Home/Posts Tagged ‘Brazil’
Posts Tagged ‘Brazil’
Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 22nd, 2012,
I posted here on Wednesday about how the Rio+20 Earth Summit in Brazil turned out to be – at least partially – a bit of a greenwash. Last week I posted over on Asia Correspondent about how Australia’s new marine park nature reserve (the largest in the world) is sparking controversy in both fishing and environmentalist circles. These stories, plus the development of a low-emissions diesel fuel in the Netherlands, are briefly covered on a France24 environment video report. Check it out below. Now for another video report on the Rio+20 Earth Summit host country’s dubious environmental practices. Brazil’s hydroelectric…
Tags: Brazil, Earth Summit, Rio+20
Climate Change, Conservation, Politics, May 13th, 2012,
Join Brazilian environmental and human rights organizations, along with the WWF and Greenpeace to stop Brazil’s new ‘forest code’. Sign this petition to urge Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to veto the proposed law that would open up new areas to deforestation and provide amnesty to landowners who have previously cleared forestland illegally. This new law could result in the destruction of an area of Amazon rainforest equivalent to the size of France and the UK put together. Patrick Cunningham of the Indigenous People’s Cultural Support Trust is quoted in the Guardian: The changes will overturn a law which even Brazil’s…
Tags: amazon, Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, Forest code, petition, veto
Climate Change, Conservation, Politics, Apr 19th, 2012,
Brazil’s controversial Belo Monte Dam project is set to be the 3rd largest dam in the world and is expected to displace roughly 20,000 people and submerge some 4,000 sq km (1,550 sq mi). Located in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Pará, the dam is being built on the Xingu River, which many people depend on for their livelihoods. But it’s not just locals, indigenous groups or environmentalists who should be concerned. The Amazon is the “lungs of the Earth”, meaning that we all benefit from and/or depend on the oxygen the dense rainforest provides, not to mention…
Tags: amazon, Belo Monte, Brazil, dam
Climate Change, Apr 9th, 2012,
Will the youth of China and Brazil lead the way in the new environmental ‘Great Leap Forward’ while British and American young people languish in egomaniacal tweets and preposterous dreams of stardom, not giving two cares about the future of the planet? A recent survey by the Carbon Trust attempts to measure concern about CO2 and climate change in young populations around the world – and the results may surprise you. The scope of the survey focuses on the awareness and consumer values of young adults in 6 different countries on 5 continents – The US, UK, China, South Korea,…
Tags: Brazil, Carbon Trust, China, Climate change, Korea, survey, UK, USA, young, youth
Conservation, Politics, Videos & Documentaries, Apr 4th, 2012,
The MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra), translated as the Landless Workers Movement, is one of the world’s largest social movements. It operates on the principles of social justice, equality, democracy and the right to live on and work the land, a right MST believes is guaranteed by the constitution of Brazil. Brazil’s economy is booming. In 2014 the Latin American giant will host the World Cup and in 2016 the Summer Olympic Games will take place in the iconic city of Rio de Janeiro. Yet despite strong economic growth, Brazil is still home to a shocking inequality, where the…
Tags: Brazil, illegal loggers, Landless Workers Movement, MST
Green living, Pollution, Mar 26th, 2012,
The world is facing a mounting crisis. In recent years we have experienced a combination of a global financial crisis, a food crisis, volatile oil prices, accelerating ecosystem degradation and an increasing number of climate-induced extreme weather events. These multiple and inter-related crises call into question the ability of a growing human population to live peacefully and sustainably on this planet, and demand the urgent attention governments and citizens around the world. –Earth Summit 2012 website The UN Conference on Sustainable Development, aka Earth Summit 2012, aka Rio+20, takes place in Rio de Janeiro Brazil from June 20-22nd. Rio+20 is…
Tags: Brazil, Earth Summit, Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro, Rio+20, sustainable development, UN
Climate Change, Conservation, Pollution, Dec 27th, 2011,
The original Green Revolution was essentially a Cold War tactic of the United States to win over Third World countries by supplying them with agricultural technology, thereby dramatically increasing their food production. The main recipients of Green Revolution techniques were India, Mexico and the Philippines, as well as some African countries (with markedly less success). Although the Green Revolution increased food production, it has its drawbacks and criticisms: unsustainable population growth – leading to mass starvation; genetically weak and less biodiverse monoculture farming – meaning crop failures are more likely, requiring more chemical pesticides to compensate for this risk. Monoculture…
Tags: biodiversity, Brazil, Cerrado, farming, Green Revolution, monoculture
Conservation, Politics, Sep 29th, 2011,
Today on Facebook, I’ve noticed a lot of posts with the picture of Chief Raoni, an indigenous Brazilian tribal leader, apparently crying after being informed of a decision by Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff to allow the construction of a massive hydroelectric dam in the Amazon rain forest. The Belo Monte hydroelectric dam would be the 3rd largest hydroelectric project of its kind in the world. Though touted – and not without reason – as a ‘green’ energy project (and big money maker), the environmental and human costs of the dam’s production would be significant. To construct the plant on the…
Tags: amazon, Belo Monte, Brazil, dam, hydroelectric, indigenous, Raoni, river, Xingu
Conservation, Politics, Sep 27th, 2011,
Plans for a proposed highway that would cut through Bolivia’s Amazon rain forest, linking Brazil to ports in Chile and Peru, have been put on hold following protests by activists and allegations of excessive police force. Indigenous and environmentalist activists are staunchly opposed to the highway’s construction, which is being financed by Brazil and would run through preserved Amazon forest. The rainforest is home to some 15 thousand indigenous Bolivians. About 1,000 protesters were staging a 500km march on the main city La Paz when they were stopped by riot police on Sunday in the Yucumo region. –BBC News The…
Tags: amazon, Bolivia, Brazil, highway, La Paz, Morales, protest, rain forest
Conservation, Jun 6th, 2011,
A few years ago I changed my browser’s homepage to blackle.com because the search engine claimed to save energy by using a black background and mostly grey text as opposed to Google’s stark white backdrop and blue text. At the time of writing this Blackle counts “2,518,394.132 Watt hours saved”. I don’t really know exactly what that means in terms of real benefit, but it sounds a heck of a lot better than zero hours saved. However, Blackle’s claims are disputed. Techlogg did some tests and concluded that a black background did not reduce energy consumption when using LCD screens…
Tags: Blackle, Brazil, Ecosia, energy consumption, rainforest, search engine, Techlogg
Conservation, Politics, May 19th, 2011,
Half of the Earth’s forests have already been cleared or degraded. A lot of this former forestland is used for growing food, but much is unused or underused. All the while more deforestation is taking place in order to feed a growing global population and to increase economic development. A new study argues that these degraded forests could be either reforested or put to productive use, instead of cutting down more virgin forest. In Brazil, reports show that deforestation rose immensely in recent months, in sharp contrast to government studies released last December claiming that Amazon deforestation had fallen to…
Tags: amazon, Brazil, deforestation, development, food prices, Indonesia, population, soy
Nature, Politics, Jan 31st, 2011,
Peruvian loggers who are illegally stripping the Amazon of timber are a threat to an isolated tribe living in a Brazilian part of the rainforest near the border with Peru. Brazil’s government is pressuring Peru to prevent the loggers, but so far nothing significant has been done to stop their advancement into the uncontacted indigenous tribe’s territory. Brazilian Indian leader Davi Kopenawa Yanomami: The place where the Indians live, fish, hunt and plant must be protected. That is why it is useful to show pictures of the uncontacted Indians for the whole world to know that they are there in…
Tags: amazon, Brazil, illegal logging, indigenous, isolated tribe, loggers, Peru, rainforest, survival international, uncontacted tribe
Nature, Videos & Documentaries, Aug 25th, 2010,
Brush fires and strong winds have resulted in a rare fire tornado in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The firestorm occurred in the city of Araçatuba in the northwest of São Paulo state. The region has experienced humidity levels similar to the Sahara Desert From a report by the Associated Press: A whirlwind of flame, spiralling several metres high, danced across burning fields, bringing traffic to a halt on a nearby highway, before it dissolved, as rapidly as it appeared. Though the fire tornado was brief, drought conditions are still feeding brush fires in the state. It hasn’t rained…
Tags: Brazil, brush fires, drought, fire, Sao Paulo, tornado, video
Science & Technology, Jul 27th, 2010,
Latin America has huge potential for wind and solar power. Brazil already has large and long-established hydropower and biofuel industries, but along with Mexico, Colombia and other Latin American countries, they are increasingly looking towards European models of renewable energy. From an article in Scientific American: European wind farms dwarf Latin American efforts in terms of production today, but this will change dramatically if Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and other countries in the region continue their wind energy efforts. Whereas Spain generates 20,000 megawatts from wind energy and plans to double that capacity by 2020, Brazil has a capacity to produce…
Tags: America, Brazil, Chile, energy, EU, European, industries, Latin, Mexico, Peru, power, renewable, Solar, Solarpack, Spain, T-Solar, wind
Climate Change, Conservation, Jul 23rd, 2010,
Much of the feed for British livestock comes from soybeans imported from South America – mainly Brazil and Argentina. According to an article in the Telegraph, 350,000 hectares of rainforest is being cut down to grow soy for UK animal feed. Environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) has published a report entitled ‘Pastures New’ detailing how the British meat and dairy industry indirectly causes rainforest destruction in South America. The report incorporates new research by the Royal Agricultural College stating that only 8% of the UK’s agricultural land is used to grow animal feed. FOE urged the government to…
Tags: amazon, animal, beans, Brazil, British, dairy, deforestation, Earth, farmers, feed, FoE, Friends, meat, rainforest, South America, soy, UK
Wildlife & Flora, Jul 22nd, 2010,
Over a period of only 10 days, more than 500 dead penguins have washed ashore on Brazilian beaches. The penguins’ bodies exhibit signs of death by starvation. During the past few years Magellanic Penguins have been discovered on of the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state with increasing frequency. For some reason – perhaps due to pollution and/or overfishing – they sometimes become lost while migrating north from Antarctica and Patagonia in search of food. But those penguins – a few hundred per year – are normally alive. From a BBC report: Thiago do Nascimento of the Peruibe Aquarium says…
Tags: beaches, Brazil, Brazilian, dead, penguins
Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, Jul 12th, 2010,
In 2000 a massive oil leak from an underwater Petrobras pipeline spilled into Guanabara Bay near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is considered one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters ever and was given an estimated recovery time of 10 years. What Al Jazeera English reporter Gabriel Elizondo discovered on a recent trip to Guanabara Bay is that it has anything but recovered during the past 10 years: The mud is thick, black and lifeless. And it stinks. Dead stumps – what used to be thick green mangrove swamps – protrude out from the mud as far as your eyes see….
Tags: 10 years, Al Jazeera, bay, Brazil, ecosystem, Guanabara, Gulf, oil, Pollution, Rio de Janeiro, spill
Climate Change, Conservation, Politics, Jul 6th, 2010,
A proposed reevaluation of forestry codes in Brazilian law could have catastrophic consequences for the Amazon rainforest. The issue of keeping Brazil’s strict forestry laws intact or legally opening up more forest for economic development pits environmentalists against Ruralistas, who claim that current laws are stifling economic growth and keeping peasants in poverty. So why is this important? Brazil is a powerhouse for agricultural and commodity exports. However, it is also home to some of the world’s richest areas of biodiversity. Brazil’s future depends on the balancing of these two interests. Environmental legislation is therefore as important to Brazilian development…
Tags: amazon, Brazil, Brazilian, deforestation, Europe, forest, forestry, law, laws, rainforest, rules
Climate Change, Politics, Pollution, Jul 2nd, 2010,
Is there is just too much revenue in big oil to stop dangerous deep sea drilling? The oil industry, like the massive investment banks behind the financial crisis of 2008, is considered by some to be ‘too big to fail’. Yet also like financial crashes, disasters are calculated by those in charge as risks worth taking. Sure, a tragedy on the scale of the Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico wasn’t expected, but the industry and the government – and everybody – knew that spills happen. Also like the banks, the oil industry is largely self-regulating, so they…
Tags: blowout, BP, Brazil, British, dangerous, deep, Deepwater, disaster, government, Gulf, Horizon, industry, Mexico, north, oil, P-52, platform, rig, risk, risky, sea, spill, too big to fail, UK
Climate Change, Nature, Uncategorized, Videos & Documentaries, Jun 23rd, 2010,
Flooding and mudslides in the northeast of Brazil have resulted in the deaths of at least 44 people, with as many as 1,000 more missing. Torrents following heavy rains over the past three days have swept away some 40,000 homes in the region, displacing 180,000 people. From an Al Jazeera English report: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president, has called a crisis cabinet meeting on Tuesday and said the government would make federal funds available to help the homeless. The death toll is feared to rise in the Brazil’s northeastern states of Alagoas and Pernambuco, where the flooding is most severe….
Tags: Alagoas, Brazil, death, displace, flooding, floods, northeast, report
