Ecuador - Cronica Cero [es] writes about the icon that Betancourt became:

LIBRE. Así, con mayúsculas. (…) Betancourt alcanzó una imagen mundial, universal. (…) Abrimos periódico con ella y nos regocijamos con su liberación, nos hermanamos con los colombianos, con aquellos que buscan la paz antes que la confrontación. Betancourt es un ícono de la lucha contra el secuestro. Hoy, Colombia amanece diferente. Creo que el mundo, el que se relacionó y conmovió con su historia, también

FREE. Just like that with capital letters. (…) Betancourt became a universal global image. (…) We opened the newspaper and found her liberation, we are in solidarity with our Colombian brothers, those who have searched for peace before confrontation. Betancourt is a symbol of the struggle against kidnapping. Today, Colombian wakes up differently. I think the world, who related and was moved by their story, does too.

Bolivia - Carlos Gustavo Machicado Salas of Guccio's [es] comments on the words spoken by Betancourt upon her release:

para mi lo más importante es el mensaje de amor y perdón que nos dio Ingrid, que rezo por los muertos y por los guerrilleros y además les ofreció su perdón. Después de las penurias y los maltratos que tuvo que vivir uno pensaría que solo tendría odio y rencor en su alma, pero no al contrario irradia una paz espiritual y un apego a Dios increíble. Realmente algo muy lindo y que a todos nos debería hacer reflexionar en relación a cual debe ser nuestra actitud frente a la vida.

For me, the most important was Ingrid's message of love and forgiveness, that she prayed for the dead and for the guerrillas and in addition, she offered her forgiveness. After the hardships and the mistreatment that she had to endure, one would think that she would only have hate and resentment in her soul, but on the contrary, she radiated a spiritual peace and an incredible attachment to God. It was something truly beautiful and should make us reflect upon our thoughts on life.

Argentina - Marian B of Miscellaneous, Nonsensical and Unnecessary Ramblings [es] also highlights the speech given by Betancourt:

Estoy escuchando su discurso en el aeropuerto y le tengo envidia a los colombianos por contar nuevamente con una política excelente, excepcional e
increíble como ella. A Colombia le va a ir increíblemente bien si se presenta para las elecciones y la eligen.

I am listening to her speech at the aiport and I am envious that the Colombians can once again count on an excellent, exceptional and incredible politican like her. It will be beneficial for Colombia if she runs for president and is elected.

Guatemala - Prensa Negra [es] is pleased that President Hugo Chávez of neighboring Venezuela had very little to do with the rescue:

Se logro el rescate de Betancourt, sin duda alguna, el secuestro mas controversial de los ultimos años de las FARC, y lo mejor de todo sin la ayuda de Chavez por que si hubiera tenido algo que ver con esto quien le oyera la trompa ahora al pizado!.

Betancourt's rescue was, without a doubt, the most controversial kidnapping by the FARC en recent years. And best of all it was done without the help of Chavez, because if he did have something to do with it, we would have heard all about it!

Peru - Menoscanas [es] writes about what this might mean for the FARC guerrilla group.

Sonrisas de los ex rehenes evidencian uno de los golpes más duros a las FARC debido a que todos los ojos del mundo se encuentran sobre Colombia en este momento. El caso de Ingrid Betancourt es el más reconocido y las sonrisas y abrazos entre los ex rehenes y el reencuentro con sus seres queridos nos muestra como luego de largas pesadillas, uno puede despertar.

The smiles from the ex-hostages shows that this is one of the strongest blows to the FARC due to all of the eyes are now on Colombia. Ingrid Betancourt's case is the most recognizable and the smiles and hugs among the ex-hostages and the reuniting with their loved ones shows us that after long nightmares, one can wake up.

Diana Zorrilla of Morena Escribe [es] writes:

Ella se convirtió en el ícono del flagelo que han infligido las FARC al pueblo colombiano y su liberación junto con la de los otros catorce es una importante victoria moral para Colombia

She became the symbol of the whipping that the FARC has inflicted on the Colombian people and her liberation with the other 14 is an important moral victory for Colombia.

Paraguay — Edwin Britez of Derecho Viejo [es] wrote about Betancourt earlier in December, and returns with the good news spread throughout the country:

Me reconforta saber que hoy mucha gente salió a las calles de Asunción, por lo menos a expresar su contento con bocinazos, por la libertad de Ingrid. Muchas de ellas son mujeres. Hoy, todos somos de alguna manera, un poco más libres que antes.

I am comforted knowing that today many people went out into the streets of Asunción, and expressed their joy with car horns, for Ingrid's freedom. Many of them were women. Today, we are all, in some way, a little more free than before.

Thumbnail picture by Pixiduc

A report from the United Nations Foundation and The Vodafone Group Foundation Technology Partnership published in April describes the many different ways mobile phones are used for social change around the world. It's called “Wireless Technology for Social Change: Trends in Mobile Use by NGOs” [PDF].

Below, I have listed the environmental initiatives highlighted by its writers, Sheila Kinkade (ShareIdea.org) and Katrin Verclas (MobileActive.org). I have also listed some new projects that have appeared since then.

Argentina

Using mobile phones, Greenpeace in Argentina were able to rally supporters and effectively pass Argentina's first federal forest protection law. The MobileActive blog wrote of their tree saving efforts earlier this month:

Mobile phones are nothing new for Greenpeace Argentina. The organization has used mobile phones multiple times to mobilize its now 350,000 person-strong mobile list to successfully lobby for important environmental legislation. One of Greenpeace's significant accomplishments was the passage of the Ley de Bosques, or Forest Law.

According to the Wireless Technology for Social Change report, GreenPeace accomplished this by building a large database containing both email addresses and mobile phone numbers of the people who signed a petition supporting the Forest Law. In addition, they sent out text message alerts during critical hearings, and before city council votes. They also coordinated demonstrations and meetings using text messages.

Ghana

In Ghana, one project has shown that mobile phones can be transformed from typical pervasive tool for communication, to a 'super sensing' tool for environmental data collection. This is achieved by attaching a special sensor to a mobile phone. The sensor collects scientific information on air quality or even urban traffic patterns, which can be studied later and even layered over a google map.

Corinne Ramey wrote about this initiative on the MobileActive blog in April:

In the Accra study, seven taxi drivers were provided with a dash-mounted global positioning system (GPS) device and a tube to hang from their passenger window. The tube contained a carbon monoxide sensor. Similarly, three students were each given a mobile clip sensor pack containing a GPS device, and a carbon monoxide sensor. The taxi drivers and students were asked to carry their sensors as much as possible during their normal everyday activities. Throughout the day, the sensing system automatically logged sensor data. At the end of each day, the pilot participants dropped off their sensor packs at a central location where the data was then extracted and the sensors recharged. resulted from the participatory data collection A heat-map visualization of carbon monoxide readings across Accra, Ghana rendered atop Google Earth. Colors represent individual intensity reading of carbon monoxide during a single 24-hour period across the city. Red circles are locations where actual readings were taken.

Kenya

The Wirelesss Technology for Social Change report describes the tension in Laikipia district, Kenya, between landowners and wildlife. Farmers have been killed by wildlife, and their crops being destroyed. Elephants and other animals are being killed. A conflict prevention program that utilizes mobile phone technology, enables communication between the local community, wildlife service personnel, and land owners.

The pilot utilized ‘Push to Talk on Cellular (Phones)’ (PoC) technology, which combines the functionality of a walkie-talkie or two-way radio with a mobile phone. PoC enables communication between two individuals, or a group of people, and is particularly useful in connecting a user
group intermittently over a period of time (e.g., a working day).

South Africa

FishMS is an SMS-based service from The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative that provides the status of global fish stocks to consumers. Users text the name of a fish they are considering buying to +27 79 499 8795, and are immediately advised as to whether the fish was sustainably harvested, or whether they should think twice before buying it. The following video shows the tool in action (the short film was shot on a mobile phone - Nokia N93).

United Kingdom, United States

AirText is a system that sends an SMS message, voicemail or email containing information about pollution levels in a specific borough of London. The service is aimed at people who suffer from heart and breathing problems. Similar services exist for specific locations in the United States, including Ergo (various zip codes) and ADEQ (in Arizona).

People who would like to know how much their personal greenhouse gas emissions amount to, can download an application mobGas to their phone, that allows them to report on their daily activities, like cooking, watching television or driving.

From the Wirelesss Technology for Social Change report report:

By helping users make connections between their daily activities and greenhouse gas emissions, mobGAS hopes to encourage individuals to make lifestyle changes. The application also offers tips on how to modify activities to decrease emissions.

A similar project, highlighted by Josh Catone on Read Write Web blog is called FuelFrog. It's an application that uses Twitter to help track fuel consumption by users:

FuelFrog is exceedingly simple, and immensely useful. After each fill up, users enter their miles traveled since the last fill, the price paid, and the amount of gasoline in gallons. Over time, FuelFrog will track and graph your fuel consumption data so you can do things like identify trends in gas prices in your area, see how fuel efficient your car is (is it time to put air in the tires, perhaps?), how much you're driving, and how much you're spending.

Global Voices Environment thank MobileActive and Shareideas for the report, and would be interested in reader's input on other examples of mobile phones being used for environmental activism.

Also see our recent post on Global Voices highlighting the use of web2.0 technologies for environmental activism

Photo of Roadblock in Córdoba province taken by Pablo David Flores and used under a Creative Commons license.

For example, currently, the soybean industry pays 40%-45% taxes. The increase led to a rough conflict: for weeks, the sectors linked to the countryside closed the roads and didn't allow the circulation of trucks with grains, milk and meat. The result was a shortage of many basic products in the big cities. While the measures where temporarily dropped on two occasions, there's still a high degree of conflict going on between the Government, who hasn't lowered taxes, and those sectors linked to the countryside, which demand a decrease in taxes.

But, how have bloggers covered the topic of the conflict between the Government and the countryside? Let's see some opinions.

Let's start by the side of those who have a critical view of the protest measures of the sectors linked to the countryside. At Debate¨Politico [es] they published a text by Adolfo Perez Esquivel, a defendant of human rights in Argentina and Nobel Peace Prize winner, who sustains that “large national and international soybean companies are manipulating and pressuring the Government to lower the retentions. They make millions, but they want more and more, and they don't care about environmental damage, the consequences of monocultives, the reduction of natural forests, the indiscriminate use of agro-toxins, and the health and nourishment of the population.” At Arte Política [es] they reproduce a communique from the Frente Campesino (Rural Farmer's Front), where they criticize the measures of the sectors linked to the countryside. At Claro de Luna [es] they analyze and criticize the posture of the sectors in favor of the strong measures by the rural sectors, which tried to identify the “countryside” with “the country”. And finally, at Los Tres Chiflados [es], a group blog of economists, Larry, one of the authors, still expects an apology “for the second most antidemocratic act since the return to democracy”, in reference to the decision of sectors linked to the countryside to close the roads and cause a shortage of food products in the big cities.

Before going to the blogs that criticizes the Government and had a closer position to the countryside, you can check out two interesting materials. On one side, Andy Tow [es] mapped the location of road closing and the Gini coefficient, which measures the degree of economic inequity within the population. His conclusions: where there's more income equality, there were more protests. But, and this is interesting, there were also a coincidence between the areas of protests and soybean harvesting areas, the ones that received the highest taxes. On the other side, a group of people from Entre Rios province, who are in the design field, made a drawing of the Argentinean president, Cristina Fernandez, in a soybean field.

The other side opted for defending the countryside and this included harsh criticism against the Kirchner's government. One of the interesting points is that many blogs that are dedicated to defend the countryside position were created by producers that participated in the protests. At Marca Liquida [es], they criticized the Government's speech about the negative consequences of the soybean harvest; for instance, that it doesn't generate employment. At Patria Chacarera [es], they argue that the Government doesn't want to solve any of the problems that led to conflict and that, in fact, they're provoking more protest measures. This blog, by the way, has as a goal to publish posts that sustain the reasons by which retentions are unfair fiscal measures. Another blog, Viva el Campo [es] is gathering signatures for an Internet claim, with the objective to impulse the measures that led to the raise of retentions. A group of producers from Trenque Lauquen, province of Buenos Aires, have created a site [es] to tell their reasons for supporting the protest measures. And at Refundar la Republica Argentina [es] they don't hold back in attacks and insults for the Government's agriculture policy.

These days, the groups that represent sectors of the countryside have stopped the protest measures and have started negotiations with the Government again, looking to modify the increases in the taxes to exports. But the agreement, for now, doesn't seem too close.