Postado em
Summary
Energy – Despite Brazil’s excellent infrastructure and wide supply of raw materials for the production of biodiesel, in order to avert trade barriers against its product the country must rein in environmental devastation, land concentration, and disrespect for labor laws, in addition to effectively promoting the integration of family farming into the productive process.
Foreign trade – A new regulation set forth by the European Union holds manufacturers and importers based in the bloc accountable for the safety of the chemical products contained in the products they deal in, a measure that should greatly affect Brazilian suppliers.
Health – The development of new medications is an activity requiring the participation of volunteers in clinical trials and, because of that, is rigorously controlled. In Brazil, where the public health system is precarious, quite often those willing to cooperate with research studies find it difficult to understand that the goal is not to provide treatment to them.
Society – In Brazil’s largest cities, homeless children and teenagers suffer from social invisibility. The scarce information available on this serious urban phenomenon is restricted to the municipalities’ social work departments, which in general are unable to inform even how many these youngsters are.
Environment – Brazilian enterprises invest in projects to reduce the emission of greenhouse effect gases and, thus, profit from selling carbon credits to companies based in developed countries. This pollution-based market, however, is not seen with good eyes by scientists and groups of environmentalists.
Amazonia – The Terra do Meio (Land of the Middle), in Pará State’s hinterlands, for decades has attracted the greed of mining companies, timber companies and, more recently, of cattle ranchers interested in exploiting this nearly untouched part of the Brazilian Amazon region. In an attempt to hold back such predatory advance, the government has sought to surround the area with different modalities of protected areas.
Homebuilding – The materials used in homebuilding have been practically the same for a very long time. Yet today there are alternatives, among which stand out vegetable fiber, construction debris, coconut husk, industrial waste, bamboo, and the ancient adobe. Besides the advantages derived from their lower cost, these products offer considerable ecological gains.
Archeology – Two new publications by Brazilian specialists try to explain the arrival of the first human beings to the American continent. The theses, however, are conflicting and have further added to the controversy that has surrounded the issue for a long time.
Emigration – From the 1980s onwards, thousands of Brazilians moved to the United States to work and save some money. With the current economic crisis triggering a labor market downturn in the U.S. and with the improvement of the Brazilian economy, the flow now is of emigrants returning home.
Refugees – Brazil is one of the nations receiving persons forced to abandon their countries and to seek shelter abroad. In the Brazilian territory, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees works in partnership with a number of civil society organizations and is supported by private sector entities.
Heritage – The Brazilian Artistic and Historic Heritage Institute is conducting a survey of railroad assets –stations, depots, etc– in several Brazilian states. The goal is, fundamentally, to determine what is of cultural importance and should therefore be preserved.
Music – The year of 2009 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Heitor Villa-Lobos, a Brazilian maestro whose unique style won international acclaim for its perfect fusion of erudite sophistication and a wealth of folk elements.
Culture – Creator of the Museum of Modern Art and São Paulo’s Art Biennial, Francisco Matarazzo Sobrinho – Ciccillo, as he was known – had a decisive participation in the development of arts in Brazil. His name is also connected with the founding of the Brazilian Comedy Theater and Movie Studio Vera Cruz.
Thematic panel – Brazil’s tax reform is a subject that has prompted discussions for a long time. With a bill presently being considered in Congress, its proponent, the secretary for Economic-Fiscal Reforms of the Ministry of Finance Bernard Appy, presented the theme to the members of the Fecomercio, Sesc and Senac Council of Economics, Sociology and Politics, stressing that the bill’s greatest virtue will be to bring an end to the fiscal war waged by the states of the Brazilian federation.