Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 13, 2008 2:19:39 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Brazil's Condoms Go Tropical

Posted Apr 8, 08 6:55 PM CDT in Science & Health,  World 

(Newser) – Brazil buys more condoms and boasts more rainforest than any other country; now officials hope to connect the dots, the BBC reports. The government will use rubber from Amazon trees to make 100 million condoms a year, given out freely as part of the country's anti-AIDS program. Rubber can be obtained without destroying trees and is widely available.

The new effort will reduce foreign imports of contraceptives, as even the latex will be Brazilian, harvested in the tropical forest of the Chico Mendes reserve. The health ministry says the plan will help preserve the rainforest while supporting local residents; the factory will employ 150 workers.

Source BBC

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Norway Ponies Up $1B to Help Save Rainforests

    Sep 17, 08 8:15 PM CDT
    Norway Ponies Up $1B to Help Save Rainforests Brazil’s renewed push to save the rainforest gained support from a far-flung proponent today when oil-rich Norway pledged nearly $1 billion, the BBC reports. “Efforts against deforestation may give us the largest, quickest, and cheapest reductions in greenhouse gas emissions," said Norway's prime minister. "Brazilian efforts (are) of vital importance if we shall succeed in our campaign against global warming." More »

  • In Remote Amazon, Complex Towns Once Flourished

    Aug 29, 08 2:50 PM CDT
    In Remote Amazon, Complex Towns Once Flourished Researchers have unearthed remains of densely populated, complex urban towns in a remote region of the Amazon River Basin, the BBC reports. In an area of western Brazil thought to be virgin forest, researchers found extensive and advanced human activity, including roads, farming, wetland management, and what appear to be fish farms built prior to Europeans landing in the 15th century. More »

  • Half of Amazon Could Be Gone in 20 Years

    Jun 19, 08 6:58 PM CDT
    Half of Amazon Could Be Gone in 20 Years An "unprecedented" combination of ills is threatening the Amazon, and if nothing is done to ease the pressure on the world’s largest rainforest, more than half of it could be gone or withered in 20 years, Rhett Butler writes for Yale Environment 360. After a three-year decline, forest clearing doubled in the latter part of 2007 to help feed the insatiable demand of the growing economies in China, India, Russia, and elsewhere. More »

  • First Contact With Amazon Tribe

    May 30, 08 7:25 AM CDT
    First Contact With Amazon Tribe One of the last remaining Amazon tribal communities yet to have contact with the outside world has been photographed from the air, reports the BBC. The photos show startled, red-painted tribesmen aiming arrows at the aircraft overhead. Members live in thatched huts near Brazil's remote Peruvian border. More than half the world's 100 uncontacted tribes live in Brazil or Peru. Brazil's government took the photos as part of a push to protect the tribes. More »

  • Brazil Targets Amazon Loggers

    Mar 21, 08 9:33 AM CDT
    Brazil Targets Amazon Loggers Brazil is launching a new crackdown against the loggers who are destroying the Amazon rainforest at alarming rates, the Washington Post reports. After several years of decline, deforestation is surging as cattle ranchers clear land and loggers cut down trees for charcoal to fuel steel mills abroad. But Brazil will have to find another way for the region's people to make a living; in some towns, 70% of citizens work in the logging industry. More »

This image released in Brasilia, March 25, 2008, by the Health Ministry shows a poster to be used in an AIDS-prevention campaign in Brazil.   (AP Photo)
A man harvests rubber at a rubber plantation in Xapuri, Brazil, Oct. 31, 2007.   (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A worker checks rubber condoms at the Natex factory in Xapuri, Brazil, Oct. 30, 2007.   (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 4)

Tags

Brazil  • condom  • Amazon rainforest  • sustainability  • AIDS prevention


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »