Seed Dispersal

Planting Future

Planting Future

Seed Dispersal

Seed Dispersal

Neoselva

Neoselva

Vision

Vision

Solstice

Solstice

Shine

Shine

Luminance

Luminance

Comunication

Comunication

Geometry

Geometry

Electricity

Electricity

Contemplation

Contemplation

Peace

Peace

Ingenuity

Ingenuity

Mysticism

Mysticism

Elegance

Elegance

Exhuberance

Exhuberance

Integration

Integration

Protection

Protection

Majesty

Majesty

Expectation

Expectation

Hope

Hope

Contact

Contact

Intensity

Intensity

Warmth

Warmth

Mist

Mist

Synergy

Synergy

Harmony

Harmony

Peace

Peace

Observation

Observation

Dynamics

Dynamics

Texture

Texture

Synchronicity

Synchronicity

Plato's Forms Theory

Plato's Forms Theory

Motivation

Motivation

Expectations

Expectations

Ethernity

Ethernity

Passion

Passion

Charming

Charming

Fractal

Fractal

Bright

Bright

Deepness

Deepness

Introspection

Introspection

Expanding

Expanding

Multidimentional

Multidimentional

Inspiring

Inspiring

Misterious

Misterious

Freedom

Freedom

Exhotic

Exhotic

Curiosity

Curiosity

Secrets

Secrets

Nurturing

Nurturing

Aliance

Aliance

Grounding Truth

Grounding Truth

Bubble

Bubble

Mistic

Mistic

Magic

Magic

Meditation

Meditation

Sacred

Sacred

Toth

Toth

Search

Search

Avila

Avila

Immortality

Immortality

Connection

Connection

Perseverance

Perseverance

Departure

Departure

Endurance

Endurance

Neoselva Foundation for the Visual Arts; Science and Philosophy for the Enhancement of Human Ecology


The first Virtual Forest in the Web, and the space online with the largest concentration of biodiversity...








I want you to expierence the world from my point of view...




TO EXPLORE NEOSELVA'S VISUAL CATALOG

Click here to view FACEBOOK archives



What is Neoselva?

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Dance of Cranes

Dance of Cranes
I painted this mural in celebration to the restoration of the Kisseemee River at Riverwoods Field Lab, Florida USA, 2003
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NEOSELVA ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVANCY

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Is a Virtual Wildlife Observatory; Art Gallery; and the smallest Museum/Zoological Gardens/Laboratory in the World. Neoselva is the way I see the world...




I believe that doing environmental activism is to fix the damage, rather than finding who caused the problem....



My mission is to provide the world with my integral way of art expressions to contribute with:



- Entertainment

- Education

- Animal Assisted Therapy

- Peace

- Conciliation

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- Eco-Tourism

- Magic Realism

- Indigenism

- Environmental Regeneration

- Native Gardening

- Nativism

- Spirituality

- Shamanism





All the materials posted on this blog are entirely of my intellectual property. All rights are reserved.



Jose Luis Jimenez © 1997



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The Ethernal Dance of the Flamingo

The Ethernal Dance of the Flamingo

THE ETHERNAL DANCE OF THE FLAMINGO



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One night, when all the stars shone with their brightest colors, a small star, attracted by the chanting of crickets and frogs, decided to drop on the Venezuelan coast...

There she remained for hours, quiet and silent, listening to the sweet songs of the night singers.

Little by little, the melodies turned into a lullaby, and the star rested comfortably on a palm tree while fell asleep.


Suddenly, a strong breeze blew her off the tree, and she fell into the lagoon...


That's when the moon realized her absence and went to look for it...


Desperately, the moon searched for hour of no avail...


Nothing that the night was ending, she awoke the sun, asking for help...


The sun searched all the beaches, all day long, but couldn't find the missing star either...


The following night, the moon continued her search.


And it was then when the crickets, with their unending whisper, told the moon that they had seen the star fall into the lagoon...


The night immediately started to call all the animals for help to find the star...

Early in the morning, sea gulls flew in great numbers over the lagoon to see if they could find the missing star, but they could not look through the water onto the bottom of the lagoon.

Pelicans with their huge bills dived into the waters, but they could not reach the bottom of the lagoon...

The animals became desperate because they were not able to help.

However, the swallows remembered seeing these beautiful birds on their trips around the world…


These bird’s plumage
Was of fine pink color, they had long necks and long legs, ideally suited for the search of the star…

Flying swiftly, the swallows took off to find the flamingos.
Soon, they returned with large numbers of flamingos. They immediately started their magic dance, while sticking their heads into the water and searching every corner of the lagoon…

One flamingo found the star, and very carefully took her under his wings and returned the little star to the sky…
The star, all exited, told the other stars how beautiful were Venezuelan coasts, how enchanting the song of the crickets and frogs were, and how warm the water of the lagoon was…

Since that day, thousands of stars drop at night on Venezuelan coasts to enjoy the beauty…

And each morning, very early, thousands of flamingos come from far away, to pick up those star that have fallen asleep in the lagoons…


And in the afternoons, when the sun starts to disappear, all flamingos take off and fly high to place the stars in the sky…

By Jose Luis Jimenez, from Tales of a shaman. 1983

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NEOSELVA, THE ELECTRO EXPERIENCE...

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COMBINING ART, NATURE, ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY, AND THE ELECTRONIC INSURRECTION

ECOLOGY AND INDIGENISM IN ACTION...

REINVENTING THE RAIN FOREST!


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This blog has been created with the goal of manifesting the multidimensional aspect of my art and multi-media expression.

All the art work and text presented in this site is fully the product of my intellectual work and it has been copyrighted.

Any reproduction or use of the materials presented here requires of my permission.

If you are interested on purchasing a print or a story, please contact me at:

neoselvafoundation@gmail.com

Jose Luis Jimenez


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I DEDICATE THIS BLOG TO MARY LOU GOODWIN, MY LIFE MENTOR




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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

ELECTRO UNITED NATIONS

















BIOLOGY 1040

This post is dedicated to the class of Biology 1040: Environmental Studies (30893/EE1) NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, 2008.
Professor Jose Luis Jimenez

IN THIS SITE THE CLASS WILL POST THEIR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS AND INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER WITH THE GOAL TO EDUCATE ALL THE READERS THAT VISIT THIS SITE ABOUT ISSUES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES.
Discussions about the movie "Baraka":
Posted by Cassandra L.
This is an extrordinary visual movie that captures the life of the world. Baraka holds and important meaning of blessing in many different cultures and religions. This word is the perfect title to this movie. It is truley a blessing to be apart of this world and all it has to offer. What I interpreted the movie to be about is people and their similarities. Looking at individual people we come in all shapes, colors and sizes and speak many different languages and live very differently but at the same time we are very much alike. Reguardless of what culture your from or what god you believe in our similarites are amazing. Every individual on this earth belongs to a group that influences the way they think and act and they practice certain rituals and raise their children in certain ways and pray , eat, live and die. The circle of life is what connects the world together the same as the environment. I learned in this class that the circle of life is what helps us to survive on this planet and without every species doing their job we would not be able to survive. The same goes for human beings within their cultures. If we all didn't procriate we would no longer exist, if we didnt plant seeds, and hunt animals and build housing we would not be able to live in this world. This movie unite the world in such a vivid and beautiful way and makes the viewer appreciate themselves and others. We all have beliefs and rituals for different aspects of our life such as becoming a woman or man, having a baby, getting married and forming families, weddings, dying. We all celebrate and go throught these stages in our life and this movie without words shows us the similarities in our lives. It showed cultures, it shows the enviroment and it shows how we all are connected.Great Movie!


BARAKA A VIEW OF THE WORLD PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Written by Nadine Louis-Charles Dorcely

This remarkable video was both fascinating and moving. Filmed in 1992, the entire movie had no dialogue, but was filled with dramatic musical sounds and imagery of the most beautiful cites around the world.
Covering twenty four countries, the two hour movie opens up with magnificent views of some of the most exotic natural wonders around the globe, comparing their beauty and serenity, to the overcrowded and polluted cities worldwide.
With powerful imagery of different ethnic groups and cultures engaged in what appears to be their unique forms of prayers or worships, we traveled back and forth to a variety of places with absolutely breath taken architectural and panoramic views.
We observed the evolution of the human race and the economic and industrial development of some big countries. In some occasions, from the tribes of Africa to the monks of Asia, the producers gave us the opportunity to explore the differences and similarities of mankind. Without a doubt, We can relate to the fact that regardless of where we live on this planet, we all seem humbled by the universe and its wonders.
Throughout the history of the human race, there has always been a fascination and urge to seek for the master forces behind the creation of the universe. From the primitive tribes to the modern age pactices, men have established universal and traditional forms of religious beliefs. Every nation and culture has found its unique way of expressing their faith in recognition of the powerful forcesthat govern nature.
For the most part, around the world we all seem humbled by the grandiose beauty of nature and the entire universe. Spirituality seems to be at the foundation of any and every society. Our thirst and curiosity to seek a high power or authority to worship or idolize has always been our second nature. Watching this movie, we got to explore the most fascinating forms of cultural expressions of faith and beleifs diversity.
The most riveting and magnificent places on the planet where shown through out the entire movie and it was shocking and heart wretching to see how over the centuries, the human race managed to destroy the majority of our world's natural resources and beauty. From the wild life of Africa, to the North and South Pole we noticed a gradual decline in plants, animal species. We are now faced with enviromental issues, air, water and land pollution. Not only do we over populate the planet earth, but are destroying its natural beauty in the process. What stood out the most is the fact that we have become prisonners of our evolution. Our big cities have taken us away from the clean and open natural environment and turned us into urbanized zombies. Worldwide we have a blatent disregard of nature. Deforestation for constructions and industrialization, is destroying our ozone layers.
We are setting ourselves up to become victims of our own greed and carelessness. The result of course, is what we are now seeing: Unknown and uncurable viruses, mysterious deseases and illnesses of all kinds, and a short life spin. The world is no longer in touch with nature. These overcrowded cities filled with pollution and poverty and crimes, are affecting our lifestyle. It was interresting to see how men became as mechanical as the machine that we have invented. Just like puppetts we are caughtup in our daily routines. "We litterally do not have time to stop and smell the roses". As bad as it may sound we are slowly walking towards our doom and the destruction of the planet as we know it.
The movie clearly illustrated how we have become a fast paced world and our need for speed, our lust for power and control turn us towards warfare and crimes. The weapons and technologies that we are now using to kill and destroy each other are getting more and more sophisticated. Driving by greed, self-accomplishment and status, we random think about our fellow man. The distribution of wealth is so unfair and so poignant, that poverty and miserey is a more common way of life in many places of the world.
Our children and the generations to come are all exposed to this environmental decline. We have seen people so hungry that they were fishing for food in landfiedls full of trash. Natural disasters are so common, that it seems that nature is turning its fists against us. We mass produce and genetically engineered our food and from the baby formula to almost everything found on the shelves of a modern day grocery store, the ingredients used affect our health and growth. It is no wonder that we have illnesses for which we have no cure and suffer from stress and anxiety.
Our life expectancy is so short compared to those of our forefathers. Through out the entire movie, I got a sense that a message was being sent for all to see.that " We need to be more accountable for our lifestyles on the planet earth. It is emparative that we recognize that our so called " industrial evolution, and technological societies although we pride ourselves into thinking that we are "civilized and developed nations" In reality our great accomplishments are often the source of our destruction.
Grant it all the technological discoveries In many ways may have their advantages. I am not one to bash scientific discoveries, because science and technology have evolved over the past centuries, but this movie did not fail to show us how although we may be walking on the surface of the moon, we are still very much primitive in our reactions and actions. To me that movie can also be seen as an eye opener, an informative tool to help our society recognize that : "We can not let technology dictate our behaviors and transform us into robots. We must be more concerned for the world and the enviroment we live in. "
The photographers used this documentary video to help us realized our past, present and future. We as a race regardless of our ethnic background and origins need to take a stand and preserve our world and its contents for its present and future inhabitants. However and whatever way we choose to contribute, we have to embark in the salvation of planet earth. From Asia to Africa, from the North Pole to the South, it is "our planet Earth" each and every one of us can play a small part in keeping it green, safe and restored. It is in our best interest to establish new boundaries and learn to take better care of it. Regardless of our religious and political beleifs and differences we must all agree on this one and change our here and now mentality.
"Bakara is a word that means blessings, we are blessed with the planet Earth, it is our home we must not only love, respect, protect and preserve her now, but our duty is to install the same values into our children and all the generations to come otherwise the Apocalyptic doomsday that we all so fear will become a reality. ""Thank you teacher for this marvelous eye opener."

Posted by Teressa


BARAKA is a film that I must say is un-like any film I have ever seen. This film is strictly just a film with no sound, it is a matter of using your sight as well as using
your cognitive skills to piece together what exactly is going on. One might say that this film is boring, but I enjoyed it! It was an amazing experience. This film viewed the diversity from all over the world, as well as gave us some insight on different sceneries and animals.This movie visited many different countries(which I found it easy to identify them because due to the symbols and statues it became obvious to me). With these countries you were able to see their land, the way that they live, the historical sites as well as statues, symbols, prayer and ritual. Remember there is no sound, and seldomly you heard music and different rhythms, therefore through out this movie you had to pay close attention and use your knowledge to get the general concept of what is really going on.The movie began with mountains which were covered in snow...they suddenly began melting and birds started to fly back near the mountains, which gave a clue that winter was ending and they were coming back to a warmer place. It suddenly switched over to India. How do you know it was India? Well I found this obvious due to the nature of prayer and the symbols that were used. They displayed buildings and the city life, through out the city you saw people on the street carrying food and there were two men painting something symbolic on a wall. They switched over to a group that was praying with some type of painting on their foreheads.There was a beautiful scene with water flowing and suddenly crashing against rocks, there were animals on the hills and suddenly there was a female who was carrying fruits and vegetables. There was a beautiful greenery scene with old statues in the middle of a deserted forest. There appeared to be some ancient Buddhist art on the wall which gave off that this was an Asian country. Another scene focused on a group of men with no shirts which appeared to be participating in some type of ritual.. There were men of all ages using their hands and chanting something that was unknown. One group would lay down while the other group swayed their hands and moved their fingers, it appeared as they were pushing/shrubbing something away from their bodies.One of the sceneries was an empty green hillside, there was also a volcano which was ready to erupt, there was an intense use of music and you could see the redness of the lava flowing. There was smoke evolving all over the area. After this scene, komodo dragons became visible; and they were just stacked on top of each other. Followed by ancient drawings on stone, and suddenly there was a face of a dark man and there was a woman painting him. There were naked young girls who appeared to be of the Native American culture..or perhaps could have been of Central America or the Incan culture of Peru(South America). They were holding hands, and there were different colors of string that on them. There was a man chanting and doing body movement while kids sing.It switched over to a different culture, which appeared to of the African descent. There were bald women and everyone was in jewels, bouncing up and down. Suddenly someone was sawing down a huge tree which ended up falling down on the land; a large amount of ants began pouring out. It then took us back to a city, this appeared to be a run down city. There many many kids who were just sitting at their windows, while other kids were walking up and down the streets. There was a change(not sure if it was in the same city where the kids were looking out of the window) but there were several woman working in a factory. They were each doing a different task, they did appear to be Asian but not of the chinese descent; perhaps they were Indonesian or from the Phillipes.There is suddenly a city with a mall, and there are Asian men walking through the streets ringing a bell. There were several men who appeared to be in a jacuzzi in a spa and there was one man who stuck out and was very noticable. He had symbolic tattoos beginning from around his neck area down to his upper thigh. There was a new city which was flooded with people, there were cars and a lot of traffic. There were people on the subway and there were children who were in school. There was a factory which baby chickens and they were burning the tip of the beaks, the grown chickens were put into cages; which gave me the assumption that these chickens were being used for sale.A new city had a mak working while a mule pulled him and his wagon. There was a group of people which consisted of children and families picking through the trash for food. There was a lady on the street with her children, and they had food and blankets. There was a small child on the street with a blanket and he appeared to be asking for money, kids were sleeping on the streets. There appeared to be a woman on the street, it was obvious she was a prostitute. There were 8 young girls with makeup on, standing outside of a strip club; assuming that these women were prostitues. You got the assumption that this country or city had major issues with poverty and they had to turn to any means possible for food as well as money.Suddenly there was a different scene, it appeared to be of a deserted jail, there were pictures of inmates' shoes, I got the idea that maybe this was some type of camp? They all had #'s, and there were skulls of the dead as well as people's bones, all these people were asian. There were many statues of people lined up, perhaps these were all of the people who dies. Suddenly you are taken to Egypt, there is desert sand and statues. The next countries is most likely India, and the girls are bathing their hair in the water, the men are bathing in the water as wel. There are dead bodies which are being burned.Baraka was an amazing movie. It took you to many different countries, where you were able to view different cultures and ways of life. Some countries had a life which consisted of being on land and participating in several rituals..some countries had more of a city life...and there were other countries which suffered severe poverty and had to search for food. This movie viewed the diversity all over the world and the lives that many people live as well as the environment. For example in Egypt you see the scenery which is covered with sand, than there were other countries where you saw majority of the country was filled with greenery. Different cultures and environment were percieved in this movie, and it was a great experience.






Posted by Genevieve Chantal V. Ceant


Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson produced an outstanding movie called "BARAKA". In several languages, the word Baraka means blessing. Truly, this movie is a blessing. A blessing offered to those who cherish the environment, and a blessing chanted in the name of Nature itself. This profound hymn celebrates nature in a very powerful way given that there are no words to distract the viewer who can only allow his or her soul to be moved, accompanied by some enchanting music.
I was happy to recognize some of the places shown on the movie such as Jerusalem's Wailing Wall, the rain forests of the Amazon, Mount Everest, Auschwitz, the refuse dumps of Calcutta or the Egyptian Pyramids. At the same time, I was humbled by my lack of knowledge of all the beautiful places and amazing cultures that make up planet Earth. Seeing so many different ways in which human beings worship depending on their culture, brought to my attention that no matter how different they look, all peoples share the same basic needs whether they be Buddhist monks, Orthodox Jews or African aborigens.
Seeing images from the past such as the Egyptian Pyramids or Auschwitz, or from the present as in the war fields, reminds us that manking has always taken over his environment, but he has not always made the best of his knowledge. This film reminds us that it is the environment that sustains all life, human life as well. Destroying the environment by cutting down the forests caused the Indians of the rain forests to end up in the Brazilian slums. Man's domination over his environment has allowed him to improve his life; unfortunately, humans do not set limits to their actions. Consequently, they have moved away from a natural way of living, and their new fast-paced life in the industrial world has turned them into machines that lead an artificial life where man exists alone, cutting himself from the nurturing of community living.
Even though some viewers might miss the verbal interpretation that usually accompany documentaries, the film "Baraka" says without using words what we need to hear if only we would listen with our hearts and souls. Let's not be afraid to write the script that speaks so loudly and so clearly in the silence of "Baraka"; it will only bring more "blessings" to our planet.
Written by Laurel
Baraka is a film that enables viewers to see different cultures around the world by exploring different countries. It explored many cultures that I didn’t even know existed. It showed recent problems throughout the world, as well as events that have happened throughout history. I really enjoyed this film because it allows you to see the world. Baraka is narrated by music, and does not have words. Although words usually play an important role in films, Baraka is something you can understand by listening to the music and seeing different things that are happening around the world. The film puts emphasis on the damage that is caused by commercial development. It takes away from native homes and ruins beautiful forests throughout the world. Tree’s are being cut down, and the people that are trying to develop these places don’t understand that not only does it takes away from nature, but the homes of many family’s that have lived their for many generations. Baraka also shows different cities and the way people live. Unfortunately, some of the cities look as though they are cardboard boxes stacked on top of one another. The beginning of the film shows the many cultures and people that live in remote areas throughout the world, and then shows mass production, culture and lifestyles within cities. From the simplicity of the lifestyle within nature to the production of technology, and what has to take place in order for people in heavily populated cities and places around the world to survive, Baraka takes you on a journey through nature that lets you embark on the beauty of the world and the realization that there are other cultures and people that suffer from industrialization and advancements in technology. Towards the end of the film viewers are able to see what happens in different cities. Women in China work in factories that produce products that are made for other countries around the world. This part of Baraka shows routinely what people do on a daily basis. In slow motion thousands of cars and people pass through the streets, and commercial airplanes fly over cities where airports seem to advanced for the city. The film focuses in on animal cruelty to make food, and people digging through trash dumps while machines and bulldozers are processing it to try and condense it for disposal. People are actually eating this waste to survive, while we sometimes take advantage of the luxuries that we have. Homeless people are shown living on the street in boxes with their families, and babies sleeping on sidewalks with their mothers. Although Baraka does not have words to explain the many devastating things happening around the world, just watching it allows you to draw the same conclusion that a narrator or anyone else would. I recommend this film to everyone. It shows you parts of the world that you never knew existed, and what happens within these cultures, as we carry out your everyday routines. Our choices have a drastic affect on different places and people around the world.
Posted by Lauren
Baraka is a very powerful film and demonstrates both human life as well as nature as a whole. This film is different because it is a non-verbal film that contains no script and no actors. This film is strictly a series of images shot from around the world that show both the beauty and obliteration in human acts and nature in our everyday lives. Baraka was filmed in 24 different countries around the world!
The film at first was difficult to really understand what the films purpose was. As the film goes on I realized there really was no plot but the film had a deeper purpose. The purpose was to really expand your mind and realize that one day in Africa was very much different from than in Israel as well as the other countries around the world. There may be many differences in the cultures around the world but we are similar in the grand scheme of things.
The photography in this film I thought was breathtaking! There were photos from all over, first you would see a scene of the mountains, and then it would go to a scene of a waterfall. The way that it was filmed definitely did a good job capturing you into the film.
The experience of watching the film I think is different for everyone because that there is no script. Each person has a different perspective of the film. The best way of really understand the film Baraka is watching it!
World’s Differences
Christina Bryant
When one stops to think about how our world differentiates from culture to culture most people don’t realize the complexity of how it truly is. To most, our world is how you see it in front of you everyday. Whether you’re wealthy, middle class or see no class, people believe that’s the way it is everywhere. It’s believed that everyone lives acts and feels the same way. That couldn’t be further from the truth, though. In reality every culture is completely different in nearly every way. >From the attire people wear, or don’t wear, and the way people cook their meals to the way they pray to their god. When people in our culture wake up in the morning they can go into the kitchen and get themselves a cold, or hot, drink depending upon preference. They can then cook themselves something to eat and sit on their sofa to watch a television program, completely oblivious to how the rest of the world acts and feels. People in our culture are spoiled. They complain about petty materialistic things they don’t have or that fact that they have to go to work everyday to make a living. While in reality they should be appreciating everything that we do have because there are people in other places that don’t have nearly as much as we do. Yet somehow they smile and accept life for how it is. They are simply happy to be alive and healthy. They don’t care if they have a Prada bag or a Lexus to drive. All they care about is their family’s health and happiness. People in other cultures don’t have the luxury of choosing what to eat each day. Most will settle for anything to eat, even if it was picked from a pile of garbage or was shot, killed and skinned earlier that same day. People will settle for the scraps that were thrown out by others, then mixed around with other garbage and dumped in a pile of dirt. They will go through all that garbage to get a piece of lettuce that will be shared among five other people. Once they finish with that food, which couldn’t even be classified as a meal, they are completely content and ready to go looking for the next small meal. Other countries eat the same thing everyday. It has never changed and probably will never will. For example they will have a bowl of rice for breakfast lunch and dinner. Food is not the only problem other countries encounter. Over population is so out of control that people have no choice but to sleep in what looks like a large box. They wake up at the crack of dawn and then walk in the clustered streets to get to the subway. Once there they squeeze into the jam-packed cars that are packed tighter than sardines in a can. Most of these people will have to stand on the subway for hours trying to get to work. Once they arrive at the factory style job they have they will sit so close to one another that they’re practically on top of each other. All of which are doing the same work, barely being noticed. They will do this every day in order to supply themselves and their families with food and a warm place to sleep. Nothing else in their lives matters or bothers them. They don’t complain about what they don’t have. They’re just happy to be able to work and supply for their family. Another big difference between us and other countries is the way we pray to our god. Only about half of our population actively goes to church or pray at all for that matter. Americans do not realize how lucky we are to be able to practice whatever religious beliefs we desire. We take for granted the fact that if you’re Christian you can go to your church, or if you’re Jewish you can go to your temple. No one is looked down upon for practicing what they believe. In others countries in this world people practice one belief and that’s it. They pray one way and would never imagine doing so differently. They wake up in the morning and pray to their god, asking that everything goes good that day and no evil approaches them. They will then pray at night before they go to bed again guarding them from evil. And in most places they will pray between those two times. Some places men dedicate themselves top praying all day while the women are preparing for or clothing for their families. The drastic differences between countries which are all in the same world is astonishing. People have become oblivious to the rest of the world. If everyone would combine, become one and work together our world would be better off. However, that is not the case. People choose to stay in their own world and live their lives the way they choose. Most could care less if people in other countries ate at all that day, or even that week. In my opinion, the way Americans act is disgusting.
BARAKA
written by Mercedes Perez
Baraka is a movie about the evolution of earth from the beginnings of our times to today. It reflects the earth as God intended to be pure and simple. This movie shows the beauty of God’s creation in its most primitive forms to the most advance ones, from the people to the land to the ocean to the sky. But at the same time it shows as how humans turned it into what we have today, a world with a lot of problems driven by our own behaviors. This movie was filmed in many different countries such as Brazil, Europe, US, Africa, illustrating the geography, cultures, religions, believes, of the people of these countries. It gives us an idea about how the earth looked at the beginnings of times to what it looks today. It shows us how the water run clear and clean, and how abundant it was, how the forest was rich and full, how the animals were free and safe, and most important how humans were worry and stress free.Today’s day it does not matter what county we come from, we are all dealing environmental issues, without knowing that the environment is our life support system, and it is compose of simple things like the air, water, metal, soil, rocks and other living creatures, that without these we could not survive. Today there are a number of problems affecting our environment such as:Global Warming that is not more than the change in climate originated by the discharge of heat trapping gases produced by vehicle, power plants, industrial process and deforestation. The dangers of global warming are many; these include for example; health problems such as Asthma, spreading diseases, etc. Also, with global warming we are experience extremes weather from hurricanes to heat waves. Is also influencing the economic, for example in area that depend on the winter as a support for their business, today with global warming these area are being affected because of the absent of snow and cold climate.The deforestation plays a considerable part on global warming, this is because when the rainforest is either cut or destroy by the men, it affect the climate in different ways. For example: Dramatic increase in temperature, entire region change to desert, aridity of previously moist forest soil, water not being recycle, etc…. Most of all with deforestation we are losing the clean air and clean water that once we were able to enjoy.Air Pollution is another problem affecting our environment; among some of the effects of air pollution we find, smog, reduction ozone layer and of course global warming.Air pollution is also responsible so a significant portion of human health condition like respiratory infections and other illnesses. In conclusion, the movie Baraka demonstrate how we went from a life of simple ness to a world full of controversies, and some how cruel. It shows how our own actions change not for good, the world God planned for us to reside in. If it is true that today we live in a more advance for lack of better words, it is also true that we live a life full of difficulties and contradictions.
Written by Sean O'Malley

The film Baraka was filmed in 1992 in 24 countries around the world, including, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, and Turkey. This film has no dialogue throughout the almost 2 hour film. This really lets the viewer soak up the scenary and maybe add their own dialogue. Baraka means blessing in several lannguages around the world. This was a great title for this film, because it shows us the true blessing it is to live in this wonderful world. This film shows the beauty of the country-side and the hustle and bustle of cities. My favorite part of the film was when the muslims visited Mecca and started to pray. I remember learining that part of the Muslim religion you must visit Mecca once in your life time, if you can afford it. Film producer Mark Magidson is currently filming Baraka's sequel Samsara.
Alissa Mandich
Biology 1040
Jose L. Jimenez
February 25, 2008
Baraka
The Baraka film is a beautiful montage of a collection of photography and background music that captures nature as well as human nature. Even though there are no actors, actresses, plot or script it captures the beautiful scenery of landscapes around the world like: churches, waterfalls, ruins. and cultureal and religious ceremonies. It explored various places in the world including the six major continents. This powerful nonverbal film shows people in their natural habitat, and how the advancements of technology have altered am extreme and primitive way of life by completely changing their life and lands.
This film explores six different continents and twenty-four countries. In these different places there were numerous religions, each one of them with a noticeably different customs. For example it showed Orthodox Jews praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. IT was evitable how holy this land was to the Jews because they were very seriously dressed and composed there. It also showed the Muslims pilgrimage to the city of Mecca. It showed the customs of them praying with millions of other Muslims as they walked around Mecca. Catholics were another major religion that appeared in the film. It showed Catholics performing ceremonies in a very traditional fashion in a traditional church. Even other less common religious groups that are rare in the United States were touched upon. It hoed people with face paint and matching pants partaking in a ceremony that consisted of people sitting around and dancing as they listened to musical beats. There were so many religions explored in the film and it was very interesting to see the many different life styles of the different groups of people.
A major portion of this film showed destruction of nature. There were many things being blown up, trees being cut down, things being produced in factories, people digging throw trash to find food, prostitutes on the streets, and homeless people sleeping on the streets. This created a very different tone and mood to the film than the peaceful scenery of the rest of the film. This portion of the of the film was more disturbing because after the showing of the beautiful and peaceful world we live in it showed the destruction and mess which we have created. This was incredibly sad to see because even though I know things are like this are taking place in the world I seem to be very much sheltered from a lot of the major issues in the world.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. It gave me a chance to look at the world in a different way. Baraka really captures the beauty and greatness of the world and the people living in it. It made me wonder about how much we are destorying the Earth by cutting down tress, and building factories, and blowing things up. Even though the movie was alittle long it was really able to make an impact on how I view the world.
Posted by Manouch

Baraka is an incredible nonverbal film containing images of 24 countries from 6 continents, created by Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, with music from Michael Stearns and others. The film has no plot, contains no actors and has no script. Instead, high quality 70mm images show some of the best, and worse, parts of nature and human life. Timelapse is used heavily to show everyday life from a different perspective. Baraka is often considered a spiritual film.Baraka is an ancient Sufi word, which can be translated as "a blessing, or as the breath, or essence of life from which the evolutionary process unfolds." For many people Baraka is the definitive film in this style. Breathtaking shots from around the world show the beauty and destruction of nature and humans. Coupled with an incredible soundtrack including on site recordings of The Monks Of The Dip Tse Chok Ling Monastery.Baraka is evidence of a huge global project fueled by a personal passion for the world and visual art. Working on a reported US$4 million budget, Ron Fricke and Mark Magidson, with a three-person crew, swept through 24 countries in 14 months to make this stunning film.One of the very last films shot in the expensive TODD-AO 70mm format, Ron Fricke developed a computer-controlled camera for the incredible time-lapse shots, including New York's Park Avenue rush hour traffic and the crowded Tokyo subway platforms.
BARAKA !!!!!!

Without words this movie uses camera shots and music to show us the world, with an emphasis not on "where," but on "what's there." It begins with morning, natural landscapes and people at prayer: volcanoes, waterfalls, forests; several hundred monks chanting. Indian peoples apply body paint; various landscapes, churches, ruins, religious ceremonies, and cities thrumming with life and whole villages dance. The film moves to destruction of nature by showing us logging, blasting, and strip mining. Images of poverty, rapid urban life, and factories give way to war, concentration camps, and mass graves. Ancient ruins come into view, and then a river where people bathe and funeral burns take place. Prayer and nature return. A monk rings a huge bell; stars wheel across the sky The movie draws some surprising connections between various peoples and the spaces they inhabit, whether that space is a lonely mountaintop or a crowded cigarette factory. Some of these attempts at connection are more successful than others: for instance, an early sequence between the daily devotions of religion Tibetan monks, and Orthodox Jews, finding more similarity among their rituals than one might expect. And there are other amazing moments, as when sped-up footage of a busy intersection reveals a beautiful symmetry to urban life that could only be appreciated from the perspective of film. The lack of context can be frustrating, not knowing where a section was filmed, or the meaning of the ritual taking place, and some of the transitions are questioning. This fil used time-laps photography in order to capture the great pulse of humanity as it interacted in daily activity.
Written by Ran Stern
Barake is a special movie that tries to capture the world and its problems in a very unique way.This film which has no dialog or actors, delivers footage from around the world in a particular order. The footage includes various landscapes from different countries, as well as different religious structures and cultures rituals. The movie also brings different populations and cities thrumming with life. The order of the pictures in the movie starts in the far east, moves to Asia, then Africa, and the Americas. The film is also brought in a chronical order to show the great impact of humans on the world, with the problems assosiated with it.the beggining of the movie brings pictures of different religions and their wordship rituals, from around the world. the film moves from the primitive and pure cultures to the big cities were technology is developed, and population is exploding. The movement through time comes to show the social and economical problems assosiated with the world today. A great footage is delivered throughout the movie of the reach people from the big cities next to the poor and the misroble from different places around the world.As well as showing the social and economical problems of the world today, the movie delivers the different wars that took place, their effect on human kind and distraction they caused.In overall the movie comes to show what human beings has done to the world, and the major problems that came with the technological development.
written by Andre Dennis
The film Baraka showed a variety of scenery all over the world. From sacred grounds, to vast landscape, cities, old ruins, religious temples, and humanity from all angles of the globe. Baraka, also known as, blessing in numerous languages, was filmed from over 152 different locations worldwide within 24 countries, on six different continents. The film was shot using a high quality 70mm imagery to show the best quality pictures possible; and Time-lapse, to show the world and everyday life from multiple perspectives. The countries that was in producing this film was, “Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Nepal, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States.” (Wikipedia, Baraka, p. 1)
Baraka contained no form of human conversation or dialog, rather than tribal incantation and various sounds of nature. The movie showed some of the most beautiful locations on the globe known to man and some of its most devastating sides, due to nature and mankind repercussions.
Fricke, Ron, & Magidson, Mark. (1992). Barakahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baraka_(film)
Posted by Elyssa

Baraka is a film that gazes with such awe at the mystery of life on earth that it seems almost childlike and yet does it in a way so purely cinematic that it can only come from the hands of a wizened master. It looks at us humans as if through a telescope and yet knows us so well, it’s scary. Human beings and their complicated relationship with the planet and what might be waiting for us when we leave it. Maybe the point’s in there, our capacity as humans to wonder, to look up and imagine something greater than ourselves. It’s fitting then that Baraka begins with a solar eclipse and ends with rolling star fields, likely primitive man’s first hint of the eternal. This incredible journey, around the world only to arrive at what makes us fundamentally human is the gift of Baraka. It’s also, as this brilliant jewel of a film reminds, us, the enduring reward of the movies.

Posted by Mark Reid

As the tide of chemicals born of the industrial age has arisen to engulf our environment. Today we are concerned with a different kind of hazard that lurks in our environment. Pollution , water smog,volcano smoke, grass and vegetation all represents the native lands we all inhabit. the environment issue faced are of life and preservation to our well being. With out a clean sky birds cannot fly, without clean water animals can't swim, drink or eat; from the plant nets resources neither can we. Man destroys wood and trees for its development for other resources of survival.poverty is every where we see from the grave to the front door, do we open with respect to our nature or lose, because we fear our progress which will it be. why do we make things to kill ourselves than preserve ourselves. We make cigarettes, grow food & pollute or waters knowing it will kills us. It seems that we are trying to change the population size from growing out of control, or is it's because we are on a faster paste than we need. It may be we can't control our own in order to keep an advantage. Are we running out of room for the populations growth size.the battle of living things began so long ago that its origin is lost in time. But it must have begun in a natural environment, in which whatever life inhabited the earth was subjected, for good or ill.


Links to Students Blogs:


http://seansbio.blogspot.com/

http://laurenvashon.blogspot.com/

http://laurelhope.blogspot.com/

http://environment4us.blogspot.com/

http://environmentalstudiestm.blogspot.com/

http://lornajimenez.blogspot.com/

http://luichiteo.blogspot.com/

http://biophila.blogspot.com/

http://envirostudies.blogspot.com/

http://miniproject1.blogspot.com/

http://markofsuccess.blogspot.com/


http://manouch-environmentalstudies.blogspot.com/

http://nadinehopes.blog.com/

http://sranearth.blogspot.com/

http://enviromentalstudies.blogspot.com/

http://iamteflondon.blogspot.com

http://elyssasenvironment.blogspot.com

http://carlsynclair.blogspot.com/


http://environmental_whyshouldwecare.blogspot.com

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

The United States
Environmental and Social Issues


10 Environmental Issues

1. Global warming
2. Distruction of forests
3. Deterioration of oceans
4. Threat of nuclear disaster
5. Population
6. Drought
7. Hazards/toxins
8. Over population
9. Gas shortage
10. Climatic change


10 Social Issues

1. Immigration
2. Over population
3. Poverty
4. Economy
5. Gas prices
6. Health Systems
7. Court Systems
8. Crime
9. Drugs and Alcohol
10. Terrorism

Laurel said...

Other Blogs

http://EnvironmentalstudiesTM.blogspot.com

http://laurelhope.blogspot.com

http://Environment4us.blogspot.com

Teressa said...

"Social and Ecological Problems of Colombia"

Social:

1. Corruption
2. Drugs
3. Guerrillas
4. Poverty
5. Insecurity
6. Social Class
7. Government
8. Quality of life is below what
it should be
9. Pollution
10. Overcrowding (roads)

Ecological:

1. Cutting down the rainforest
2. Destroyed Habitats
3. Over use of pastures
4. Pollution
5. Un-safe drinking water
6. Over Urbanization
7. War
8. Nuclear Waste
9. Dumping of waste
10. Littering

Anonymous said...

Environmental and Social issues in the United States are:

Social
1. Declining House Market;
2. Rise in Gas Prices;
3. Mass Immigration;
4. Unemployment;
5. Poverty, more demand of supplies from other countries;
6. Loss of the Value of the Dollar;
7. Bad Health Care Systems;
8. War draining the Country;
9. Debt in every aspect;
10. Social Security has been depleted;

Environmental
1. Global Warming;
2. Water Pollution;
3. Water Shortage;
4. Forest Fires;
5. Mud Slides | floods;
6. Rise in Endangered Animals;
7.Natural Disasters (tornados, hurricanes, etc.)
8. Land Fills are over flowing;
9. Air Pollution;
10. Land Erosion.

Other blogs with more information about what was listed above.

www.envirostudies.blogspot.com
www.mandich.blogspot.com
www.Lauren.blogspot.com
www.Luichiteo.blogspot.com
www.biophila.blogspot.com

neoselvafoundation said...

Jamaica's Social & Environmental Issues

10 Social Issues

1. Politics
2. Poverty
3. Unemployment
4. Currency
5. Diseases
6. Corrupt System
7. Over Population
8. Violence
9. Health Benefits
10. Court System

10 Environmental Issues

1. Global warming
2. Land Filth
3. Population
4. Droughts
5. Hazardous Toxins
6. Gas Shortage
7. Littering
8. Climatic change
9. Polluted Waters
10. High Death Rate

Other Blogs:

www.madinehopes.blog.com
www.miniproject1.blogspot.com
wwwseansbio.blogspot.com

Mark Reid said...

markofsuccessblogspot.com

Mercedes said...

enviromental-whyshouldwecare.bloggspot.com

Manouch said...

http://manouch-environmentalstudies.blogspot.com/search?q=

Luis Maceda said...

Independent countries

Social
1. Poverty
2. Electricity
3. Housing
4. Religion
5. Corruption
6. Education
7. Hospitals
8. Transportation
9. Garbage disposal
10. Supply and demand

Enviroment
1. Erosion
2. Water Problem
3. Mud Slides
4. Pollution
5. Radiation
6. Deforestation
7. Hurrancanes
8. Oil Spilss
9. Endanger Species
10. Global Warming

neoselvafoundation said...

Drought could force nuke-plant shutdowns

By MITCH WEISS, Associated Press Writer
01/23/08



Nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back or temporarily shut down later this year because drought is drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate.

Utility officials say such shutdowns probably wouldn't result in blackouts. But they could lead to shockingly higher electric bills for millions of Southerners, because the region's utilities may be forced to buy expensive replacement power from other energy companies.

Already, there has been one brief, drought-related shutdown, at a reactor in Alabama over the summer.

"Water is the nuclear industry's Achilles' heel," said Jim Warren, executive director of N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, an environmental group critical of nuclear power. "You need a lot of water to operate nuclear plants." He added: "This is becoming a crisis."

An Associated Press analysis of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors found that 24 are in areas experiencing the most severe levels of drought. All but two are built on the shores of lakes and rivers and rely on submerged intake pipes to draw billions of gallons of water for use in cooling and condensing steam after it has turned the plants' turbines.

Because of the yearlong dry spell gripping the region, the water levels on those lakes and rivers are getting close to the minimums set by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Over the next several months, the water could drop below the intake pipes altogether. Or the shallow water could become too hot under the sun to use as coolant.

"If water levels get to a certain point, we'll have to power it down or go off line," said Robert Yanity, a spokesman for South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., which operates the Summer nuclear plant outside Columbia, S.C.

Extending or lowering the intake pipes is not as simple at it sounds and wouldn't necessarily solve the problem. The pipes are usually made of concrete, can be up to 18 feet in diameter and can extend up to a mile. Modifications to the pipes and pump systems, and their required backups, can cost millions and take several months. If the changes are extensive, they require an NRC review that itself can take months or longer.

Even if a quick extension were possible, the pipes can only go so low. It they are put too close to the bottom of a drought-shrunken lake or river, they can suck up sediment, fish and other debris that could clog the system.

An estimated 3 million customers of the four commercial utilities with reactors in the drought zone get their power from nuclear energy. Also, the quasi-governmental Tennessee Valley Authority, which sells electricity to 8.7 million people in seven states through a network of distributors, generates 30 percent of its power at nuclear plants.

While rain and some snow fell recently, water levels across the region are still well below normal. Most of the severely affected area would need more than a foot of rain in the next three months — an unusually large amount — to ease the drought and relieve pressure on the nuclear plants. And the long-term forecast calls for more dry weather.

At Progress Energy Inc., which operates four reactors in the drought zone, officials warned in November that the drought could force it to shut down its Harris reactor near Raleigh, according to documents obtained by the AP. The water in Harris Lake stands at 218.5 feet — just 3 1/2 feet above the limit set in the plant's license.

Lake Norman near Charlotte is down to 93.7 feet — less than a foot above the minimum set in the license for Duke Energy Corp.'s McGuire nuclear plant. The lake was at 98.2 feet just a year ago.

"We don't know what's going to happen in the future. We know we haven't gotten enough rain, so we can't rule anything out," said Duke spokeswoman Rita Sipe. "But based on what we know now, we don't believe we'll have to shut down the plants."

During Europe's brutal 2006 heat wave, French, Spanish and German utilities were forced to shut down some of their nuclear plants and reduce power at others because of low water levels — some for as much as a week.

If a prolonged shutdown like that were to happen in the Southeast, utilities in the region might have to buy electricity on the wholesale market, and the high costs could be passed on to customers.

"Currently, nuclear power costs between $5 to $7 to produce a megawatt hour," said Daniele Seitz, an energy analyst with New York-based Dahlman Rose & Co. "It would cost 10 times that amount that if you had to buy replacement power — especially during the summer."

At a nuclear plant, water is also used to cool the reactor core and to create the steam that drives the electricity-generating turbines. But those are comparatively small amounts of water, circulating in what are known as closed systems — that is, the water is constantly reused. Water for those two purposes is not threatened by the drought.

Instead, the drought could choke off the billions of gallons of water that pass through the region's reactors every day to cool used steam. Water sucked from lakes and rivers passes through pipes, which act as a condenser, turning the steam back into water. The outside water never comes into direct contact with the steam or any nuclear material.

At some plants — those with tall, Three Mile Island-style cooling towers — a lot of the water travels up the tower and is lost to evaporation. At other plants, almost all of the water is returned to the lake or river, though significantly hotter because of the heat absorbed from the steam.

Progress spokeswoman Julie Hahn said the Harris reactor, for example, sucks up 33 million gallons a day, with 17 million gallons lost to evaporation via its big cooling towers. Duke's McGuire plant draws in more than 2 billion gallons a day, but most of it is pumped back to its source.

Nuclear plants are subject to restrictions on the temperature of the discharged coolant, because hot water can kill fish or plants or otherwise disrupt the environment. Those restrictions, coupled with the drought, led to the one-day shutdown Aug. 16 of a TVA reactor at Browns Ferry in Alabama.

The water was low on the Tennessee River and had become warmer than usual under the hot sun. By the time it had been pumped through the Browns Ferry plant, it had become hotter still — too hot to release back into the river, according to the TVA. So the utility shut down a reactor.

David Lochbaum, nuclear project safety director for the Union of Concerned Scientists, warned that nuclear plants are not designed to take the wear and tear of repeatedly stopping and restarting.

"Nuclear plants are best when they flatline — when they stay up and running or shut down for long periods to refuel," Lochbaum said. "It wears out piping, valves, motors."

Both the industry and NRC spokesman Scott Burnell said plants can shut down and restart without problems.

neoselvafoundation said...

Pressures build on Amazon jungle
By Gary Duffy
BBC News, Brazil



The Amazon is not just a precious resource for Brazil but for the entire world, and the year ahead seems likely to produce important indications of what the future holds for this vast rainforest.

The scale of the challenge is widely acknowledged.

In the past 40 years, close to 20% of the Amazon has been cut down.

Land cleared for cattle is the leading cause of deforestation, while the growth in soya bean production is becoming increasingly significant. Illegal logging is also a factor.

Deforestation and forest fires are now responsible for nearly 75% of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past three years the Brazilian government has celebrated a 59% cut in the rate of deforestation, but there are now signs of problems ahead.


Fines

In December, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said there had been a 10% increase in deforestation between August and November 2007 and announced a range of measures to try to stem this.



I would easily say [2007] was one of the worst years I have seen in 11 years living here
John Carter,
director, Alianca da Terra

The president signed a decree imposing fines for buying or trading goods such as beef or soya planted illegally on deforested properties.

Several hundred federal police are to be sent to the area to help combat environmental destruction, joining more than 1,600 inspectors already there.

In recent years the government says it has carried out numerous inspections, seized more than one million cubic metres of wood, cancelled thousands of land registrations and arrested hundreds of people, as well as creating large conservation areas.

At the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia, last month, Brazil also announced the creation of a voluntary fund to protect the Amazon, due to be launched in 2008.


Growing concern

On a broader international front, it was also agreed at Bali that forest conservation would be included in discussions about a future agreement on global warming.

The new measures may be a sign of growing government concern, and it will only become clear in the months ahead just how effective they will prove to be in the struggle to protect the Amazon.



Environmental groups, while welcoming the government's efforts, say the response is simply not good enough.

Critics had already warned that recent falls in deforestation could be explained by a drop in market prices for products such as soya and meat, and that once these rose again land clearance would start to increase.

"We have a national plan to fight deforestation that, historically, was a good plan on paper but lacked implementation both due to political will and due to resources," said Marcelo Furtado, campaigns director for Greenpeace in Brazil.

"Although the government could celebrate in recent years a decrease in deforestation, the fact is that structurally this didn't change.

"The environment ministry still lacks funding. You still have situations where the police don't have a helicopter to fly over a certain area or there is no fuel in the truck to go to verify if an area is being deforested or not. You still have a problem with availability of maps," Mr Furtado said.

"The tools to decrease deforestation and monitor implementation of the law are still not good enough."


Frontier mentality

That concern is reflected by John Carter, director of Alianca da Terra, a group that promotes environmental awareness in land management.

Mr Carter, however, has a different perspective on the causes and how the problem needs to be addressed.



What is important to do is to share out responsibility for illegal deforestation
Andre Lima,
Brazilian environment ministry

"Most of the environmental groups are concentrating on the law and why the law is not being upheld and they mysteriously forget this is a frontier and no-one ever upheld the law in any frontier in Europe or the United States, anywhere," he says.

He believes giving producers incentives to reduce the impact on the forest will prove more effective than traditional conservation methods.

The results of failure can be seen in the thick smoke of forest fires being used to clear land.

"I would easily say [2007] was one of the worst years I have seen in 11 years living here," said Mr Carter, who was born in the US but moved here with his Brazilian wife.

"I flew with several different people at several different times in September and October and I couldn't see the end of my wings, I couldn't see the ground.

"I tried to land in the Xingu park [in Mato Grosso]... I couldn't... I couldn't see the runway. I was flying 300 ft (91m) above the forest and couldn't even see it."


Responsibility

Andre Lima, a senior official at the environment ministry with responsibility for the Amazon says it will be difficult to keep deforestation in 2008 down to the level achieved in 2007, especially given the growing market pressures.



But he believes the presidential decree will force a wider range of people to address these concerns.

"What is important to do is to share out responsibility for illegal deforestation," he says.

"The responsibility is not only with the farmers involved at the forefront, but it is the chain of production that buys from them as well. The big soya companies, the meat storage plants that have set up there and know there is no authorisation for deforestation in the area.

"They have to assume a share of the responsibility."

The next few months will be a test of that resolve, but there seems to be a growing recognition on all sides that the Amazon faces another testing period.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7186776.stm

Published: 2008/01/14 11:49:47 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Anonymous said...

The Environmental problems and Social problems that relate with each other in the United States and their resolutions are:
Landfill overflow and immigration. Due to more immigrants coming to the United State this caused the population to rise and where there are more people, there is more garbage and waist. The solution to this problem is to make people more educated about recycling. If we get more people to recycle there would be less garbage and pollution. The Government also should step in and make stricter laws about immigration and recycling.
Natural Disasters and Healthcare: When people suffer from a natural disaster most likely they loose everything. They are no longer able to afford the things that they once did. The United States health care system is one the worst in the world. People are forced to apply for Medicaid or even worse go outside of the county for better health care. The solution to this problem is easy. The Government needs to step in create more long-term help groups. They can also regulate the doctors and the price of obtaining health insurance to make it more affordable. The Health Insurance companies are making so much money because they are paying less and less out of their pockets. The Government can stop this.

Anonymous said...

About our first blog experience(for group # 2):

The following people discussed their impressions from their first blog.
Luis Maceda:
luichiteo.blogspot.com
Mika Riggs:
envirostudies.blogspot.com
Christina Bryant:
miniproject1.blogspot.com
Lauren Vashon:
laurenvashon.blogspot.com
Genevieve Ceant:
biophila.blogspot.com

All expressed how interesting they found this new way of working even though, at first, the idea of the blog seemed overwhelming. Everyone was enthusiast and eager to share what he or she had learned. For example, tips were exchanged on how to attach pictures or change titles and modify the text of the blog. Finally, all agreed on the most important thing to remember: "always give credit to your sources".

Laurel said...

Group#1
Laurel, Lorna, Cassandra, Elyssa,Teresssa

-------Colombia---------

1. Guerrillas
Their making drug factories and kidnapping for money. They hide in forrests and kidnap people in politics or with alot of money.
A solution to this would be to supply the government with stronger weapons, Stronger government and man power, as well as a better army.
The Guerrillas have alot of man power and more weapoms, so the Colombian government needs to be stronger.

2. Drugs
Drugs would not be as big of an issue if the Guerrillas were taken away and controlled.
Drugs are a social problem that hurts children
Benefits the economy, but people die.

3. Unsafe drinking water
makes people sick

4. Poverty
Leads to drugs/ leads to ecological resources for food/ shelter.
It takes aeay from the environment.
Solution: Provide more jobs



-----Haiti--------

Solution: government repair and education.

1. Make work
If the government would make more jobs available people wouldn't have to take the forrest down.

2. Education
Educate people on what is happening in Haiti. If people were educated then they wouldn't have to mine the mountains.



--------United States---------

1. Global warming
Educating people so their aware of the effects and danger that it could cause/not polluting.

2. Distruction of forests
Stop building/ cutting down trees

3. Deterioration of oceans

-populationStop polluting

Laurel said...

The United States

10 Environmental Issues
and solutions

1. Global warming incarrelLaurel
- Over population/ un educated
Educating people so their aware of the effects and danger that it could cause/not polluting.

2. Distruction of forests
- over population/immigration
Stop building/ cutting down trees

3. Deterioration of oceans
- population
Stop polluting

4. Threat of nuclear disaster
- terrorism
Nuclear wastes/ awareness/ security/ government

5. Pollution
-population / immigration /
Stop polluting / recycle/ different materials/

6. Drought
-population/ immigration
Conserve water

7. Hazards/toxins
- drugs/ alcohol
Better law enforcement

8. Animals
- over population
- stop destroying their environments

9. Gas shortage
Gas prices (social)
Ulterior methods of transportation (car pulling/ bus)

10. Air pollution
- population/terrorism/ education/crime
Educating people about the damage/ smog testing

Anonymous said...

Linking Social and Environmental Issues (Group # 2)

Most members of the group are from the U.S.A., with one member from Venezuela and one from Haiti.

U.S.A. reported that immigration is one major problem, and it is one of the causes of pollution due to overpopulation. This pollution is in the air and in the landfills as well. One solution is to promote awareness for recycling. It is also immportant to enforce city laws on pollution and to enforce immigration laws as well. Another dilemma is the effect of natural disasters which cause homelessness and healthcare problems. This calls for a better system of recovery after disasters occur.

Two major problems were reported for Venezuela: first, corruption in all levels of government; and, second, transportation management. Traffic is a great cause of air pollution. The first step in finding solutions to most of Venezuela's problems resides in "education".

As for Venezuela, it seems that all of Haiti's problems will find their solutions through the same vector, "education". All of the environmental issues are linked to the same social issues which are poverty, unemployment, corruption, political unrest. The problems of management, be it of pollution, water, or land; the problems of agricultural production, shortage of fresh water, air pollution, deforestation, droughts, floodings, mudslides, etc... would require great change in the country, such as change in the political system and change in human rights. Change that is beneficial to all can only come if education is provided to the majority, given the high level of illiteracy among the population of the island.

Mercedes said...

http://enviroment-whyshouldwecare.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I visited this blog out of curiosity, to see what a friend (the professor) was up to with his class at Nova Southeastern University. The instructor's posts were every bit as creative, heartfelt, and insightful as I expected. But the students' posts were engaging as well. Thank you for reminding me that many of us DO care and ARE discussing such important issues!

enviro said...

In the United States our food is effected in many ways. First we have the weather and bugs that ruin our crops and Second we have farmers injecting our cows and pigs with steroids and Growth Hormones, third we have pesticides, these are all bad for human consumption and can cause humans a lot of harm. The most important problem with our food though is genetically altered food, some of these foods are meats, vegetables, and dairy products. There are many more products that are out there, this is just to get you thinking. Genetically altered food can be responsible for causing health defects, cancer, allergies and they put you at a high risk of you consuming toxins. Genetically altering food not only effect us but animals also. It can cause an animal's species to become extinct and throw off the balance cycle of that altered item.

Anonymous said...

Group 2: Discussing Food/ Population Issues

Allison Baldwin & Eddy Cofferty (environmentalstudies.blogspot.com) joined us for this weeek's disccusion. Our members were mainly from the United States with one person from Israel and one from Haiti.

Untides States has problems with bad crops due to change in weather and also problems with bugs such as grasshoppers and beetles. The use of pesticides causes grave consequences such as intoxication, allergies, cancers, and several health problems. Genetically altered foods are also of great concern as they break the natural cycle of life, and they also alter the reproductive system. What of the growth hormones fed to the cows and pigs that constitute the meat that people eat! They are harmful to the animals and certainly to the humains who eat them.

Israel does not have the problem of growth hormones because this practice is forbidden. However, fertilizers are used in farming. Drought is a major problem. There are many brush fires during the summer. As they have only one natural reservoir, during the dry season, water supply is critical.

In Haiti, farming is basically organic because on the small lots, the farmers cannot afford fertilizers. But the few that produce on a larger scale tend to use fertilizers and pesticides. Unfortunately, due to lack of food production, Haiti is importing most of its foods: canned goods, rice, oil, and even meats like fish, chicken or turkey. Needless to say that the population is actually consuming many genetically altered foods given that the imported goods cost less than the local organic products. Furthermore, due to the lack of education, the market is being bombarded with products that have expired!

neoselvafoundation said...

The Peace Studies Program in the

Dorothy F. Schmidt

College of Arts and Letters





invites you to attend an upcoming lecture



by researcher

Dr. Jane Goodall





Wednesday, February 27,

4 p.m.

University Arena

FAU’s Boca Raton campus.





The lecture is free to faculty, staff and students with ID. Bring your ID to the Box Office at the Student Union on the Boca Raton campus Monday-Friday, 10-5, to get your tickets in advance.

You can get tickets at the door, but we urge you to plan ahead and avoid the lines.



Dr. Goodall will be signing books after the lecture; her books and information on The Jane Goodall Institute and the “Roots and Shoots” program for children will be available in the lobby of the Arena.

Genevieve Chantal V. Ceant said...

It was an amazing experience to observe the reptiles that were presented to our class, namely, the African Hinge-back Tortoise, the Central American Ornated Red-foot Turtle, the Mount Turtle from the U.S., the Texas Box Turtle, the African-Spur Turtle, and the Russian Turtle.
Tortoises differ from turtles as they live on land and use water only for bathing and drinking. These reptiles use their shells or carapaces to protect themselves from their predators. Growth rings appear on the carapace. Their bodies adapt to their habitats and this is evident in the differences in their snouts which may be sharp in carnivores or dull if they are herbivores. Their feet may be webbed for swimming or limbs may be present for stronger muscles needed for walking or digging holes. They also vary in size, skin-texture, and color.
The Central American Ornated Red-foot Turtle is a great example of the variety of texture and color. This attractive animal’s face is adorned with thin red lines, and the legs, tail, plastron (underside of the shell), and marginal scutes (sides of the shell) are heavily marked with red and black. The shell is moderately elongated in shape. Males can be distinguished from females by the thicker tail and concave plastron. They can reach up to 7 inches long whereas females can be about two inches longer. They are endangered as they are domesticated because of their beauty, and they also require more care and do not do well in captivity.

Hinge backs are a species of tortoise that have hinges on the bottom part of their shells. The African hinge back tortoise is not listed as endangered; however, these animals are being exported out of their native areas in large numbers because of their unique shells, with a movable hinge. The hinges allow the back of the shell to clamp down so the back legs and tail have increased protection from predators. They can retreat their head quite far when threatened, bringing the front legs in to seal the anterior opening in the carapace; the knees meet in front of the head with the feet pointing to either side. The enlarged scales of the forelegs face outward in this position, protecting the legs themselves. Overall, they are rather small in size, but the largest type can grow to be nearly 12 inches long.

The Texas Box Turtle is very ornated, and it has a single hinge at the front of the lower shell (plastron), allowing to fold it up and closing the front of the shell entirely; thus the common name of “box turtle”. They also have a hooked upper jaw (“beak”). Males have a longer tail thank females with a thick base and a somewhat concave plastron, whereas females have a flat one. They used to be seen in backyards, on ranches, and along roadways, but many Texans report that they are now hard to find. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department would like to know if you see a box turtle in the state.

The tan-colored Russian Tortoise is the smallest of them all. It generally reaches a length of 6 to 8 inches. Their carapace is very round, and the vertebral scutes of the carapace are noticeably flat. The tail has a terminal claw, and it is generally longer and thicker in males than in females. The Russian Tortoise has four claws on each foot.

For its part, the African Spur Tortoise is the largest of these reptiles. Its shell length ranges up to 36 inches and weighs up to 240 lbs. Well cared for in a pen, it can live up to 70 years. This tortoise has a uniform brown to golden yellow color. Growth rings on each scute appear on the carapace. There are also well-defined spurs on the rear legs, which gives it its name African spur thigh tortoise. The skin is thick which may serve to reduce fluid loss through transpiration.

This brief encounter with these different tortoises illustrates how diverse the same species can be. It is important to remember that in many places it is illegal to take wildlife out of the wild without the proper permits from local, state, or federal authorities. Also, it is important to remember that captive reptiles or amphibians should not be released into the wild as this will disrupt the natural order of our environment.

For more information, please visit the following websites:
www.wnyherp.org
www.turtlesite.info.html
www.centralpets.com
www.tpwd.state.tx.us
www.rollinghillswildlife.com

Anonymous said...

Christina Bryant
February 22, 2008
Biology 1040



Our World’s Differences

When one stops to think about how our world differentiates from culture to culture most people don’t realize the complexity of how it truly is. To most, our world is how you see it in front of you everyday. Whether you’re wealthy, middle class or see no class, people believe that’s the way it is everywhere. It’s believed that everyone lives acts and feels the same way. That couldn’t be further from the truth, though. In reality every culture is completely different in nearly every way. From the attire people wear, or don’t wear, and the way people cook their meals to the way they pray to their god.
When people in our culture wake up in the morning they can go into the kitchen and get themselves a cold, or hot, drink depending upon preference. They can then cook themselves something to eat and sit on their sofa to watch a television program, completely oblivious to how the rest of the world acts and feels. People in our culture are spoiled. They complain about petty materialistic things they don’t have or that fact that they have to go to work everyday to make a living. While in reality they should be appreciating everything that we do have because there are people in other places that don’t have nearly as much as we do. Yet somehow they smile and accept life for how it is. They are simply happy to be alive and healthy. They don’t care if they have a Prada bag or a Lexus to drive. All they care about is their family’s health and happiness.
People in other cultures don’t have the luxury of choosing what to eat each day. Most will settle for anything to eat, even if it was picked from a pile of garbage or was shot, killed and skinned earlier that same day. People will settle for the scraps that were thrown out by others, then mixed around with other garbage and dumped in a pile of dirt. They will go through all that garbage to get a piece of lettuce that will be shared among five other people. Once they finish with that food, which couldn’t even be classified as a meal, they are completely content and ready to go looking for the next small meal. Other countries eat the same thing everyday. It has never changed and probably will never will. For example they will have a bowl of rice for breakfast lunch and dinner. Food is not the only problem other countries encounter.
Over population is so out of control that people have no choice but to sleep in what looks like a large box. They wake up at the crack of dawn and then walk in the clustered streets to get to the subway. Once there they squeeze into the jam-packed cars that are packed tighter than sardines in a can. Most of these people will have to stand on the subway for hours trying to get to work. Once they arrive at the factory style job they have they will sit so close to one another that they’re practically on top of each other. All of which are doing the same work, barely being noticed. They will do this every day in order to supply themselves and their families with food and a warm place to sleep. Nothing else in their lives matters or bothers them. They don’t complain about what they don’t have. They’re just happy to be able to work and supply for their family.
Another big difference between us and other countries is the way we pray to our god. Only about half of our population actively goes to church or pray at all for that matter. Americans do not realize how lucky we are to be able to practice whatever religious beliefs we desire. We take for granted the fact that if you’re Christian you can go to your church, or if you’re Jewish you can go to your temple. No one is looked down upon for practicing what they believe. In others countries in this world people practice one belief and that’s it. They pray one way and would never imagine doing so differently. They wake up in the morning and pray to their god, asking that everything goes good that day and no evil approaches them. They will then pray at night before they go to bed again guarding them from evil. And in most places they will pray between those two times. Some places men dedicate themselves top praying all day while the women are preparing for or clothing for their families.
The drastic differences between countries which are all in the same world is astonishing. People have become oblivious to the rest of the world. If everyone would combine, become one and work together our world would be better off. However, that is not the case. People choose to stay in their own world and live their lives the way they choose. Most could care less if people in other countries ate at all that day, or even that week. In my opinion, the way Americans act is disgusting.

Genevieve Chantal V. Ceant said...

NDRL: Re: Article on turtles

Please note that it is the "Mud Turtle" from the U.S. (and not the Mound Turtle from the U.S.)


The Mud Turtle is another American turtle that is found in the Southeast of the country. It has a double-hinged plastron, similar to the box turtle, and the males have longer and thicker tails than the females. Interestingly, the Florida striped mud turtle differs from those found in the Carolinas or in Georgia. It has yellow head stripes and three light longitudinal stripes on a dark carapace whereas other mud turtles lack these stripes, retaining only the light stripe between the eye and nostril. Furthermore, the females of the striped mud turle nest in the fall, rather than the spring or summer as other mud turtles do.