The Book
In praise of Blogging the Revolution
“Caracas Chronicles has been an indispensable source of lucidity and perspective in these turbulent times in Venezuela. Toro and Nagel have been right on target, without pretending to be ludicrously impartial; they have been able to rise above polarization, trying hard to make sense of an often implausible reality. Blogging the Revolution shows them at their best. If you are not already a fan, you will become one.”
- Francisco J. Monaldi, RFK Visiting Professor at Harvard Kennedy School and Director, Center on Energy at IESA in Caracas.Recent Comments
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Category Archives: Environment
Wildfires on the rise
For a week, a massive wildfire has caused serious damage in Canaima National Park. This recent photograph from the newspaper Correo del Caroní shows how the fire has now reached the Auyán-tepui. The news report indicate authorities on the ground … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, In Other News, Society
19 Comments
The sad tale of Felipe the ocelot
The ocelot (commonly known around here as cunaguaro) is a wild cat that can be found on Central and South America. It’s considered to be an endangered species and some of them are now found in places like El Pinar … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, In Other News, Society
27 Comments
When the levee breaks
Earlier this year, we reported on Lake Valencia’s rising waters, which by some estimates could flood parts of South Maracay by August. Now we’re in the end of such month and the zone is still close to disaster according to this video … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, In Other News, infrastructure
21 Comments
Wind power à la Bolivariana
Days before the explosion of Amuay, Paraguana and other parts of Falcon State had been suffering some prolonged blackouts. CORPOELEC didn’t point to an animal this time, they simply refused to provide any reason at all. The main source of electricity for … Continue reading
Posted in Electric Crisis, Environment, infrastructure, The Economy
1 Comment
Perhaps the world’s richest deposit of arbitration processes
The sprawling farce that is the Las Cristinas gold mine sunk to a new low yesterday, as Rusoro, the Russian firm that had been brought in to take over the mine from the Canadian firm that filed for arbitration after it … Continue reading
Posted in Corruption, Environment, The Economy, Venezuelan Culture
16 Comments
Like getting a lecture on chastity from Diosa Canales…
Last week in Rio, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (a follow-up to the historical Earth Summit of 20 years ago) went through without attracting the same attention of its predecessor. Few top world leaders attended and the final document … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, International, Oil
33 Comments
The smell of concrete is in the air
People living in Caracas face multiple struggles in their everyday lives. Now, they can add one more: Breathing. Suddenly, concrete plants, spreading all over the city. According to some estimates, between six and ten concrete plants are now active inside the … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, infrastructure, Society
14 Comments
Chavismo Ruins Paradise
All through the last 13 years, I’d had this – in retrospect, rather complacent – feeling that, try as they might, chavismo would never be able to ruin the very best part of Venezuela: the knee-weakeningly beautiful Canaima National Park. … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, In Other News
40 Comments
Clear as Ditchwater
We’re now on week four or five of a relentless national debate about drinking water quality in Venezuela. Everybody, but everybody, has heard the stories about drinking water being unsafe not only in Monagas but throughout the Lago de Valencia … Continue reading
Posted in Environment
53 Comments
South Maracay is sinking and they don’t want to swim
Two neighbourhoods in Maracay, La Punta and Mata Redonda, are under constant threat of flooding due to the fast rising water levels of Valencia Lake. The folk who live there went to the Supreme Tribunal to appeal against an eviction order, and they won. … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Society
32 Comments
Anzoátegui’s unnatural wonder
It has been a rough time for PDVSA in Anzoátegui. Last week’s oil spill in the refinery of Jose, near Puerto La Cruz, is the latest in a series of similar events since 2011. While the Environment Minister has called … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Oil, Society
7 Comments
To drink or not to drink the water?
The February 4th oil spill in the Guarapiche river in Monagas State is an enviromental disaster that has put the water supply of Maturín at risk. While PDVSA keeps saying the situation is under control, the real extent of the damage has started … Continue reading
Making Satire Superfluous
In this video clip, Alí Rodríguez waxes self-righteous about Venezuela’s deeply ethical commitment to fighting climate change in the process of…announcing a plan to force every public office to run off of a diesel generator for several hours a day. En serio, … Continue reading
Posted in Electric Crisis, Environment
23 Comments
The smell of Hades
A few years ago, Hugo Chávez famously claimed that George W. Bush had left the podium of the UN “reeking of sulphur.” He should know about that. Turns out, Venezuela ranks 99 out of 100 countries in terms of sulphur … Continue reading
Can you fall in love with a graph?
Brilliant stuff. Here is the original source. Notice how Venezuela has the largest per capita carbon emissions in South America. Notice, also, that two of the disproportionately high-emissions places, the US Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles, are probably ranked … Continue reading
