Paul Byrne » Environmental

IN ARGENTINA, SOLAR VILLAGES LIGHT UP THE ANDES

Paul — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:16:03 +0000

My trip up into high andes resulted in this story. It was one of the most fraught productions I ever had, including living off llama meat, coping with serious altitude sickness and being crashed in our jeep off the side of a cliff. but all around it was a real reward to get to visit such remote locations high in the Puna Andena and get to know its remarkable residents. Would really apprecaite any feedback on the story…..

ARGENTINA’S TROUBLED WATERS – GlobalPost

Paul — Sat, 01 May 2010 22:25:30 +0000

Voted by The New York Times as a must-see video of the week

ARGENTINA COW BACKPACKS – AP TELEVISION

Paul — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:53:37 +0000

My video news report on a new device Argentine scientists have invented to help monitor and control the levels of methane gas produced by livestock. Scientists hope the cowbackpack will help combat the agricultural contribution to global warming. The story is currently being broadcast through the Associated Press Television’s features bulletin and has already gone out on several channels around the world, including this link to its transmission on US’s Ebru News. Will keep you updated over the next few weeks on its continued broadcasts and print publications.

ARGENTINA MANURE – APTN

Paul — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:06:34 +0000

My video story on sustainable farming in Argentina. Filming in one of the worlds most energy efficient pig farms just outside Buenos Aires where they use livestock manure to create bio-gas to self power. Story was lead story on APTN’s features bulletin as part of a package of features they are doing from around the world in the build up to the Copenhagen climate change conference. This link shows broadcast of the story on Venezuelan National channel TELESUR

ARGENTINA ADOPT A FROG – APTN

Paul — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:51:54 +0000

The National Geographic Channel’s broadcast of my news report for the APTN reporting on how an Argentine official in the small interior city of San Luis is suggesting people adopt mosquito-munching frogs—not chemicals—as a solution to an outbreak of the disease dengue fever, which is spread by the insects. Also went out in print on USA Today and a variety of other international broadcast, print and web outlets…..

HUNTING FOR FOSSILS IN THE PANAMA CANAL

Paul — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:51:30 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Various broadcasts of my piece from Panama on how expansion of the Panama Canal to make way for super sized ships is providing geologists and palaeontologists with the perfect hunting ground for critical fossil finds. The piece went out on various tv, print and online media outlets all around the world from Australia to Spain.

BRAZIL; ON THE FRONTLINE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Paul — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:00:09 +0000

Broadcast by Spanish language news agency Observador Global of my piece from Brazil for APTN exploring how recent bouts of extreme weather have roused debate about how to tackle the country’s position on the front-line of the effects of global climate change

DINO HUNTING IN PATAGONIA – APTN

Paul — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:24:02 +0000

The National Geographic channel’s broadcast of my news report for the Associated Press Television News reporting on how the Argentine region of Patagonia is becoming one of the main centres in the world for palaeontological discoveries. In the last years digs have thrown up all kinds of dinosaur fossils that are helping to rewrite the books on evolutionary history.

PARAGUAY’S ANTI-MOSQUITO SHIRT- APTN

Paul — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:40:35 +0000

They are the bane of tourists the world over. As they flock eagerly to local landmarks, the resident mosquitoes size up the fresh visitors with lunch in mind. The pesky insect’s source of nutrition is found in the blood of animals and humans. But beside the itchy effects of their bite, mosquitoes are the most deadly disease transmitters known to man, killing millions each year by circulating malaria, dengue fever and encephalitis.

In recent years numerous quick fix devices to curb the effect of mosquitoes have dropped in and out of the market. Now, a Paraguayan clothing company says it has a successful formula to beat the blood suckers – a line of shirts that are steeped in anti mosquito oil. At the moment the shirts are targeted towards the lucrative US travel and sports apparel market, while tests are being carried out to evaluate the real preventative potential of the product. Rodrigo Jacks, owner of Pombero, a sports dedicated clothing company based in Asuncion helped develop the product. He says the shirts are proving to be quite an innovation. The key ingredient is citronella – known to help repel mosquitoes.

The fibre oil is extracted from a perfumed grass that grows abundantly in the land locked South American country. The shirt is then impregnated in the oil and sealed using a traditional Paraguayan weaving technique. The company say this allows it to withstand more than 40 washes without losing its power to hold off the insects. Citronella’s distinctive aroma is pleasant to humans but corrupts the senses of the mosquito, interfering with its ability to sniff out human blood. The impregnated cotton fabric is manufactured by the largest textile company in Paraguay, Manufactura de Pilar. As their chemical engineer, Juan Baveola explains, unlike other products it is not about repelling the mosquitoes, but actually about masking the human scent from them.

Paraguay is the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes that thrive in the wet marshy conditions which are bountiful in the country. The shirt is the result of several years of collaboration between the sport apparel company, Pombero and Paraguay’s non-profit ecological foundation, Moises Bertoni. The director of Moises Bertoni, Yan Speranza, says the making of the shirt has facilitated the initiative of a humanitarian programme to improve the quality of life of hundreds of impoverished and indigenous families who live in the areas where citronella is harvested. Rodrigo Jacks says despite the obvious commercial potential of the anti-mosquito shirt he is confident they can also be used for social gain.

After a dengue fever epidemic in Paraguay in early 2007, government scientists are interested in finding out whether the anti-mosquito shirt can protect against mosquito-borne viruses. Even if proven successful, the shirt retails at US$50. This is far beyond the means of many Paraguayans, more than one third of whom live below the poverty line.