Looters grab 3,700 eggs from sea turtle nests in Yucatan
Discovery mars an otherwise healthy nesting season.
Yucatan study shows how resilient the coral reef really is
A study led by scientists at UC Santa Cruz shows that at least three Caribbean coral species, off the Yucatan Peninsula, can survive and grow under an increasingly acidic ocean, but the density of their skeletons may be lower than normal. The study took advantage of the unusual seawater chemistry found naturally at sites along…
Lopez Obrador plays down sargassum problem, calling it a ‘minor issue’
Cancun, Q. Roo — Sargassum, long choking the Yucatan Peninsula’s Caribbean coast, is a “minor issue,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters Monday. The smelly, seaweed-like muck has bedeviled the tourism industry in recent years, as disappointed tourists are deprived of the beautiful beaches they were promised. Tourism is key to the Mexican economy….
Giving up cattle, Rancho San Manuel is a paradise for Yucatan wildlife
In a former cattle ranch outside Tizimin, Manuel Reyes Sánchez Ruiz opted to trade in beef for bird watching and bicycle tours. Located a few kilometers before reaching Puerto del Cuyo, Rancho San Manuel has become a big attraction for nature lovers. Guests from around the world spend the night in beautiful wooden cabins, where…
Dust clouds from Sahara due in Yucatan by Sunday
The Sahara is sending its annual dusting to the Yucatan on Sunday. All the way from Africa, 7,500 kilometers / 4,660 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, clouds of dust arrive in the Peninsula every summer, generating milky daytime skies and redder sunsets, but also breathing problems. Sahara Desert sand storms also bring fungi, viruses, bacteria…
Solar panels are hot in Merida
Clean energy consumption is advancing by leaps and bounds in Mexico. For residential solar panels alone, Merida and Mexico City leading a 350 percent growth rate between 2017 and 2018, said Juan José Aguayo Puuc of Energía Solar del Sureste, a private company. Falling prices, helping clients recoup their investments within three years, have helped…
Taco chain gets jump on plastics ban, switches to eco-friendly packaging
Although they were given two years to phase it out, Los Trompos is eliminating polystyrene foam packaging in July.
Yucatan Symphony season concludes with the beauty and drama of an Italian opera
Love, jealousy and revenge are laid bare in “Cavalleria Rusticana,” the opera that closes the January – June 2019 Yucatan Symphony Orchestra season.
Progreso rehabs 25 beach access roads
Progreso, Yucatan — One month after its beach recovery program began, the City Council reported that it intends to rehabilitate 25 access roads to the beach. It’s an all-hands-on-deck initiative. Members of each city department are rolling up their sleeves to help with the grunt work. The city will remove garbage, plant palm trees and…
Sales of sabucanes, the traditional tote of Yucatan, surge as plastics are banned
Merida, Yucatan — With increased awareness of the downside of plastics, it seems that the traditional woven grocery bags have become fashionable again. Sellers at the Lucas de Galvez market reported a 30 percent increase in the sale of the iconic Yucatecan sisal-weave tote bag, the sabucan. The ban on single-use plastic bags, along with…
Winds shift, moving sargassum away from Yucatan
Miles of sargassum, said to be four times the size of the city of Merida, have shifted track. Rather than fouling beaches as far west as Sisal, the seaweed-like algae is headed to Florida instead, said the head of the Secretariat of Sustainable Development, Sayda Rodríguez Gómez. Citing a monitoring system that reveals the “loop…
Solar farm powers 30,000 homes in Yucatan
Progreso, Yucatan — A new solar farm in San Ignacio will deliver green energy to 30,000 homes in Progreso and Merida, its supporters said at its ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday. The US$30 million photovoltaic plant, which spreads solar panels across 66 hectares / 163 acres of land, will help meet the state’s overall energy demand,…
Sargassum tide 4 times the size of Merida headed to Yucatan’s Gulf Coast
A tide of sargassum is expected to foul 120 kilometers of beach from Dzilam Bravo to Sisal on Yucatan’s Gulf Coast today.
Ban on plastic straws, bags and containers becomes law in Yucatan
The state legislature on Wednesday handed the governor the bill after voting unanimously to pass it.
Maya activists deliver ‘prize’ for racism to corporate pig farms
For World Environment Day, representatives of the Mayan population of Homún and Kinchil came to one of Merida’s most prominent monuments on Wednesday to protest corporate pig farms that threaten their environment. Wednesday’s mock awards ceremony declared corporate pork processor Keken an “EPRC,” an acronym that translates to Dangerously Racist and Polluting Company. Gathered at…
Neighbors stonewalled as Centro flour plant noise grows louder
The giant flour mill plant has loomed over the neighborhood north of La Plancha for years. It was never much to look at, but it didn’t bother many people either.
U.S. court upholds ban meant to protect vaquita
Rebuffing a White House appeal, A U.S. federal judge upheld a ban on fish and shrimp caught with gillnets in the uppermost part of Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.
Green turtles’ tumors cause alarm in Mexico’s Caribbean coast
While the tumors sometimes go away on their own, there is no treatment or surgery to address FP.
Endangered Hawksbill turtle returns to Akumal after 15-year absence
The news was cheered by staff who run a sea-turtle protection program in this part of the Yucatan Peninsula.
UN asks Yucatan to try harder for the environment
A representative of the United Nations Environment Program is urging Yucatan officials to commit to eco-friendly transportation and environmentally safe products. Dolores Barrientos Alemán said that in talks with Yucatan Gov. Mauricio Vila Dosal, sustainable development program for the state was discussed. Electric and environmentally friendly public transportation, as well as the promotion of sustainable…
Chemicals killed 10 million bees in Yucatan last year — report
Collective calls for protections on World Bee Day plea to save pollinators from extinction.
Merida to crack down on vandals who cut down trees
Higher fines to match 2015 sanction against Prolongacion car dealership.
How to plant a tree on the streets of Merida
Restoring the concrete jungle to one that’s leafy and green takes some strategy.
As temperatures rise, state and city double tree-planting goal
Merida’s forestry and other environmental contingencies will be ramped up and re-thought. That’s the plan at the Secretariat of Sustainable Development (SDS) in light of the city’s sprawling growth and global climate change, reports Yucatan Novedades. The city is operating under a “Merida 2040” plan approved by the previous administration. Already the capital was absorbing…
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