GRANDES REPORTAGENS
O lado azedo da cana A cana atravessa um novo ciclo. As exportações de açúcar e o consumo interno enchem de esperanças os grandes usineiros. Por outro lado, as condições de trabalho degradante a que são submetidos os cortadores de cana ainda preocupam sindicalistas e movimentos sociais
O Engenho ResisteNo Brasil, a história da cana-de-açúcar confunde-se com a do país. Da fundação dos primeiros vilarejos até o desenvolvimento das tecnologias de ponta, a exploração da cana criou em torno de si relações que determinaram muito do que somos hoje. Mas enquanto a casa-grande evoluiu, a senzala se manteve.
Mesma Vida SeverinaAtravés do sertão, agreste e zona da mata de Pernambuco, refez-se os passos de Severino, protagonista de Morte e Vida Severina, de João Cabral de Melo Neto. Comparou-se a realidade para se constatar que pouco mudou nos últimos 45 anos.
NOTÍCIAS
Risco do etanol está associado ao modelo de produçãoSustentabilidade vai muito além da escolha do combustível que queima nos motores dos automóveis. Principal desafio está na mudança da estrutura de produção da cana-de-açúcar pautada apenas no lucro que concentra renda
"Conselhão" analisará situação dos trabalhadores na canaConselho de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social aprovou proposta feita pela CUT de criar um grupo de trabalho para analisar a situação dos trabalhadores envolvidos na produção de bioenergia
Cana pode prejudicar meio ambiente e produção de alimentosAntônio Thomaz Júnior, da Unesp, questiona argumentos apresentados pelo presidente Lula e diz que novas lavouras destinadas à produção de álcool podem ameaçar biomas importantes, como a Amazônia e o Pantanal
Via Campesina ocupa usina de cana em protesto contra capital estrangeiroEm manifestação pacífica, 800 mulheres ocuparam a maior usina produtora de cana para álcool do país, localizada na região de Ribeirão Preto (SP). No ano passado, 63% das ações da Cevasa foram compradas pela Cargill
Número de usinas deve aumentar 30% em cinco anosDemanda por álcool combustível nos mercados interno e externo é o grande incentivo. A cana avança rumo a Goiás, leste do Mato Grosso do Sul e Triângulo Mineiro, mas situação dos cortadores ainda mancha imagem das usinas
Sindicalistas e organizações camponesas discutem avanço da canaSeminário realizado em São Paulo reuniu militantes de movimentos sociais de seis países para debater os impactos ambientais e trabalhistas que o crescente interesse pelos biocombustíveis pode gerar na América Latina
Apesar do sucesso da cana, trabalhador continua na mesmaO açúcar e o álcool combustível estão valorizados no mercado internacional, o que aumenta a procura pela cana brasileira. Porém, condições que levaram 13 pessoas à morte por excesso de trabalho não devem mudar tão cedo
Ministério Público quer acabar com remuneração por produçãoDepois da morte de 13 cortadores de cana, possivelmente por excesso de trabalho, órgão quer que usinas discutam nova forma de remuneração. Trabalhadores temem que medida resulte em redução de renda
Guariba, 1984: o ano que não quer acabarMudou pouco a vida dos cortadores de cana que trabalham no interior de São Paulo desde que estourou grande revolta de 1984. Enquanto se recupera de um acidente, o maranhense Francisco Silva da Conceição sonha em voltar ao trabalho, que lhe dá R$ 2,50 por tonelada cortada
GRANDES REPORTAGENS
O lado azedo da cana A cana atravessa um novo ciclo. As exportações de açúcar e o consumo interno enchem de esperanças os grandes usineiros. Por outro lado, as condições de trabalho degradante a que são submetidos os cortadores de cana ainda preocupam sindicalistas e movimentos sociais
O Engenho ResisteNo Brasil, a história da cana-de-açúcar confunde-se com a do país. Da fundação dos primeiros vilarejos até o desenvolvimento das tecnologias de ponta, a exploração da cana criou em torno de si relações que determinaram muito do que somos hoje. Mas enquanto a casa-grande evoluiu, a senzala se manteve.
Mesma Vida SeverinaAtravés do sertão, agreste e zona da mata de Pernambuco, refez-se os passos de Severino, protagonista de Morte e Vida Severina, de João Cabral de Melo Neto. Comparou-se a realidade para se constatar que pouco mudou nos últimos 45 anos.
NOTÍCIAS
Risco do etanol está associado ao modelo de produçãoSustentabilidade vai muito além da escolha do combustível que queima nos motores dos automóveis. Principal desafio está na mudança da estrutura de produção da cana-de-açúcar pautada apenas no lucro que concentra renda
"Conselhão" analisará situação dos trabalhadores na canaConselho de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social aprovou proposta feita pela CUT de criar um grupo de trabalho para analisar a situação dos trabalhadores envolvidos na produção de bioenergia
Cana pode prejudicar meio ambiente e produção de alimentosAntônio Thomaz Júnior, da Unesp, questiona argumentos apresentados pelo presidente Lula e diz que novas lavouras destinadas à produção de álcool podem ameaçar biomas importantes, como a Amazônia e o Pantanal
Via Campesina ocupa usina de cana em protesto contra capital estrangeiroEm manifestação pacífica, 800 mulheres ocuparam a maior usina produtora de cana para álcool do país, localizada na região de Ribeirão Preto (SP). No ano passado, 63% das ações da Cevasa foram compradas pela Cargill
Número de usinas deve aumentar 30% em cinco anosDemanda por álcool combustível nos mercados interno e externo é o grande incentivo. A cana avança rumo a Goiás, leste do Mato Grosso do Sul e Triângulo Mineiro, mas situação dos cortadores ainda mancha imagem das usinas
Sindicalistas e organizações camponesas discutem avanço da canaSeminário realizado em São Paulo reuniu militantes de movimentos sociais de seis países para debater os impactos ambientais e trabalhistas que o crescente interesse pelos biocombustíveis pode gerar na América Latina
Apesar do sucesso da cana, trabalhador continua na mesmaO açúcar e o álcool combustível estão valorizados no mercado internacional, o que aumenta a procura pela cana brasileira. Porém, condições que levaram 13 pessoas à morte por excesso de trabalho não devem mudar tão cedo
Ministério Público quer acabar com remuneração por produçãoDepois da morte de 13 cortadores de cana, possivelmente por excesso de trabalho, órgão quer que usinas discutam nova forma de remuneração. Trabalhadores temem que medida resulte em redução de renda
Guariba, 1984: o ano que não quer acabarMudou pouco a vida dos cortadores de cana que trabalham no interior de São Paulo desde que estourou grande revolta de 1984. Enquanto se recupera de um acidente, o maranhense Francisco Silva da Conceição sonha em voltar ao trabalho, que lhe dá R$ 2,50 por tonelada cortada
setembro 05, 2007
The Great Plastic Plague
By Tara Lohan, AlterNet. Posted September 5, 2007.
It turns out 'paper or plastic' is a life or death question for our environment.
They're ubiquitous. They accompany us home each time we shop. They swirl about our oceans, they cling to our trees, they drift down our city sidewalks, they adorn metal fences, they're consumed by animals.
They are an urban tumbleweed, a flag of the consumer era.
Each year across the world some 500 billion plastic bags are used, and only a tiny fraction of them are recycled. Most of them will have a short lifetime with a consumer -- they'll be used for the few minutes it takes to get from the store to home and then they're thrown away.
But what does "away" really mean? Plastic shopping bags can last up to a thousand years in a landfill. In the environment, they break down into tiny, toxic particles that become part of the soil and water. Fortunately, some communities in America have started taking serious action.
Stephanie Barger has seen what washes up on the shores of Southern California. The executive director of Earth Resource Foundation, Barger has helped clean up the sands of Orange County and has helped educate people about the effects of a society that embraces disposability.
For every bag, there's a cost. Environment California reports that plastic bags, and other plastic refuse that end up in the ocean, kill up to one million sea creatures every year, such as birds, whales, seals, sea turtles, and others. And the number of marine mammals that die each year because of eating or being entanglement in plastic is estimated at 100,000 in the North Pacific Ocean alone.
The Algalita Marine Research Foundation learned that "broken, degraded plastic pieces outweigh surface zooplankton in the central North Pacific by a factor of 6-1. That means six pounds of plastic for every single pound of zooplankton." Which means, when birds and sea animals or looking for food -- more often, they are finding plastic.
Our history with plastic bags is short but significant. The Film and Bag Federation, an industry group, reports that plastic sandwich bags were unveiled in 1957 and quickly became a part of our routine, with department stores adopting plastic shopping bags in the late '70s and supermarkets employing them by the early '80s.
Although bags are given out free these days, they are not without their costs. Retailers in the United States spend $4 billion a year on plastic bags, which gets passed on to customers as higher prices.
A global problem
According to Vincent Coob, founder of reusablebags.com, about 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year and are causing a global epidemic. The enormous demand for plastic bags ties into the surging global demand for oil -- plastic bags are made from ethylene, a petroleum byproduct. In the United States alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used annually to make plastic bags that Americans consume.
"Eliminating the use of disposable plastic bags is about more than just the environment," said Barger, "it is about health, sustainability, economics and focusing on what kind of quality of life we want."
A growing list of communities and countries are beginning to rethink their dependence on plastic bags. Already a complete or partial ban on the bags has been approved in Australia, South Africa, parts of India, China, Italy, Bangladesh and Taiwan.
Africa has seen an increasing problem with bags as Environmental News Network reports, "South Africa was once producing 7 billion bags a year; Somaliland residents became so used to them they renamed them "flowers of Hargeisa" after their capital; and Kenya not so long ago churned out about 4,000 tons of polythene bags a month."
In Asia, the bags were banned in 2002 in Bangladesh after they were considered to be major factors in blocking sewers and drains and contributing to the severe flooding that devastated the country in 1988 and 1998.
Taking a different route, in 2002, Ireland imposed a 15-cent tax on bags, which led to a rapid 90 percent reduction in use. Ireland uses the tax to help fund other environmental initiatives. Bags are also taxed in Sweden and Germany, and are set to be banned outright in Paris this year.
In the United States, Californians Against Waste estimate that Americans consume 84 billion plastic bags annually. The United States has been slow out of the gate in addressing the growing problem with plastic, but recently momentum has started for positive change.
Currently 30 rural Alaskan villages and towns have banned plastic bags. And in March the city of San Francisco became the first major municipality to ban the use of plastic bags, and nearby Oakland has followed suit, but not without controversy and litigation from industry groups.
It turns out 'paper or plastic' is a life or death question for our environment.
They're ubiquitous. They accompany us home each time we shop. They swirl about our oceans, they cling to our trees, they drift down our city sidewalks, they adorn metal fences, they're consumed by animals.
They are an urban tumbleweed, a flag of the consumer era.
Each year across the world some 500 billion plastic bags are used, and only a tiny fraction of them are recycled. Most of them will have a short lifetime with a consumer -- they'll be used for the few minutes it takes to get from the store to home and then they're thrown away.
But what does "away" really mean? Plastic shopping bags can last up to a thousand years in a landfill. In the environment, they break down into tiny, toxic particles that become part of the soil and water. Fortunately, some communities in America have started taking serious action.
Stephanie Barger has seen what washes up on the shores of Southern California. The executive director of Earth Resource Foundation, Barger has helped clean up the sands of Orange County and has helped educate people about the effects of a society that embraces disposability.
For every bag, there's a cost. Environment California reports that plastic bags, and other plastic refuse that end up in the ocean, kill up to one million sea creatures every year, such as birds, whales, seals, sea turtles, and others. And the number of marine mammals that die each year because of eating or being entanglement in plastic is estimated at 100,000 in the North Pacific Ocean alone.
The Algalita Marine Research Foundation learned that "broken, degraded plastic pieces outweigh surface zooplankton in the central North Pacific by a factor of 6-1. That means six pounds of plastic for every single pound of zooplankton." Which means, when birds and sea animals or looking for food -- more often, they are finding plastic.
Our history with plastic bags is short but significant. The Film and Bag Federation, an industry group, reports that plastic sandwich bags were unveiled in 1957 and quickly became a part of our routine, with department stores adopting plastic shopping bags in the late '70s and supermarkets employing them by the early '80s.
Although bags are given out free these days, they are not without their costs. Retailers in the United States spend $4 billion a year on plastic bags, which gets passed on to customers as higher prices.
A global problem
According to Vincent Coob, founder of reusablebags.com, about 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are used worldwide every year and are causing a global epidemic. The enormous demand for plastic bags ties into the surging global demand for oil -- plastic bags are made from ethylene, a petroleum byproduct. In the United States alone, an estimated 12 million barrels of oil is used annually to make plastic bags that Americans consume.
"Eliminating the use of disposable plastic bags is about more than just the environment," said Barger, "it is about health, sustainability, economics and focusing on what kind of quality of life we want."
A growing list of communities and countries are beginning to rethink their dependence on plastic bags. Already a complete or partial ban on the bags has been approved in Australia, South Africa, parts of India, China, Italy, Bangladesh and Taiwan.
Africa has seen an increasing problem with bags as Environmental News Network reports, "South Africa was once producing 7 billion bags a year; Somaliland residents became so used to them they renamed them "flowers of Hargeisa" after their capital; and Kenya not so long ago churned out about 4,000 tons of polythene bags a month."
In Asia, the bags were banned in 2002 in Bangladesh after they were considered to be major factors in blocking sewers and drains and contributing to the severe flooding that devastated the country in 1988 and 1998.
Taking a different route, in 2002, Ireland imposed a 15-cent tax on bags, which led to a rapid 90 percent reduction in use. Ireland uses the tax to help fund other environmental initiatives. Bags are also taxed in Sweden and Germany, and are set to be banned outright in Paris this year.
In the United States, Californians Against Waste estimate that Americans consume 84 billion plastic bags annually. The United States has been slow out of the gate in addressing the growing problem with plastic, but recently momentum has started for positive change.
Currently 30 rural Alaskan villages and towns have banned plastic bags. And in March the city of San Francisco became the first major municipality to ban the use of plastic bags, and nearby Oakland has followed suit, but not without controversy and litigation from industry groups.
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