what is your country doing about the environment?

This issue is so interesting that we all should tell eachother what is happening in our country so all cucumis associates can express themselves and knowing about it of other countries.

An article on the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo” reported that the UE doesn’t want Brazil’s “dirty alcohol”.
The term adresses the block’s concerns over Brazilian sugar cane cultivation practices, which are seen by European leaders as potentially harmful to the environment. (…) Concerns over the Brazilian alcohol were manifested also by the Italian “La Repubblica”, who recalled the recent liberation of 1.106 workers in slave conditions in a sugar cane farm in Pará state.



Europe is saying that they won’t buy from Brazil. Why? It’s simple, because Brazil have, at least, to look like eco-correct. So, what they’re going to do? They won’t buy the Brazilian ethanol because our cultivation practices involve slave work and harms the environment.




let's discuss this.....
Where is casper??...srsrsrs
Little girl?
Thatha???
Franck??

For sure this is a very bad image other countries have from Brasil, but most of the alcohol (ethanol. gasoline is also an alcohol,huh) produced here is made with a safe process, not using slave work and not destroying nature.
Brasil is a pioneer on 'clean' energy production and sould never be kept away from the international scene.

I saw something was written in the Portuguese forum about hydroelectric programs.

And in the words, I found "agrarian reform", can someone detail it in English for me?

One of the problems with the Brazilian sugar cane production is also the deforestation of the Amazonian forest.

It is consideered to be the "lung" of the planet and more we cut it down, less there is production of C02. There is not policy of replanting the areas that have been cut down and some endemic species will disappear.

There is also the problem, in this practice, of leaving the different Amazonian indian homeless or at least without their natural hunting grounds.

I think in part, there is some "jealousy" from Europeans as the caribbean sugar cane production is obviously overwhelmed by the cheaper (slave labour) sugar cane production in Brazil. This does not mean that all sugar cane producers use slave labour, nor does it mean that none of the Brazilian producers worry about the ecological effects their production has on the environment.

But all countries are going wild with deforestationn not necessarily to produce sugar cane, but also to build supermarkets, hotel complexes, parking lots...

Here in Corsica the problem is the building of hotel complexes all around the coastline. There are little or no natural sites left around the coast.

It will be difficult to have this discussion whilst staying within the cucumis guidelines of not airing one's political views, as the ecological question is eminently political.

Beijos
Tantine

As to Latino America and Africa, I can say nothing.

Because Chinese enterprises are going there to find more natural resources, like oil, forests, metal, etc.

I believe, Japanese visited Brazil much earlier than China.

I believe that China will reach its hands further to other coutries in the process of becoming economically and politically strong.

As a Chinese person, I may be probably sent to Brazil one day to fufil some tasks, since there are more and more Chinese young designated to Brazil and other latinoamerican countries, together with many enterprises. I will be glad to visit there, because there lives Nana, and there is greener than China, but when foreigners arrived, there would be some bad things.

Pluiepoco, the issue you saw at that post (Menininha) is something we discuss at the university, that Bush bought lands here in Brazil, so as a revenge, we should send the "landless worker's movement" there, so they can occupy it.

All of this conflict has a single cause: a lack of will and the avoidance of responsibility by the state government. This is a seriuous issue here in Brazil.
It is not a crime to struggle for land and for life. It is a crime to maintain the plantation system that generates unemployment, marginalization, hunger, misery, and a social-economic crisis. Brazilian society clearly understands the struggle for Agrarian Reform and supports the social movements organized to work for a dignified life for all Brazilians. Therefore, Agrarian Reform cannot be stopped by prisons; it can only be resolved by a serious political project of settlement of landless farmers.

We have too much in the hands of few people... Sometimes I just think what someone can do with a huge farm, some have morethan one farm... why? Is this Feudalismo (?) again?

There will be a agrarian reform then.

In China, the agrarian reform happened several times.

At the premier stage, there would be bloodshed, killings, struggle, battles, government switch, etc.

I could'n agree with you more, Thatha , we are living a feudalism in modern times, the concentration of Brazil’s land and resources in the hands of so few owners....

I think it is right what MST does here, in a certain point of view...they are fighting for a new Agrarian reform model but i don't if will work it out.

Changes aren't welcomed with pleasure by all people... I can understand that.
But MST don't have any land? Since the first years of the movement...
Sometimes I think that when they have the lands they sell them, but of course I can be wrong, It's just a thing of my head... I have a friend who sold his house to join MST.

Is MST the abbreviation of "movement of brazilian rural workers without land"?

I search in Google image and found the slogon:




But I think land reform has nothing to do with environment, it is purely a political and social movement which aims to restructure the distribution system.

Pluieopoco, use img intead of IMG and put arton555.gif between ] [

Hi..

pluiepoco: But I think land reform has nothing to do with environment, it is purely a political and social movement which aims to restructure the distribution system.

I am sorry, but you are wrong!
This is a environment problem too.

MST allege that they just invade the unproductive lands, lands that bigs landowners don't care or stopp the investment, for they decide it would not be lucrative for now, those lands were deforested and was not planted. This deforested destroys habitats, (plants, animals, even microorganisms causing damages in the cycles biogeoquimical)
If these lands be used for the Agrarian (Land) reform, (in the most correct and fair way possible), the lands would be used for the "family Agriculture", replanted and well used, acting as an ecological succession.
What could bring many benefits (besides for the environment).

Hugs

Biogeochemical cicles are so important to the environment...
Yesterday I saw in the newspaper that the amount of environments that are happening in our planet is two times frequent that 100 years ago. ... ... ...

Biogeochemical.....

hehehe, Thanks dear!

Biogeochemical is a new word?

Menininha: Thank you for your explanation, I know it better now. In China we say "Sky, Land, and People" decide success. So I wish the MST succeed.

Is it related to communism?

It's a Biologic, Geographic and chemical cicle, like the nitrogen and water cicles...

Pluiepoco, there are articles, magazines talking about comunism and MST. " Taking the power and turning Brazil in a new URSS" was the words of a meeting between CUT, CONTAG, PT, CPT and some international ONG.

I don't know if this is true , all I know is that is not going to happen here. There are ideas of making a more balanced society, but not like URSS.

Just for the record: I don't like of how MST uses violence to get money and land. ....And how they quote Karl Marx's theory to explain this movement...I don't think is right

There is a article talking about the Carbon market, that shows this program as an motivation for countries to cut more trees instead of avoid it.

The carbon market benefits the countries that present a large lack of trees/forest ( I don't know the word for "desmatamento" and those who's not present themselves like that are considered off the market.

They ( researchers) are proposing a scheme that benefits the countries that doesn't have lack of forest /trees (care for the environment) , so it will motivate others to do the same.

The article is in portuguese
article