TEGUCIGALPA, Mar 26 (Tierramérica) - The U.S. transnational company Chiquita Brands has proposed a plan to the Honduran government to grow organic bananas, free of agrochemicals, in the southern part of the country.

This was reported to Tierramérica by the vice-minister for agriculture, Mario Ramón López, who also said the first 100 hectares of this pilot project will be cultivated before the end of the year.

The investment of 1.3 million dollars will be channeled through the state-run National Agricultural Development Bank as soft loans to some 52 banana growers in the southern department of Valle.

"In addition to fomenting an environmentally friendly approach, the idea is to reactivate development in that region, one of the country's poorest. The studies presented by Chiquita ensure production without great risk," said the official.

Bananas are the second leading national export of Honduras, mainly through Chiquita, and generate about 150 million dollars annually.

HAVANA, Mar 26 (Tierramérica) - The imminent rainy season in Cuba is expected to be very warm, and has put authorities on the alert because of the potential for wide proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the dengue virus.

The government-run newspaper Granma issued an appeal on Mar. 19 for citizen responsibility and compliance with health and environmental measures to prevent dengue outbreaks.

Manuel García, a resident of Plaza, a district in Havana, told Tierramérica that the pro-government Revolutionary Defense Committees, working block by block, collaborate in all health campaigns, "and will do so on this occasion."

In 2006, the word was that there were at least 15,000 cases of dengue across Cuba, but the figure was never officially confirmed. The worst epidemic was in 1981, with 344,203 ill, 10, 312 cases of hemorrhagic dengue, and 158 deaths.

SANTIAGO, Mar 26 (Tierramérica) - From Mar. 23 to 30, a delegation of the U.S.-based non-governmental Natural Resources Defense Council will visit the Chilean Patagonia region to see the areas affected by the construction of four hydroelectric dams.

The group is being led by Jacob Scherr, director of the NRDC international program. Also traveling will be the former vocalist for the hit Chilean band La Ley, Beto Cuevas.

"We hope to keep giving the conflict more visibility. Our motto is radical: 'No dams in Patagonia'," Juan Pablo Orrego, director of the group Ecosistemas and coordinator of a citizen environmental action group, told Tierramérica.

The itinerary includes Pumalín Park, the Futaleufú River, and the cities of Coyhaique and Cochrane, all in southern Chile.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 26 (Tierramérica) - Hybrid vehicles -- which run on a combination of electricity and gasoline -- emit 50 to 80 percent less pollution, according to a study by the Polytechnic Institute of the University of Sao Paulo.

The options of electricity and gasoline, ethanol or diesel allow the engine "to function in optimal conditions" and increase the distance traveled on the same amount of fuel by 50 percent, explained Marcelo Massarani, master thesis adviser for engineer Juliana Queiroz and her research on the issue.

Hybrid engines are seen as essential for curbing emissions that contribute to climate change, and can generate credits for the international carbon market and improve quality of life.

So far, Brazil manufactures only hybrid buses, not the lighter individual vehicles that are conquering markets in the wealthy nations, although there are excellent conditions for creating production incentives by reducing taxes that are five times higher than in the United States, said Massarani.