Mexico City Will Green its Garbage Dumps

Mexico City has a trash problem – a big one. Just 6 percent of the city’s waste is recycled, with the rest filling vast landfills that officials say are getting out of control. So, the new Waste Commission decided to set some lofty goals in an attempt to transform one of the world’s biggest and messiest waste management systems into a green system that would rival those in San Francisco or the Netherlands.

From MSNBC:

A newly formed Waste Commission is working to build four state-of-the-art processing centers in the next four years to recycle, compost or burn for energy 85 percent of Mexico City’s trash — compared with about 6 percent recycled today.

“The whole concept of recycling is very new in Latin America,” said Atiliano Savino, president of the International Solid Waste Association.

While many places are good at recycling one thing, such as aluminum, Savino said, he’s never seen a city revamp its recycling program on this scale in so little time. U.S. and European cities that now have recycling rates over 50 percent began decades ago.

But Mexico City has no choice. The federal government proposed to close the city’s main landfill this month, saying the 50 million-ton dump has become too full and leaches contamination. Scientists dispute that, and the closing has been delayed by a city appeal in federal court for an extension. Yet waste management officials know that soon much of Latin America’s largest metro area will be forced into expensive, temporary alternatives for dumping trash.

New processing centers will recycle 20% of Mexico City’s trash, compost 20% and burn another 45% for energy by 2012, according to the Waste Commission. The government will also harvest methane gas from Bordo Poniente, the city’s largest landfill, and use it to power the subway and light homes.

Considering that Bordo Poniente receives 700 truckloads of trash each and every day, such a program would make a huge difference. It will be a challenge for sure – especially getting the people of Mexico City to start sorting their trash, and to get the garbage worker’s union to collect separated waste. However they manage to do it, this will be a huge step forward for Latin America, providing a great example for many other cities with similar, if not as pressing, waste problems.

Link [MSNBC]
Photo credit: Flickr user maurortega

Mexican Water Monster Nearing Extinction

We’re possibly about to lose one of the coolest, most unique creatures in existence on the planet. The Axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) salamander, also known as the Mexican Water Monster, is facing extinction. This roughly foot-long amphibian, which resembles some kind of alien fetus, is being threatened by pollution and nonnative species populating the same waters. Frankly, it’s sort of amazing that it lasted this long.

From MSNBC:

The axolotl, also known as the “water monster” and the “Mexican walking fish,” was a key part of Aztec legend and diet. Against all odds, it survived until now amid Mexico City’s urban sprawl in the polluted canals of Lake Xochimilco, now a Venice-style destination for revelers poled along by Mexican gondoliers, or trajineros, in brightly painted party boats.

But scientists are racing to save the foot-long salamander from extinction, a victim of the draining of its lake habitat and deteriorating water quality. In what may be the final blow, nonnative fish introduced into the canals are eating its lunch — and its babies.

Researchers say it could disappear within five years, and some are pushing for axolotl sanctuaries in canals cleared of invasive species. Others are considering repopulating Xochimilco with axolotls bred in captivity.

We can only hope that scientists and conservationists will be able to save this creature, named after Xolotl, the dog-headed Aztec god of death, lightning and monstrosities.  It would be such a shame to see it go.

Link [MSNBC]

Photo credit: National Geographic

Mexico Pays Fishermen to Save Porpoises

The endangered vaquita porpoise has an unlikely new group of friends: commercial fishermen who were previously accidentally trapping and killing the animals while trying to catch shrimp, mackerel and sharks.  The Mexican government is paying 800 fishermen in the northernmost area of the Gulf of Mexico to stop fishing with nets and, in some cases, stop fishing altogether.

From The New York Times:

Probably no more than 150 vaquitas survive, conservationists say. The population could fall to 100 in a couple of years. If that occurred, there would be too few sexually mature adults left for the species to recover.

“We have one or two years,” said Omar Vidal, the director of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico and a biologist who has studied the vaquita for 25 years. “We’re on the brink.”

The Mexican government agrees. It has spent about $20 million over the last two years on conservation measures, primarily to persuade 800 of the 4,000 registered fishermen in the area to accept its offer to stop using nets or to cease fishing entirely, according to the environment minister, Juan Elvira Quesada. Next year, officials hope to spend an additional $13 million to continue the plan.

Many of the fishermen who accepted the offer say they’ll use the money to start new businesses, but for those who wish to keep fishing, there’s a new net available developed with help from the World Wildlife Fund that won’t trap the vaquita.

Now, that’s the way to work together to protect endangered animals.  Hopefully this last-ditch effort will work, because they’re running out of time. A cousin of the vaquita, the Chinese river dolphin, was declared extinct last year.

Link [The New York Times]
Photo credit: Cetacean Society International

Cross-Border Yoga in Tijuana and San Diego

Yoga enthusiasts sat cross-legged on their mats, preparing for a seaside session. Beach yoga is not all that unusual, but beach yoga on either side of a giant rusty metal fence is, especially when that fence is dividing up the U.S. and Mexico. The group, which convened on Sunday the 23rd, stretched and meditated, and hugged (as well as you can with a chain-link fence between you) when they were done.

From SignonSanDiego.com:

The session was organized by the Border Meetup Group, which promotes cross-border understanding by staging social events on the divided beach.

Coordinator Dan Watman said the group aims “to make friends across cultural, political, societal, even emotional barriers.”

The Tijuana beach is a popular destination for families who come to chat through the fence with loved ones on the other side.

How cool. It’s nice to hear stories of peace and friendship along the U.S./Mexico border, instead of hate and murder – as hippy-dippy as that sounds, especially since we’re talking about yoga.

Link [SignonSanDiego.com]
Photo credit: Guillermo Arias