1. SOUTH AMERICA ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY,
AND HEALTH NEWSLETTER
219 t h issue, February 11, 2013
GUYANA: U.S Ambassador Launches Second Series of Guyana Shines
In this issue: School Visits and S&T Contest for High School Students
On February 1, U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, D. Brent Hardt, officially launched the second series
 GUYANA: U.S.
Ambassador Launches
of school visits in the ‘Guyana Shines’ project at St. Joseph’s High School, Woolford Avenue, with
“Guyana Shines” and S&T the support of other diplomatic partners, civil society organizations and the Ministry of Education,
Contest. among others. Launched on Earth Day last year, the Community Clean-up Challenge works with
 Forests: Innovative communities to restore Guyana’s natural shine. Ambassador Hardt said, “I firmly believe that
Partnership Between U.S. educating young people is one of the best ways to transform the attitudes of an entire country.”
and South American
Universities.
The Ambassador said he looks forward to visiting each and every school so that together they can
 COLOMBIA: “No Car Day”
Passed by Between deepen the commitment of the young people of Guyana to take care of their environment. He said
Bicycles and Jams. that through Guyana Shines, his team - including representatives of Embassies and High
 Conservation: Radio Commissions, reached out to some 15 schools across Georgetown, during last year. There, they
Program to Protect Marine delivered presentations to increase awareness of the harmful effects of littering and pollution, and
Species. to encourage students to make environmentally friendly decisions and, most importantly, to take
 Forests: New Analytic action to be part of the solution. This year, they hope to reach 50 more schools across the city.
Methods Reduce
Uncertainty in Forest- Meanwhile, school presentations for this year have been modified to leave students with concrete
Carbon Relationship. information about opportunities for recycling in Guyana and where they can send their waste in
 Science: Space Food return for cash. They will be taught to make compost heaps and most importantly how to spread
History. awareness and inspire others to care about the environment, the Ambassador said.
Next events: The 2013 Innovation and Creativity Contest: ‘Looking for New Ways to Reduce our Ecological
Footprint’. Another important feature at this ceremony was the announcement of this contest for
 February 13, 2013 high school students by Ambassador Hardt.
American Society for
Tropical Medicine and The ‘2013 Innovation and Creativity Contest’ is open to students ages 12- 16 throughout South
Hygiene Conference, Lima,
America. Students are invited to submit research proposals, offering innovative solutions to
Peru
 March 22, 2013
environmental problems, such as waste disposal, recycling, pollution, greenhouse gas emissions,
World Water Day renewable energy, water conservation and biodiversity. The contest will focus on innovation and
 March 23, 2013 creativity, as fundamental traits in the application of science to the world’s environmental
Earth Hour challenges. This contest runs until April 30. Winners of
 April17-19, 2013 the contest will be announced on June 5, World
International Fair of Environment Day. Additional information can be found
Technologies Energy, on the U.S. Embassy’s official website at http://
Santiago, Chile
georgetown.usembassy.gov, their Facebook site, and
 April 22, 2013
Earth Day www.reosouthamerica.com.
 June 5, 2013
World Environment Day Read more at: http://www.guyanachronicleonline.com/site/index.php?
option=com_content&view=article&id=55006:us-ambassador
 July 10-12, 2013
-launches-second-series-of-guyana-shines-school-
Eolica, Buenos Aires, visits&catid=2:news&Itemid=3
Argentina Ambassador Hardt greeting students at St. Joseph School.
The information contained herein was gathered from news sources from across the region, and the views expressed below do not
necessarily reflect those of the Regional Environmental HUB Office or of our constituent posts.
Addressees interested in sharing any ESTH-related events of USG interest are welcome to do so.
For questions or comments, please contact us at quevedoa@state.gov.
* Free translation prepared by REO staff.

2. F O R E ST S: In n o va t i ve Pa r t n e r s h i p B e t we e n U .S . A n d S o u t h A m e r i c a n
U n i ve r s i t i e s t o A d d r e s s A n d e a n A m a z o n C o n s e r va t i o n
To combat deforestation in the Andean Amazon, four U.S. universities have been awarded funding by
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) through Higher Education for Development
(HED) to partner with South American universities to enhance local biodiversity conservation and sus-
tainability.
Announced today, these partnerships in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will strengthen regional
academia and train local people in the Amazon, including those from indigenous communities, to im-
plement conservation best practices. This nearly $3 million project over two-and-a-half years is part of
the Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA), USAID’s biodiversity program to protect
Photo by Wilheln Fyles (flickr user). Under Creative
and manage precious natural resources that are threatened by deforestation. "Leveraging the biodi- Commons License.
versity expertise of universities will foster the next generation of experts and help get university prac-
titioners in the field to work directly with communities on the toughest conservation challenges,” said Lawrence Rubey, director, USAID’s
Office of Regional Sustainable Development for Latin America and the Caribbean. “These partnerships are critical to strengthening the
ability of local actors to protect the Andean Amazon.”
The universities will engage the private and public sector at the local and regional levels, indigenous communities, and non-governmental
organizations to strengthen local capacity through training opportunities. They will participate in joint research, develop higher education
courses, and fund new scholarship and fellowship opportunities to identify and recommend new, sustainable approaches to managing
threats to biodiversity.
 Bolivia: The University of Florida will team up with Universidad Amazónica de Pando to develop a program in natural resources man-
agement.
 Colombia: Florida International University will work with Pontificia Universidad Javeriana to develop a research collaboration network.
 Ecuador: The University of North Carolina and Universidad San Francisco de Quito will launch a new certificate program in Amazonian
Studies.
 Peru: The University of Richmond and Universidad Nacional de Ucayali will integrate an applied interdisciplinary, science-based certifi-
cate program.
“The partnerships that make up the ICAA II Higher Education Partnership Program have put forth strong plans that are as inclusive as they
ambitious. With goals to learn and teach, these partnerships are now on the way to strengthening capacity of local universities for long-
term improvements,” added Tully R. Cornick, HED’s executive director.
The partnerships illustrate the valuable role that universities play in tackling biodiversity challenges and their ability to advance regional
conservation.
Read more at: http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/innovative-partnership-between-us-south-american-universities
COLOMBIA: 'No Car Day” Passed by Between Bicycles and Car Jams*
Through Twitter, Mayor of Bogotá Gustavo Petro sent a survey to find out if people want more days with no cars this year.
He received different reactions. For bicycle lovers such as Andrés Vergara from “Better in Bikes” group “Car-dependants should thank
cyclists because the city collapses when they use their cars”, he explained.
On the other hand, Eduardo Behrentz, expert on sustainable transportation from Universidad de los Andes, considers that this initiative is
over. "It is a good civism exercise, but it does not enhance air quality or auditive pollution, because buses, taxis and motorcycles increase
their activitiy”, he pointed out. For Behrentz the message is not the right one: “the campaign tone is negative, as it prohibits. It should
promote best practices”, he insisted.
However, the Environtment Secretary reported that smoke and pollution lowered by 6% and carbon diox-
ide by 2% in comparison to a regular day.
El Tiempo newspaper went to different areas in the city to know citizens’ opinions. "It is a blessing. There
should be at least one day a month with no cars. People become kinder and that is gold”, said Juan Ortiz, a
guard working north of Bogotá. Another citizen, William Gutierrez, who uses to ride his bicycle to the job
everyday, said that he saw six times the usual number of biclycles.
But those who live and work in opposite sides of the city just found full buses.
No-car Day in Bogotá. Photo by Patton (flickr
Read full article at: http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/bogota/balance-del-dia-sin-carro-en-bogota_12583951-4 user). Under Creative Commons License.

3. CONSERVATION: Radio Program to Protect Marine Species
Founded in 1995, ProDelphinus is a not-for-profit Peruvian organization based in Lima, committed to
the conservation of threatened and endangered marine fauna, such as sea turtles, marine otters,
cetaceans, seabirds and sharks. These species are either permanent residents to Peruvian waters or
just temporary visitors as they continue along their migration routes. Studies of the interactions be-
tween these species and Peruvian fisheries and the ways to prevent it, form a major component of
ProDelphinus’ current research.
The ProDelphinus Radio Conservation Program is a novel new tool, used to communicate in real time
with fishermen at sea to help reduce marine fauna bycatch. The program begun in 2008 with sup-
Photo by Ryan Espanto (flickr user). Under Creative
Commons License.
port from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration/South West Fisheries Science
Center (NOAA-SWFSC), is supported currently with funds from the International Seafood Sustainabil-
ity Foundation (ISSF) through The Ocean Foundation (TOF). Using their high frequency radio base station in Lima, they are able to com-
municate with fishermen at sea in Peru and as far away as Ecuador and Chile.
They provide fishermen with valuable environmental data like current, wind and sea temperature data that can help them as they
fish. They also talk to them about their interactions with sea turtles, seabirds and small cetaceans, taking these opportunities to help in-
form fishing crews how to safely release any bycaught animals and what they can do to reduce captures in the future. The program has
helped us to reach out hundreds of fishing boats and crews throughout the Southeast Pacific and is a powerful tool as they work to better
understand and reduce seabird, sea turtle and small cetacean bycatch.
You can find them at radio frequencies North 8.281.2 and South 10.695.0.
Read full article at: http://www.prodelphinus.org/about_us.html
FORESTS: New Analytic Methods Reduce Uncertainty in Forest-Carbon Relationship
By Tiffany Stecker
As temperatures rise and extreme weather events like droughts become more frequent, forests will adapt either by dying off or by
growing smaller, meaning less carbon can be absorbed. The carbon absorption rate could be high in one, wet, year and low in the
next, dry year. "It's the way that forests are responding to climate variation," Cox said.
There is still a range of uncertainty in this figure of about 17 billion metric tons, after considering the year-to-year measurements. But
that range is much smaller than the 39 billion-metric-ton range of uncertainty found when the researchers simply used the long-term
projections.
James Randerson, a professor of earth system science at the University of California, Irvine, wrote an article in this week's Nature
highlighting the work of Cox and his team and calling the approach "exciting" to scientists eager to reduce the uncertainties that are
associated with climate change models.
Scientists are "very much interested in trying to understand the magnitude of these climate
feedbacks," he said. "They're trying to better understand future changes in the carbon cy-
cle."
While the findings don't have a direct application to forest conservation efforts like the
U.N.-backed Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)
mechanism -- because REDD is driven by human-caused deforestation -- the two are linked,
Randerson said. "I think [looking into how] they're related is a really important next step,"
he said. "We have to better introduce land-use change."
As temperatures rise and extreme weather events like droughts become more frequent,
forests will adapt either by dying off or by growing smaller, meaning less carbon can be
absorbed. The carbon absorption rate could be high in one, wet, year and low in the next,
dry year. "It's the way that forests are responding to climate variation," Cox said.
There is still a range of uncertainty in this figure of about 17 billion metric tons, after con-
sidering the year-to-year measurements. But that range is much smaller than the 39 billion-
metric-ton range of uncertainty found when the researchers simply used the long-term
projections.
Read more at: http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2013/02/07/8 Photo by Wim Vandenbussche (flickr user). Under Creative Commons License.

4. SCIENCE: Space Food History
The food that NASA's early astronauts had to eat in space is a testament to their fortitude. John
Glenn, America's first man to eat anything in the near-weightless environment of Earth orbit,
found the task of eating fairly easy, but found the menu to be limited. Other Mercury astronauts
had to endure bite-sized cubes, freezedried powders, and semiliquids stuffed in aluminum tubes.
Most agreed the foods were unappetizing and disliked squeezing the tubes. Moreover, freeze-
dried foods were hard to rehydrate and crumbs had to be prevented from fouling instruments.
The astronauts complained and on the Gemini missions eating improved somewhat. The first
things to go were the squeeze tubes. Bite-sized cubes were coated with gelatin to reduce crum-
bling, and the freeze-dried foods were encased in a special plastic container to make reconstitut-
Early Project Mercury food tube and dry ing easier. With improved packaging came improved food quality and menus. Gemini astronauts
bite-sized snacks with gelatin coating. had such food choices as shrimp cocktail, chicken and vegetables, butterscotch pudding, and
apple sauce, and were able to select meal combinations themselves.
By the time of the Apollo program, the quality and variety of food increased even further. Apollo astronauts were first to have hot
water, which made rehydrating foods easier and improved the food's taste. These astronauts were also the first to use the "spoon
bowl," a plastic container that could be opened and its contents eaten with a spoon.
The task of eating in space got a big boost in Skylab. Unlike previous space vehicles for astronauts, Skylab featured a large interior
area where space was available for a dining room and table. Eating for Skylab's three-member teams was a fairly normal operation:
footholds allowed them to situate themselves around the table and "sit" to eat. Added to the conventional knife, fork, and spoon
was a pair of scissors for cutting open plastic seals. Because Skylab was relatively large and had ample storage area, it could feature
an extensive menu: 72 different food items. It also had a freezer and refrigerator, a convenience no other vehicle offered.
The Shuttle Food System
The kinds of foods the Space Shuttle astronauts eat are not mysterious concoctions, but foods prepared here on Earth, many com-
mercially available on grocery store shelves. Diets are designed to supply each Shuttle crew member with all the Recommended
Dietary Allowances (RDA) of vitamins and minerals necessary to perform in the environment of space. Caloric requirements are
determined by the National Research Council formula for basal energy expenditure (BEE). For women, BEE = 655 + (9.6 x W) + (1.7
x H) - (4.7 x A), and for men, BEE = 66 + (13.7 x W) + (5 x H) - (6.8 x A), where W = weight in kilograms, H = height in centimeters,
and A = age in years.
Shuttle astronauts have an astonishing array of food items to choose from. They may eat from a standard menu designed around a
typical Shuttle mission of 7 days, or may substitute items to accommodate their own tastes. Astronauts may even design their own
menus. But those astronaut-designed menus must be checked by a dietitian to ensure the astronauts consume a balanced supply
of nutrients.
The standard Shuttle menu repeats after 7 days. It supplies each crew
member with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Each astronaut's food is
stored aboard the Shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to
each package.
Food Preparation
On the Space Shuttle, food is prepared at a galley installed on the or-
biter's mid-deck. The galley is a modular unit that contains a water dis-
penser and an oven. The water dispenser is used for rehydrating foods,
and the galley oven is for warming foods to the proper serving tempera-
ture.
Read more about this topic at:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/postsecondary/features/
F_Food_for_Space_Flight.html
“S99-05103 (20 April 1999) --- Astronaut Brian Duffy, STS-92 mission
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/spacefood/index.html commander, samples a beverage during a crew food evaluation
session in the food laboratory at the Engineering and Applications
Development Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC)."