Posts tagged with "Environment"

Children of the Amazon

Posted by Rachel 1 Comment
May 3 2010

One thing you can do to help learn Portuguese is to keep your eyes peeled for films and documentaries about Brazil in your area. So here’s a tip: Children of the Amazon recently premiered on American TV stations and in film festivals around the world. Be sure to look for reruns on your local station, and check out these video clips below.

The film is about Brazilian photographer Denise Zmekhol, who worked in the Amazon and then returned fifteen years later to find immense environmental destruction and indigenous tribes struggling against deforestation. Along with the now grown children of the village where Denise photographed over a decade before, she also interviews several tribal chiefs, including Chief Almir Surui, a well known indigenous leader who has used the Internet and teaming up with international organizations to curb rainforest destruction.The film focuses not only on the environment, but also the survival of the indigenous tribes and their culture.

To find out more, see the official site. For bonus points, visit the Portuguese version of the site!

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NPR Coverage of Brazil

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Dec 18 2009

NPR has had quite a few stories about Brazil lately, and they are always excellent and interesting.

Check out the latest news features and be sure to listen to them, too!

Sting Meets With Brazilian Indigenous Leaders

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Nov 23 2009

Yesterday, British pop star Sting met with several indigenous leaders Caiapó tribe to discuss the Brazilian government’s plans to construct a massive hydroelectric plant in the state of Pará, which would affect the Caiapó’s lands.

Sting met the leaders twenty years ago on the Xingu reservation, which inspired him to create a non-profit, the Rainforest Foundation, which works to protect the environment as well as indigenous tribes in the Amazon. The NGO has donated funds to help the Caiapó tribe with education and protection from land invaders.

In the meantime, Sting met with the leaders to discuss the plans for the dam, to ensure that the indigenous tribes play a part in negotiations with the government. Environmental leaders are opposed to the project, which they say would be harmful to the Amazon, and the government has not yet acquired the necessary environmental permit to begin construction.

For some great photos of the meeting and more information, click here.

Al Gore in Brazil

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Oct 14 2009

Al Gore is in Brazil this week, and attended an event at the Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo (the Sao Paulo Industrial Federation), where he gave a speech and discussed environmental conservation. 

While he stressed the issues of deforestation and conservation efforts, he was rightfully extremely careful to refer directly to environmental policy in Brazil, and apparently walked on eggshells, refusing to give an outright opinion on the Brazilian perspective. “If I was Brazilian, I’d discuss it, but I’m not, so I won’t,” he allegedly said.

He also apologized for discussing emissions, since the U.S. has higher carbon emissions than Brazil does, though he said he was optimistic about environmental policy change in the U.S.  He also congratulated Brazil on the successful ethanol industry, which has the highest profits of any ethanol industry in the world.

At the end of the event, he was given an award by his hosts.

Acre Government Launches New Environmental Plan

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Aug 18 2009

The government of Acre, a small state in the Amazon rainforest that borders Peru, has launched a new plan aimed to curb deforestation. The proposal, which will go into effect in 2010, will monetarily reward Acre’s workers (including loggers, fish ranchers and indigenous tribes) who avoid cutting down trees and/or who actively protect the rainforest. People who produce the most using the smallest amount of space, and those who make a profit without affecting the environment will also receive funds.

Acre’s government plans to invest R$478 million (US$265.5 million) over the next fifteen years to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. The first area to be targeted will be near the state’s largest highway, which suffers from some of the highest levels of deforestation. The government hopes to get some of its funding from a REDD program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), which is a compensation program for countries or companies that help cut down on carbon emissions.

Currently, 602 square kilometers of forest are destroyed each year in Acre. The plan hopes to minimize that number and bring it down to 120 square kilometers per year by 2020. If the plan works, an area as large as 3,649 square kilometers of forest could be saved. The plan would also have social benefits, as workers would receive financial compensation for doing their part in conserving the Amazon.

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