Brazil: "Lungs" -- or Bowels -- of the Earth?
Brazil is a country of stark contrasts. It is the land of the Amazon and the favelas. Of breathtaking natural beauty and rampant violence. Its forests hold what some have called "the lungs of the earth," but the desire for a better life is driving their destruction. Environmentalist efforts to save the rain forest tend to brush over the plight of the Brazilian people, but until the country's widespread poverty is addressed, Brazilians will keep hacking down trees to eke out a living.
When Small Isn't Beautiful
The departure of Brazil's environment minister signals the end of the small-is-beautiful vision of sustainable development in the Amazon. Since the U.N. conference in Rio in 1992, everyone has learned that there are no simple solutions to deforestation. It's now time to realize that there are no small ones either.
Sugar and Oil: Learning the Right Lessons from Brazil - Part I
"Leaving a technology on the shelf, unlike a fine wine, will not make it better."
Sugar and Oil: Learning the Right Lessons from Brazil - Part II
"Leaving a technology on the shelf, unlike a fine wine, will not make it better."
Rethinking Deforestation: Macro Drivers Plow over the Amazon
Until Brazil's vast socio-economic challenges, as well as its aspirations to economic greatness, are dealt with, more of the same can unfortunately be expected.
Economy Trumps Environment
The sudden resignation of Brazil's Environmental Minister is a reminder that governments worldwide care more about development than conservation.
Economic Trump, Environmental Hope?
Economic diversification is an enabler of "sustainable development" could you imagine the condition of the rain forest without it?