times the global 
rate. As a result, Antarctic sea ice has receded by some 40 percent 
in just the last quarter century. Temperature changes, furthermore, 
have been noted at up to 3,000 meters below the ocean's surface. 
That melting process has been particularly bad news for the four 
penguin species- the Adelie, Emperor, Chinstrap and Gentoo - that 
 
BRASILIA 00002321  013.2 OF 013 
 
 
breed in Antarctica.  Part of the problem is direct habit loss, as 
portions of sea ice on which many penguins breed are breaking off 
earlier each season. The warming process has also reduced the 
population of krill, on which penguins depend for food. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
¶24. Fleming Glacier in Danger in Chile's Antarctica 
 
DEC. 10, 2007 - Scientists from the Center of Scientific Studies 
(CECS), the Antarctic Chilean Institute, and the Air Force recently 
reported last week that Fleming Glacier, located in the Antarctic 
Peninsula, is showing signs of receding.   With a land mass of 6,200 
square kilometers and two kilometers thick, Fleming Glacier is one 
of the largest in the region. Aerial photographs of the glacier's 
surface reveal cracks that are so large that small planes could fit 
into them. Furthermore, numerous ice floes border the edge of the 
glacier - a sign that the ice mass is splintering.  Even more 
alarming, however, is the rate at which the glacier is receding.  In 
the 1970s, the glacial mass moved between two and four meters per 
day, but today the scientists say it is moving four to eight meters 
per day. 
 
Source - Santiago Times (no link) 
 
CHICOLA