Daniel Englander
Boa Tarde de São Paulo March 24, 2008 at 12:37 PM
As I travel around Brazil this week I thought I could use this opportunity to bring in some energy and greentech issues from other parts of the world into our ongoing dialogue about the development of the greentech market. Few countries face the dual pressures of environmental conservation and economic development like Brazil. Deforestation in the Amazon surged in 2007 following three years of significant declines. Increasing deforestation is problematic both because of the corruption it engenders and because of the obvious negative environmental effects.
In addition to fines, the Brazilian government has ordered the federal police to raid illegal logging operations, shutting down and arresting lumber poachers. Dr. Tom Lovejoy, president of the Heinz Center, has another idea. He’s leading a proposal to give non-commodity valuations to Amazon tree stands, which would allow them to be traded for credits on the growing number of global and regional emissions exchanges.
Though not at risk from deforestation from logging, Cubatão - the heart of Brazil’s ethanol and petroleum refining industry - has had it share of environmental disasters. Until the 1990s Cubatão was nicknamed “Vale de Morte” (Valley of Death) for the ongoing public health disasters and environmental degradation caused by the area’s pollution. I had a chance to take some photos of Cubatão’s cleaned-up landscape on my way to São Paulo yesterday.
A Petrobas refining facility
More photos after the jump
Beginning in the 1990s a group of engineers and environmentalists began working towards cleaning up Cubatão. They formed a group called “Cubatão - Vale de Vida”, which was aimed at reforesting the are Mata Atlantica around the city, as well as reducing the impacts of the refining industry.
I wonder what it used to look like
Burn stacks are easy to see through the smoke
Part of Brazil’s ethanol & petroleum pipeline network
