The “green” movement is not only sweeping across Western countries like the United States, Australia, and the continent of Europe, but has now spread to the Dominican Republic. The country has apparently decided that it needs to conserve and maintain its resources based on the report from DR1’s environmental blog

The DR's Environment Ministry (SEMARENA) has launched a environmental services payment (PSA) program. The basic concept is to encourage parties — whether communities, farmers, landowners, or others — to act in an environmentally responsible manner by compensating them for behaviors that result in the recovery, conservation and/or sustainable management of natural resources.

This is moderately old news in the world of instant technology as this occurred way back in May of this year. However, what this has begun to produce is a heightened awareness to ecological friendliness in the Dominican. The most recent and forefront of this environmental spirit is the Nature Conservancy and the Caribbean nations collaborating to begin the “Caribbean Challenge”, which is designed to protect the marine life that feeds the Caribbean people and attracts tourism. The reason for this challenge, as Caribbean Beat blogs, is because presently

Destructive fishing methods, pollution, heavy industry, and climate change are degrading regional coral reefs and marine ecosystems, which have a trickle down effect of negatively impacting fishing and tourism industries, and threatening some of the region's unique marine life with extinction.

Blogger Temasactuales writes that he would normally be skeptical about such a governmental endeavor of this monetary proportion ($40 million), but thinks this has positive aspects that might make this project viable. Those things are

• money — from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) (kudos to TNC for stepping up first to make this happen!), probably the German Government and Global Environment Facility (GEF) as well and maybe even the US Government and World Conservation Union (IUCN) (these latter two helped sponsor the event at which the Challenge was launched);
• technical help, not only from TNC, but also probably from the UN Environment Programm’s (UNEP) Caribbean office (CEP), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and groups such as Reef Check
• mutual reinforcement, not only among themselves, but also from other members of the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) (kudos to GLISPA for inspiring some concrete initiatives)

Finally, Christopher Ward, an expat living in the Las Flores area, polled the residents of said area about their environmental concerns. He writes “their major concerns were planting trees, picking up the garbage and rerouting their black water so it isn’t going directly into the river.”

It is promising to see the Dominican Republic, which is tangled in governmental discrepancies, do something to sustain and preserve the beauty that is driving more and more people to vacation here. It is, also, hopeful to notice how they are taking the initiative to feed themselves with the abundance of natural resources at their fingertips.

Photo by Guille Padilla and used under a Creative Commons license

In what might seem small inconsequential news, the Dominican Republic is going through a milk scandal and it is being blogged that sugar water is being given to school children in place of whole or regular milk. The Daily Dominican [en] writes:

The Dominican Pediatrics Society (SDP) is calling for the Ministry of Education to discontinue the purchase of a breakfast drink that a TV investigative journalist Nuria Piera determined fails to meet its own established minimum standards of nutrition. Dr. Tharsis Hernandez, president of the SDP said that what the Ministry is serving is “whey” or “water with sugar.

The ministry of education has a contract with a number of different milk providers, one of which is the Dominican Dairy Producers (Ladom), according to Blog Santo Domingo [es]. The official who is presiding over the quality of the milk given to school children is Minister Alejandrina German, whose daughter works in an administrative position with Ladom. German stated that this liquid is not toxic:

Pero esa no es la inquietud en relación al líquido que Lacteos Dominicanos (LADOM) introduce en nuestras escuelas públicas y pretende hacer pasar por leche. El problema está en que este líquido no tiene los nutrientes suficientes para llamarse leche y es comparable a un suero de agua con colorante. Frente a estas acusaciones Alejandrina Germán se hizo la loca y declaró que el líquido no intoxica. ¿Y cuando ha visto ella que el agua con colorante intoxica?

Piera, the journalist with Color Vision, first broke the news around the first of June. Clave Digital [es] blogged that he received a letter from a concerned parent about the apparent poor quality of the milk her child receives and said parent’s inability to give her child another milk option. Piera, along with fellow journalist Odalis Castillo, had independent tests administered on the milk to discover that the Ladom brand does not meet the minimum qualifications for protein.

German has denied these statements, according to Clave Digital [es], saying that there wasn’t any milk in the school system that did not meet the protein requirements. However, when pressed by reporters, she declined to mention the milk provider that was temporarily suspended.

Blogger Leoncio Bautista of El Informador [es] wrote that the chairman of the Federation of Dominican Merchants, Ivan Garcia, said that every year the Dominican Dairy Companies (Ladom) comes under attack because of other producers' inability to reach Ladom’s level of excellence; and the competitiveness of this type of business leads to these false claims.

Explicó que ahora se han inventado que la leche que sirve esta industria al Desayuno Escolar “es pura agua”, una denuncia falaz, sin fundamentos, que no resiste al más mínimo razonamiento de una población inteligente, como la dominicana, que sabe distinguir entre lo bueno y lo malo, lo que tiene calidad en el mercado.

User noe0324 has uploaded a video that manages to transmit the overwhelming expectation and pride for this massive public transportation method. On the first minute you can hear and see the excitement of the people who standing on their roofs at the side of the metro track, cheer, wave flags and clap as it passes by. The video can be seen by following this link or by viewing it on the embedded video that follows.

DJBlastor shows us another view: people standing in line 3 people deep waiting to get aboard the metro cars, and then the people rushing into the cars to see if they can get a seat. He has 3 other videos recorded that same day, with political commentary which seems to be the underlining current of support for the actual president as well as rare footage of people crammed inside a metro car, and most of them cracking brilliant smiles.

As mentioned previously, the metro seems to have raised President Leonel Fernandez' popularity, and it was high to begin with, since it's his second non-consecutive presidential period. The following video was uploaded by macaco993 and you can hear the crowd cheering and chanting “Leonel, Leonel, Leonel”:

Supercrackers also recorded last week's calmer entrance into the Metro system, where she travels through the station, down stairs and sits, while watching children and adults happily pop the bubble-wrap between the seats.

From Venezuela, Curiosa congratulates [es] all women:

… a todas esas mujeres que le echan un camión de pierna cada día, aquellas a las que les dijeron que no podrían salir airosas de una enfermedad, aquellas que les dijeron que eran muy chamas o muy viejas o muy novatas para ese cargo, aquellas que fueron subestimadas sin saber su potencial, aquellas que fueron ridiculizadas, aquellas que fueron vejadas, aquellas que fueron víctimas, aquellas que les costó y les está costando un mundo sacar a sus hijos o a su familia adelante, aquellas que ríen y lloran sin pena de expresar lo que sienten y no sentirse por eso menos que nadie, a todas esas mujeres que deben batallar con un prototipo de tetas operadas y cuerpos “perfectos” en un mundo lleno de eso cada día mas, a todas ustedes mujeres, porque dentro de cada una saben qué es lo que más las hace fuertes, lo que mas las motiva, lo que las saca adelante.
Porque se que dentro de todas y cada una de ustedes esta la llave, la clave, para salir adelante y mirar alto con orgullo y decir: Nunca me subestimes, porque en realidad no me conoces.

… all those women that have a truck on their leg every day, the ones that were told that wouldn't be able to overcome an illness, the ones that were told that they were too young or too old or too inexperienced for a post, those that were underestimated without knowing their potential, those that were ridiculed, those that were humiliated, those that were victims, those that are struggling to raise their kids or their family, those that laugh and cry without embarrassment of showing their feelings or feeling inferior to anyone because of that, those that have to face the model of a woman with breast implants and “perfect” bodies in a world with increasingly more of those, to all of you women, because inside each one of you there is something that makes you strong, something that motivates you, something that makes you go forward. Because I know that inside all and each one of you there is the key to survive everything and look up with pride and say: Never underestimate me, because in fact you don't know me.

Also from Venezuela, Yosmary Delgado [es] pays a tribute to courageous women in Latin America, such as Arlen Siu Bermúdez, am 18-year old revolutionary student leader against the Nicaraguan dictatorship that was assassinated by Anastasio Somoza's National Guard. She also posts a song dedicated to her, as well as a couple of videos honoring women.

Photo by Subcomandanta and used under a Creative Commons license.

Sara Herrera B from the Dominican Republic also pays a tribute [es] to all the women that forged the country: “María Trinidad Sánchez, Manuela Diez (mother of Juan Pablo Duarte), Concepción Bona, María Baltasara De Los Reyes, Salomé Ureña, Juana Saltitopa, and other courageous women that are nowadays an example in our society”. And Malena Ezcurra [es] from Argentina, remembers the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, for their courage in protesting for their lost children by themselves, tireless and without fear:

Han extendido su ejemplo de lucha acercando su solidaridad a otras madres de desaparecidos y presos políticos de Latinoamérica y el mundo; participando activamente en las luchas sociales de los que creen que un orden mundial más justo es posible. A ellas el homenaje de cada día y el de hoy, por la verdad y la dignidad de los pueblos. “Nunca Más”.

They have extended their example of struggle bringing their solidarity to other mothers of the disappeared and political prisoners in Latin America and the world; participating actively in the social struggle of those who believe that a fairer world order is possible. To them, a daily homage and also in this special day, for the truth and dignity of peoples. “Never Again”.

“Cigarettes kill, Machismo also kills” - Photo by Flora G and used under Creative Commons license

Zenia Regalado from Cuba notes that [es] there are still many women in the world complaining about the need for such a day, because it means that women are still far from being regarded with equity, and he explains the situation of feminism in Cuba:

en [Cuba] la palabra feminismo no ha encontrado aún aceptación, si bien miles de congéneres la llevan a la práctica en la cotidianidad ante la ruptura de la pareja y la crianza en solitario de los hijos, lo cual demanda de una red de apoyo personal entre familiares y amigos para escalar las cimas de las tres dimensiones: madre, hija, trabajadora asalariada (sea profesional o no).

in [Cuba] the word feminism is still not used, although there are thousands of women putting it into practice on a daily basis after a breakup with their partner, and having to bring up the children by themselves, which requires a network of personal support amongst relatives and friends to reach the top of the three dimensions: mother, daughter, wage-earning worker (professionally or not)

Desde dos mundos [es], quotes José Saramago, the Nobel laureate writer, in response to women that are wondering if such a day is necessary:

Yo escribo, Pilar escribe, traduce, habla en la radio, cuida del marido, cuida la casa, cuida los perros, hace las compras, hace la comida, y escribe, traduce, habla en la radio, cuida del marido y de la casa, y de los perros, y sale a hacer las compras, y vuelve para hacer la comida , y escribe, traduce, habla en la radio y se encarga de la ropa, y acoge a los amigos y sigue, incansable, dialogando con el mundo, y dice “Estoy cansada” y luego dice “Pero no importa”. Yo escribo.

I write, Pilar writes, translates, talks on the radio, takes care of her husband, takes care of the house, takes care of the dogs, she goes grocery shopping, she cooks, and she writes, translates, talks on the radio, takes care of her husband, and of the house, and of the dogs, and she goes grocery shopping, and she comes back to cook again, and she writes, and she translates, talks on the radio, and takes care of the laundry, and she entertains some guests and continues, breathless, talking with the world, and she says “I'm tired” and then she says “But it doesn't matter”. I write.

For Susana Villarán [es], from Peru, this day is also necessary because there are still thousands of women that are not aware of their rights and who need to make their voice heard:

Mientras Juana e Ignacia sean maltratadas en las comisarías y las ninguneen, mientras no entiendan el castellano con el que les habla el policía, la Fiscal o el Juez. Mientras Juana e Ignacia sientan vergüenza de haber sido violadas creyendo que es su deber, sin saber siquiera que es un delito el que comete su pareja y que podría terminar en la cárcel si ella lo denuncia.
Mientras ellas amanezcan y se acuesten con miedo, habrá que seguir luchando.

While Juana and Ignacia are being mistreated or looked down upon in police stations, while they are spoken in Spanish, a language that they don't understand by the police, the attorney or the judge. While Juana and Ignacia feel the shame of being raped thinking that it was their duty, not even knowing that the one commiting an offense is their partner and that he could end up in jail if she reported him. While they still wake up and go to bed with fear, we will have to continue fighting.