Relatório da semana: Shutting the spigot on private water: the case for the World Bank to divest

SHUTTING_THE_SPIGOT_ON_PRIVATE_WATER_CORPORATEACCOUNTABILITYINTERNATIONAL.PDF

"Shutting the Spigot on Private Water" is a landmark report that documents how the World Bank is driving global water privatization at a chilling human cost. With original financial analysis and powerful   case studies, it demonstrates how the World Bank must divest from private water projects to align its actions with its stated mission of alleviating poverty and supporting sustainable development.

800 Scientists Demand Global GMO “Experiment” - signers grow every year

Fontes: 

Natural cures not medicine 

BioTerra

Did you hear about the 800 esteemed scientists who came together and demanded the production of genetically modified crops and products be stopped? Scientists who called on world powers to re-evaluate the future of agriculture and seek sustainability rather than corporate profits? Don’t be surprised if you haven’t, as the mainstream media won’t touch this one.

Eight-hundred scientists did make such a demand. They made it first over a decade ago and they have updated it over the years, adding signatures and release dates. Still global powers have all but ignored their calls.

The Institute of Science in Society is a non-profit group of scientists from around the world, dedicated to bringing an end to what they refer to as the “dangerous GMO “experiment. In their open letter to the world, they have highlighted why governments need to stop genetically modified crops now – before there are irreversible effects on the health of the people and the health of the earth at large.

The Open Letter from World Scientists to All Governments calls for “the immediate suspension of all environmental releases of GM crops and products, both commercially and in open field trials, for at least 5 years.”

They also want patents on organisms, cell lines, and living things revoked and banned. Such patents (a sort of corporate version of “playing God,”) “threaten food security, sanction biopiracy of indigenous knowledge and genetic resources, violate basic human rights and dignity, compromise healthcare, impede medical and scientific research and are against the welfare of animals.”This would be bad news for Monsanto following the recent Supreme Court decision that they have the ‘right’ to patent life.

Scientists Speaking Out

In the beginning, after its first draft in 1999, the letter had just over 300 signatures. Since then, it’s grown significantly. At the writing of this article, the document has 828 signatures representing 84 different countries.While we are told by Monsanto and the FDA that GMOs are nothing to worry about and instead safe tools for the future of agriculture, a growing number of esteemed scientists seem to disagree. So, who’s listening?

The letter has been presented to numerous governments and organizations, including the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, the World Trade Organization, and yes, even the U.S. Congress. The letter has been shared at these venues, but it doesn’t seem like anyone was listening.

The populous has to dig for information like this. We have to seek out the news sources willing to cover it, because we won’t hear about this letter on the nightly news or through a governmental agency. No, the U.S. government wants you to fear what they want you to fear (“terror” and crime, for instance), but they certainly don’t want you to fear the information and the food they are putting on your table. Or the GMOs they are funding with your taxpayer dime.

Curta-metragem- Capital de Portugal, Lisboa, tem vida selvagem!

Um recorte turismo ecológico invulgar e surpreendente da nossa capital, com vida selvagem! (obrigado Rosa Silvestre)
Uma curta metragem documental sobre a biodiversidade da cidade de Lisboa e o trabalho que o LxCras tem vindo a desenvolver enquanto centro de recuperação de animais selvagens.

A short documentary about Lisbon's biodiversity and the work that LxCRAS has been developing as a wildlife recovery center.

DIY - Shipping container home

Some clever people are using old shipping containers to build their houses and saving tons of money. Here are a few of the radical thinkers

Vejam vários exemplos e videos de casas baratas e simpáticas e sustentáveis (custos finais cerca de 40.000 Euros)

Jared Diamond: How societies can grow old better

Jared Diamond is the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was a provocative answer to the question of why Europe dominated the world for much of recent history. More recently, he has written The World Before Yesterday, an investigation of traditional societies, and what the modern world might learn from them.

For this talk, he’s focusing on one chapter of that book and asking the question: what can we learn about how to treat elderly people from traditional societies? There are many, many traditional societies, and they are very different from modern societies. “Tribes,” says Diamond, “constitute thousands of natural experiments in how to run a society.” He is quick to add that they shouldn’t be scorned as primitive, nor romanticized as happy and peaceful.

Now in our society, most old people end up living separately from their children, and away from the friends they grew up with. In traditional societies everyone lives out their lives among their children and friends. That said, their treatment varies wildly.

At the worst extreme, many get rid of the elderly by one of several methods:

• Neglect and not feeding them.
• Abandoning them when the group moves.
• Encouraging suicide.
• Killing them.

This happens, says Diamond, mainly under two conditions: Nomads that are incapable of physically carrying them, or people living in marginal or fluctuating environments, such as the arctic or deserts. To us it sounds horrible, “But what could those traditional societies do differently?”

On the opposite extreme are the New Guinea farming societies he has been studying recently and most other sedentary farming societies. There the elderly are fed, remain and live in the same hut or a nearby hut to their children.

What does this mean?

There are two reasons for this variation, the usefulness of old people and the society’s values. There are many things that elderly people contribute to their societies: They may be effective in producing food. They can babysit grandchildren, freeing their children to hunt and gather. They can craft things. And often they are the leaders and the most knowledgeable. The last point has a huge significance that would never occur to us in literate societies, “It’s their knowledge that spells the difference between survival and death.” In other cases, the society places an emphasis on respect for the elderly, as in East Asia. That contrasts strongly with the United States. Here, the elderly are at a huge disadvantage. For example in job applications, or in hospitals — in that case there is an explicit policy to treat younger people first.

There are several reasons for that low status: The Protestant work ethic, the emphasis on self-reliance and indepenence, and the cult of youth. Clearly, there have been many changes for the better, but there have also been changes for the worse:There are more old people and fewer young people than at any time. This makes each elderly person more of a burden.

The breaking of social ties with age. Americans move on average every 5 years, and are likely to end up away from their children and friends.

Formal retirement from the workforce, and the loss of self-esteem which accompanies that.

They are, “Objectively less useful than in traditional societies.” The slow pace of change there means what you learn as a child is still useful. Not in ours. (For example, the TV set Diamond grew up with in 1948 had three knobs, today he has a remote with 41 buttons.)

What can we do?

The lessons

This is clearly a huge problem, but Diamond thinks there are a few good takeaways from traditional societies about the value of our elders:Elderly people are becoming more and more useful for high-quality child care, particularly as women enter the workforce. Compared to the alternative of paid child care, they may offer better, more motivated child care.

They have gained in value because of the experience in living conditions that are gone, but might come back. None of the young people, including most voters and politicians, have lived through a depression, or a World War.

While there are many things they can’t do as well, there are many things they can do better. Some skills increase with age, like understanding of people and human relationships, the ability to help others without ego, and understanding and making connections between large, interdisciplinary data sets. That makes them better at supervising, administrating, advising, and similar roles.

It’s a lot of food for thought. Diamond reminds us that we should consider, without romanticizing, that, “Traditional society elders have traditionally more rich lives. They think of dangers far less than we do, and they don’t die of heart disease and diabetes.”

Encontros Improváveis: António Gedeão e Sleep Party People- The City Light Died

"É necessário amar, qualquer coisa, ou alguém; amar por claridade, sem dever a cumprir; uma oportunidade para olhar e sorrir."~ António Gedeão

Sleep Party People- The City Light Died

Tenho feito alguns contactos com a terceira idade e acredito que é fundamental CRIAR e PROPICIAR espaços e  mais projectos como a dos AVÓS SOCIAIS que possam proporcionar a transmissão de estórias, fábulas e afectos aos mais novos.

A linha "biológica" é muito forte e por "ignorância" os séniores isolam-se e a sociedade tende a subjugar o primado biológico em vez de procurar a abertura e mais disponibilidade de fazer os idosos ainda muito importantes...senão deixamos morrer em nós a INFÂNCIA...

O Sonho dos Outros têm Reflexo em Ti e vice-versa

Bruno Sassetti-
Dreams of others, reflects on your life and vice-versa.

Infográfico- Apenas 0,1001 % da população mundial possui os 58% da riqueza mundial

Durante el año que agoniza este mes, el TransNational Institute (TNI) ha elaborado y difundido cuatro infografías que resumen el aberrante poder económico que posee la llamadaclase Davos , la élite que se reúne cada año durante la última semana de enero en esa estación de esquí suiza para coordinar los criterios económicos y financieros que imponen las grandes fortunas y corporaciones. De las cuatro infografías del TNI, difundidas bajo el epígrafe ” Estado del poder corporativo 2012 “, hay una singularmente didáctica: “ El 0, 001% mundial ” (reproducida al pie del post ), si a ese porcentaje de los inmensamente ricos sumamos el 0, 1% de los ricos, resulta que el 0, 1001 de la población mundial posee el 58, 1% del PIB global. Esa ínfima minoría de humanos es la que impone las reglas del juego económico y la que controla el sistema financiero . 

Los trabajos que integran la serie del TNI son: “ Planeta Tierra: Un mundo corporativo “, “ El 0, 001% mundial “, “ Los hombres más ricos del mundo “, “ Arquitectos neoliberales “. En mi opinión, conviene conocer el contenido de esas cuatro infografías para empezar a despedir el 2012 como se merece y, de paso, preparar el cuerpo ante la que se avecina en el 2013, pues la élite que protagoniza las cuatro infografías del TNI es la que decide lo fundamental, también en la denominada crisis de la deuda, incluidas las de la banca y del Reino de España; pues la Troika (Comisión Europea, BCE y FMI) sólo es el farmacéutico que aplica la posología que han establecido los médicos de Davos . ¿Y los gobiernos? La mayoría, empezando por los de la UE, son estudiantes de Medicina más o menos aplicados.

Fontes: globedia.com e Sociologos

Répteis e anfíbios, os mal amados do reino animal

Os anfíbios e os répteis são animais maravilhosos e com comportamentos muito interessantes. No entanto, o Homem aprendeu a odiá-los de tal forma que os persegue, chegando até a matar.

 

Fig.1 [© Armando Caldas, todos os direitos reservados] – Víbora-cornuda (Vipera latastei).

Os anfíbios e os répteis foram os primeiros animais a colonizar o meio terrestre e deles descendem todos os outros grupos de tetrápodes. Os anfíbios foram os primeiros a surgir, derivando de um grupo de peixes do Devónico Médio (há cerca de 400 milhões de anos). No fim do Carbonífero, há 300 milhões de anos, apareceram os répteis originados a partir dos anfíbios.

Estes animais já há muito que são associados a mitos e crenças religiosas que têm, na maior parte dos casos, destruído a sua reputação. As serpentes, por exemplo, em algumas religiões eram considerados animais sagrados (simbolizavam a sabedoria e a saúde), mas noutras representam o demónio, como no caso do Cristianismo e do Judaísmo.

Não há dúvida que estas crenças moldaram ao longo do tempo a opinião pública, mesmo em pessoas não religiosas. Incrivelmente, em pleno século XXI, ainda se testemunham atitudes que remontam a Idade Média, altura em que o conhecimento que separa a realidade do fictício era praticamente inexistente.

Fig.2 [Budi Rebollo Fernandez (Flickr) ] – Salamandra- de-fogo (Salamandra salamandra).

É um facto que o Homem apresenta uma aversão ancestral pelos répteis e anfíbios, que o leva muitas vezes, a perseguir e matar. As serpentes são os animais mais afectados, bem como todas as espécies com aparência semelhante, como os licranços e cobras-de-pernas. É importante referir que estes últimos são lagartos e não serpentes e ao contrário do que muita gente pensa não são animais venenosos. Em locais, como nas serras do Gerês e Montemuro, é comum capturarem-se víboras para a produção de medicamentos tradicionais e amuletos. Outro dos preconceitos acerca das serpentes é que bebem o leite das mães, sejam humanas, ovelhas ou cabras.

Ainda há quem acredite que os sardões (Lacerta lepida) sobem pelas pernas das mulheres quando estão menstruadas e que as osgas cospem nos olhos das pessoas, mas escusado será dizer que nada disto corresponde à realidade.

Segundo a mitologia grega as salamandras-de-fogo (Salamandra salamandra) são resistentes às chamas e que nascem a partir destas (daí o seu nome), esta crença ainda é mantida na actualidade. A observação da saída de salamandras de fogueiras criou tal ideia, mas na realidade o que acontece é que estes animais muitas vezes abrigam-se ou hibernam no meio da lenha e escapam quando a temperatura começa a aumentar. Outros animais são usados em bruxaria, como é o caso dos sapos em que as suas bocas são costuradas (pode ler um feitiço utilizando sapos aqui).

Fig.3 [Por Paulo Barros em UmDiadeCampo] – Sapo-comum (Bufo bufo).

Muitas vezes os anfíbios e os répteis são mortos, não só devido à ignorância das pessoas, mas também ao medo. As serpentes nunca são agressivas só porque sim, apenas atacam se forem apertadas, ou se sentirem ameaçadas; a fuga é sempre a primeira opção, nunca atacam porque apenas querem fazer-nos mal! (penso que o contrario é mais plausível).

Todos estes preconceitos e ideias erradas constituem uma ameaça importante para as populações de répteis e anfíbios e esquecemo-nos que a maior parte destas espécies são importantes no controlo de roedores, insectos e outros animais que podem ser nefastos para as culturas agrícolas e/ou para a saúde pública. Por isso, é o nosso dever desmistificar estes animais e apelar pela sua conservação.

Bibliografia
Luís Bravo
Zoo centro pedagogico
Alma mistica
Almeida. N. e outros (2001). Anfíbios e Répteis de Portugal. Fapas

Fonte: Portugal Selvagem (blogue)

Titan Arum- A maior flor do mundo

A maior flor do mundo, conhecida como flor-cadáver, começou a florescer no Jardim Botânico Nacional da Bélgica, um facto que raramente ocorre e de forma inesperada pela terceira vez em cinco anos, nos arredores de Bruxelas. 

A Titan Arum cujo nome científico é Amorphophallus tintanum, que significa "pénis gigante deformado", a flor começou a abrir suas pétalas no domingo numa das estufas do Jardim de Meise, fora da capital belga. A flor espectacular,cuja floração geralmente ocorre três ou quatro vezes mais de 40 anos, também conhecido como titan arum ou bunga bangkai, tem um cheiro de carne podre que parece atrair insectos polinizadores, entre os quais os escaravelhos, que garantem a su reprodução. As suas folhas já medem 244 centímetros e poderia continuar a crescer até 5 metros. A Titan Arum vem das florestas tropicais de Sumatra, na Indonésia, onde ela está em perigo por causa da desflorestação.

Scientists Reverse Engineer Plants to Make Hydrogen Fuel From Sunlight

In the search for clean, green sustainable energy sources to meet human needs for generations to come, perhaps no technology matches the ultimate potential of artificial photosynthesis. Bionic leaves that could produce energy-dense fuels from nothing more than sunlight, water and atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide, with no byproducts other than oxygen, represent an ideal alternative to fossil fuels but also pose numerous scientific challenges. A major step toward meeting at least one of these challenges has been achieved by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) working at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP).

“We’ve developed a method by which molecular hydrogen-producing catalysts can be interfaced with a semiconductor that absorbs visible light,” says Gary Moore, a chemist with Berkeley Lab’s Physical Biosciences Division and principal investigator for JCAP. “Our experimental results indicate that the catalyst and the light-absorber are interfaced structurally as well as functionally.”

Moore is the corresponding author, along with Junko Yano and Ian Sharp, who also hold joint appointments with Berkeley Lab and JCAP, of a paper describing this research in theJournal of the American Chemical Society (JACS). The article is titled “Photofunctional Construct That Interfaces Molecular Cobalt-Based Catalysts for H2Production to a Visible-Light-Absorbing Semiconductor.” Co-authors are Alexandra Krawicz, Jinhui Yang and Eitan Anzenberg.

Earth receives more energy in one hour’s worth of sunlight than all of humanity uses in an entire year. Through the process of photosynthesis, green plants harness solar energy to split molecules of water into oxygen, hydrogen ions (protons) and free electrons. The oxygen is released as waste and the protons and electrons are used to convert carbon dioxide into the carbohydrate sugars that plants use for energy. Scientists aim to mimic the concept but improve upon the actual process.

JCAP, which has a northern branch in Berkeley and a southern branch on the campus of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), was established in 2010 by DOE as an Energy Innovation Hub. Operated as a partnership between Caltech and Berkeley Lab, JCAP is the largest research program in the United States dedicated to developing an artificial solar-fuel technology. While artificial photosynthesis can be used to generate electricity, fuels can be a more effective means of storing and transporting energy. The goal is an artificial photosynthesis system that’s at least 10 times more efficient than natural photosynthesis.

To this end, once photoanodes have used solar energy to split water molecules, JCAP scientists need high performance semiconductor photocathodes that can use solar energy to catalyze fuel production. In previous efforts to produce hydrogen fuel, catalysts have been immobilized on non-photoactive substrates. This approach requires the application of an external electrical potential to generate hydrogen. Moore and his colleagues have combined these steps into a single material.

Read more here

Mapa que mostra as verdadeiras terras descobertas na Era dos Descobrimentos

Num artigo americano demonstra como os portugueses foram o povo que descobriu mais terra no mundo e mais cedo do que todos os outros. Só está incluída terras que não eram habitadas por outros seres humanos. O Brasil, por exemplo, fica excluído, porque já era habitado pelos povos indígenas.[por João Tomé]

Ted Talk: A perspetiva de um drone sobre conservação

O ecologista Lian Pin Koh relata persuasivamente o uso de drones na proteção das florestas e da vida selvagem do mundo. Estes veículos de voo autónomos e extremamente leves podem seguir animais no seu habitat natural, vigiar as florestas tropicais e até combater o crime detetando caçadores-furtivos através de imagens térmicas. E o bónus adicional? São financeiramente acessíveis.

Sobre Lian Pin Koh

Ted Talk Profile

Saber mais:

Drones: will they save us or destroy us?

Passarada

Quais, quais, oliveiras, olivais
Pintassilgos, rouxinóis,
Caracóis, bichos móis,
Morcegos, pássaros negros,
Tarambolas, galinholas,
Perdizes e codornizes,
Cartaxos e pardais,
Cucos, milharucos,
Cada vez há mais.

Encontros Improváveis: Lucy Parsons e Kashiwa Daisuke- "Spring"

Este tema lembra-me e dá-me forças às palavras mais intensas sobre anarquismo que li até hoje: 

“Anarchism has but one infallible, unchangeable motto, 'Freedom.' Freedom to discover any truth, freedom to develop, to live naturally and fully.” - Lucy Parsons

Encontros Improváveis: Carlos Drummond de Andrade e Júlio Pereira- Castelo do Pastor

Júlio Pereira e Janita Salomé- Castelo do Pastor

“O amor é grande e cabe nesta janela sobre o mar. O mar é grande e cabe na cama e no colchão de amar. O amor é grande e cabe no breve espaço de beijar.” ― Carlos Drummond de Andrade

L’urbanisme face à la crise: une possible renaissance?

Le tarissement des finances publiques traduit-il la fin de l’urbanisme ou alorsson renouveau ? La crise économique implique t-elle un bouleversement dans la pratique de l’aménagement urbain ? Et si, finalement, les crises successives – écologique, financière et économique - que nous connaissons actuellement permettaient un changement de paradigme salvateur dans le domaine de l’urbanisme ?

La Défense, quartier monofonctionnel?

© Elodie Geffrotin

Ces interrogations peuvent sembler impertinentes et provocatrices. Pourtant, l’époque où l’argent coulait à flot dans les collectivités territoriales n’a pas permis aux villes de faire société. Ces soixante dernières années, les urbanistes ont couru après la ville et ont, de ce fait, échoué dans leur mission première : faire de l’espace urbain un endroit où il fait bon vivre, un lieu multifonctionnel où l’on peut habiter, travailler, s’amuser, flâner, acheter, étudier et se rencontrer. De ce point de vue là, c’est un échec. L’hexagone a connu plusieurs vagues de périurbanisation, traduisant un mal-être lié à la ville.

LA CONSTRUCTION DE LA NON-VILLE

Depuis 1950, c’est plutôt la non-ville qui s’est développée en France et dans la plupart des pays occidentaux. Les Trente Glorieuses, époque idéalisée par la plupart des économistes, est une période noire pour l’aménagement urbain. L’équipement des ménages (réfrigérateur, congélateur, télévision) associé à la motorisation de ces derniers a permis l’âge d’or de l’urbanisme monofonctionnel, apparu avec la France industrielle et « qui a conduit à découper les villes en zones […] spécialisées : les zones où l’on vit, celles où on consomme, celles où on se distrait ».[1]L’approche fonctionnaliste, érigée en modèle par le congrès international d’architecture moderne (CIAM) d’Athènes en 1933, connut son apogée – dans les faits – entre 1950 et 1980. Les villes centres se dédensifient au profit des zones pavillonnaires, les centres commerciaux évincent petit à petit les commerces traditionnels, les voiries principales deviennent parfois des autoroutes urbaines et les grands pôles universitaires se construisent en périphérie des agglomérations. 

La période 1980-2010 marque une relative prise de conscience des acteurs de l’aménagement et de l’architecture vis à vis de l’urbanisme monofonctionnel. Une partie des décideurs locaux prend conscience de la non durabilité de ce système qui vise à séparer toutes les fonctions de la vie urbaine par zones. L’étalement urbain a un tel coût économique (allongement des distances, nécessité de prolonger les réseaux existants) que l’on commence à envisager de reconstruire la ville sur elle-même. Néanmoins, cette prise de conscience est partielle et l’émiettement du territoire se poursuit. Pire, dans certains pays du sud de l’Europe, comme l’Espagne, les décennies 1990-2010 sont celles des aménagements inutilement fastueux. Les villes de Valence, d’Alicante ou de Benidorm mettent en place des projets pharaoniques qui deviennent peu à peu des gouffres financiers quand le royaume d’Espagne sombre dans la crise financière.

VERS UN CHANGEMENT DE PARADIGME ?

Et si le marasme économique ajouté à la crise écologique constituait un salut pour les politiques urbaines ? La ville a échappé aux mains des urbanistes pendant plus d’un demi-siècle. Le constat est dur mais, pour reprendre l’expression de Jacques Donzelot, « la ville ne fait plus société » aujourd’hui. La succession des crises pourrait pourtant marquer la renaissance de l’urbanisme si demain l’étalement urbain cédait la place à la ville frugale ; si demain les logiques financières marquaient le pas face aux logiques urbaines et sociales ; si demain l’aménagement dispendieux laissait la place à unaménagement sobre mais efficace. L’amenuisement de l’investissement public est un formidable défi pour les urbanistes : comment faire mieux avec de moins en moins d’argent ?

Une rue multifontionnelle à Öbrero (Suède)

Alain Rouiller / Rue de l'Avenir

Plus qu’un changement de paradigme, l’heure est au questionnement sur la pratique de l’urbanisme. Doit-on persévérer dans un urbanisme monofonctionnel, privilégiant le mitage du territoire, l’entre-soi et les grandes opérations urbaines ? Ou doit-on tendre vers un urbanisme favorisant la mixité fonctionnelle, la reconstruction de la ville sur elle-même et le mélange des populations ? Cette seconde tendance, bien que souhaitable, peut paraitre utopique. Certes, ce type d’urbanisme est plus complexe car il demande davantage de temps, d’écoute et d’ouverture. Mais n’est-ce pas le rôle de l’urbaniste, de panser les plaies urbaines et d’être « le généraliste des territoires »[2] ?

Benjamin Taveau

[1] HAZAN Adeline, maire de Reims et présidente de Reims Métropole, 2010, « Reims 2020, le choix des proximités », p5.

[2] MEYRIGNAC Julien, 2007, Hypermanifeste, éditions Aire publique, 96p.

Pessoas e árvores

Foto de Avinadam

Manhã Raia

A manhã raia. Não: a manhã não raia.
A manhã é uma coisa abstracta, está, não é uma coisa.
Começamos a ver o sol, a esta hora, aqui.
Se o sol matutino dando nas árvores é belo,
É tão belo se chamarmos à manhã «Começarmos a ver o sol»
Como o é se lhe chamarmos a manhã,
Por isso se não há vantagem em por nomes errados às coisas,
Devemos nunca lhes por nomes alguns.

Alberto Caeiro, in "Poemas Inconjuntos"

How to Take Adventure Photos

After a quarter century of traveling the world on amazing assignments for National Geographic, I'm still learning how to take nonfiction photographs that say more. What underpins my photographs for National Geographic? Pencil-blunting research long before a shoot. On-the-fly camera settings and in-the-field improvisations. And sometimes I just get lucky. Mostly, I never take myself too seriously and I always figure there must be a better way—if I can just figure it out. Learn with me as I keep growing. 

A complete guide here in National Gepgraphic

Documentário- "Solutions locales pour un désordre global"

Excelente documentário que mostra que a revolução verde nada mais foi do que aproveitar os produtos químicos que sobraram da II Guerra. Num cenário onde as grandes corporações expulsam o homem do campo para a cidade, gerando miséria, contaminação e incrível dependência de petróleo, certos agricultores baniram os químicos de suas lavouras conseguindo finalmente se livrar desta dependência e obtiveram ao mesmo crescimento económico. O veneno aplicado na agricultura pode seguir por 3 caminhos, "para a água, para a terra ou para seu estômago" "(...). Agora temos de mostrar que existem soluções, de ouvir os pensamentos dos agricultores, filósofos e economistas, explicando porque nosso modelo de sociedade está atolado na crise ecológica, financeira e política que conhecemos. Temos que inventar e experimentar alternativas." Coline Serreau.

Músicas do Mundo- Albânia

Anna Šatanová - Už sa javor vyvaliv

Acordar com Fernando Pessoa, Neil Young and Radiohead

Neil Young´s "On the Beach" by Radiohead

"Tenho pela vida um interesse ávido
Que busca compreendê-la sentindo-a muito.
Amo tudo, animo tudo, empresto humanidade a tudo,
Aos homens e às pedras, às almas e às máquinas,
Para aumentar com isso a minha personalidade."

Álvaro Campos (Fernando Pessoa), in "Acordar"

Mais textos e crónicas sobre Fernando Pessoa no Bioterra.

Vida secreta do gato: como é que nossos companheiros felinos sobrevivem nas nossas cidades?

Já muitas vezes perguntou como é o que seu gato de cidade passa  o seu tempo fazendo quando não está por perto? 

Onde é que os nossos animais de estimação ronronantes quando eles desaparecem da nossa vista? Armados com dispositivos de GPS e micro-câmaras, uma equipa da BBC Two programa da Horizon em colaboração com o Royal Veterinary College partiu para a aldeia Surrey para descobrir e responder a estas questões. 

Descubra mais selecionando uma personagem gato clicando aqui.

A casa de Uroko ou como um quarto pode ser forrado a estantes com livros!

No Japão sabemos que as casas não têm os generosos espaços dos nossos apartamentos em geral. No entanto e por isso exige-se criatividade. Que tal este quarto forrado a estante de livros, dentro da sala comum?

Ler mais em:

Creative Bookcase Bedroom in Japan

Detroit, Germany: Study Warns of Ongoing Depopulation Trend

Rents in many large German cities are too high, but in some towns vacancies are rampant. A new study warns that if these developments continue, many cities could end up looking like Detroit.

Long lines, desperate renters: Those who have tried to find an apartment in Munich or Hamburg are familiar with the challenge. It is almost impossible to find a place to live in those cities.

Indeed, the shortage of affordable apartments in many German cities has become an issue this campaign season, with the center-left Social Democrats even putting their demand for affordable rents on some of their campaign posters. But a trip through parts of eastern Germany, such as the states of Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt, shows an entirely different world of abandoned and dilapidated buildings, boarded up storefronts and empty streets.

The German housing market is drifting in two opposing directions, as is evident in a new study released Thursday by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research. The study finds that demand for housing in major cities and their surrounding areas will continue to rise, while the shrinking of smaller cities and towns will become a "mass phenomenon," according to study author Michael Voigtländer.

The researchers calculated the housing needs per person in all cities, towns and rural districts in Germany using two different scenarios. One assumed that living space per person would rise while the second presumed it would remain constant. In the past, per-capita living space has risen along with standard of living and because more people chose to live on their own.

Shrinking in the West

But regardless of which scenario turns out to be correct, the study found that peak demand will have been reached by 2050. Even before that, certain regions -- particularly in the eastern German states of Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt -- will experience a shrinking housing market. In the town Suhl in Thuringia, for example, demand for housing could drop by 23 percent by 2030, making every fifth apartment superfluous.

But towns in western Germany are also shrinking. In the small cities of Salzgitter, in Lower Saxony, and Remscheid, in North Rhine-Westphalia, demand could shrink by 17 and 14 percent respectively.

Several large cities, meanwhile, will see an increase in housing demand, such as Munich (about 13.5 percent), Hamburg (7.1 percent), Frankfurt (6.8 percent) and Berlin (6.4 percent). The highest expected growth in demand is not for a particular city, but rather the area surrounding Munich. According to the study, towns such as Erding (up 15.8 percent), Ebersberg (14.5 percent), Dachau (13.8 percent) and Freising (13.6 percent), are expected to see the biggest rise in demand.

For less popular locations, the study indicates, massive change is coming, including an increase in empty housing. This, warns Voigtländer, is a societal problem. Empty buildings reduce the chances that surrounding apartments can be rented and leads to vandalism and dilapidation. The researchers involved in the study cite the US city of Detroit as an example, where large swaths of the inner city have been abandoned. Costs rise too, in such a scenario, because providing trash pickup or sewage service to the entire city is being paid for by fewer residents.

Targeted Development

The phenomenon is by no means new. Towns across rural Germany, particularly those in the eastern part of the country, but also in many areas in the west, havelong been experiencing falling populations as younger residents head to cities for study and work. Many mid-sized cities in Germany have long since begun doing what they can to get rid of excess housing.

The study gives little cause for optimism. Even if people continue to want more living space per capita, and even immigration brings 200,000 people a year to Germany, the trend will continue. Voigtländer recommends that towns should accept the development. They should not attempt to attract new residents with new commercial and residential real estate, which could only worsen the situation. Instead, they should focus on upgrading the existing apartments, he said.

The Institute is working with the Federal Environment Agency on a wider solution, which would involve a national system of certification. Similar to carbon emissions trading, that would make new development land a valuable and tradable commodity, and would result in more targeted development of new housing.

[Spiegel, 5.9.13]

Infográfico da semana- 12 anos de incêndios em Portugal

Pegámos na lista de incêndios ocorridos entre 2001 e 2012 em Portugal continental, disponibilizada pelo ICNF, e construímos uma visualização que permite saber em que anos houve mais incêndios, em que municípios ocorreram e a que horas foram dados os alertas para esses fogos.

Ver e consultar a infografia aqui

Country Rankings by Cumulative (1751-2010) CO2 Emissions

If you know some history about the country which you're interested in, you will understand more about the country's cumulative emissions. For example, in the case of Yugoslavia, Montenegro, and Serbia:

Period COUNTRY CO2 emissions (1000 metric tons of CO2)
1880-1991 YUGOSLAVIA (FORMER SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC) 3,250,075
1992-2005 YUGOSLAVIA (MONTENEGRO & SERBIA) 643,252
2006-2010 MONTENEGRO 11,780
2006-2010 SERBIA 249,795

Then, here are the statistics. [full list here]
Total CO₂ emissions from fossil-fuels and cement production
Unit: thousand metric tons of CO₂

Rank	Cumulative emissions (1751-2010)			2010 emissions
	Country (period)	CO2		Country	CO2
1	UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1800-2010)	355,263,451		CHINA (MAINLAND)	8,280,544
2	CHINA (MAINLAND) (1899-2010)	132,468,155		UNITED STATES OF AMERICA	5,428,895
3	USSR (1830-1991)	112,821,745		INDIA	2,007,284
4	UNITED KINGDOM (1751-2010)	73,492,772		RUSSIAN FEDERATION	1,739,443
5	JAPAN (1950-2010)	48,542,156		JAPAN	1,169,819
6	GERMANY (1792-1946, 1991-2010)	43,846,517		GERMANY	744,813
7	INDIA (1858-2010)	37,594,857		ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN	571,174
8	FRANCE (INCLUDING MONACO) (1802-2010)	34,591,818		REPUBLIC OF KOREA	567,133
9	RUSSIAN FEDERATION (1992-2010)	31,586,661		CANADA	498,755
10	FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY (1945-1990)	27,451,215		UNITED KINGDOM	493,127
11	CANADA (1785-2010)	27,151,590		SAUDI ARABIA	464,125
12	POLAND (1800-2010)	24,327,602		SOUTH AFRICA	459,772
13	ITALY (INCLUDING SAN MARINO) (1860-2010)	20,689,181		MEXICO	443,334
14	SOUTH AFRICA (1884-2010)	16,417,251		INDONESIA	433,657
15	MEXICO (1891-2010)	15,157,817		BRAZIL	419,433
16	AUSTRALIA (1851-2010)	14,325,565		ITALY (INCLUDING SAN MARINO)	405,996
17	ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN (1902-2010)	12,375,948		AUSTRALIA	372,795
18	FORMER GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC (1945-1990)	12,178,928		FRANCE (INCLUDING MONACO)	360,996
19	SPAIN (1830-2010)	11,927,048		POLAND	317,011
20	REPUBLIC OF KOREA (1945-2010)	11,664,634		UKRAINE	304,571
21	BELGIUM (1802-2010)	11,307,606		TURKEY	297,774
22	CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1860-1991)	11,242,790		THAILAND	295,055
23	BRAZIL (1901-2010)	10,930,916		SPAIN	269,468
24	NETHERLANDS (1846-2010)	10,067,266		TAIWAN	260,322
25	SAUDI ARABIA (1935-2010)	9,698,931		KAZAKHSTAN	248,538
26	INDONESIA (1889-2010)	8,802,362		MALAYSIA	216,638
27	ROMANIA (1857-2010)	7,664,982		EGYPT	204,619
28	UKRAINE (1992-2010)	7,024,591		VENEZUELA	201,593
29	TURKEY (1865-2010)	6,687,046		NETHERLANDS	181,938
30	ARGENTINA (1887-2010)	6,572,174		ARGENTINA	180,373
31	VENEZUELA (1904, 1908, 1913-2010)	6,415,251		UNITED ARAB EMIRATES	167,468
32	TAIWAN (1896-2010)	6,260,831		PAKISTAN	161,272
33	DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE S REPUBLIC OF KOREA (1945-2010)	6,183,740		VIET NAM	150,115
34	THAILAND (1931-2010)	5,070,995		ALGERIA	123,381
35	AUSTRIA (1807, 1819-2010)	4,761,591		IRAQ	114,579
36	HUNGARY (1831-2010)	4,482,002		CZECH REPUBLIC	111,666
37	SWEDEN (1834, 1839-2010)	4,462,981		BELGIUM	108,863
38	EGYPT (1911-2010)	4,127,909		UZBEKISTAN	104,363
39	JAPAN (EXCLUDING THE RUYUKU ISLANDS) (1868-1949)	4,015,008		KUWAIT	93,624
40	DENMARK (1843-2010)	3,609,657		GREECE	86,651
41	MALAYSIA (1970-2010)	3,464,170		PHILIPPINES	81,528
42	KAZAKHSTAN (1992-2010)	3,394,503		NIGERIA	78,850
43	BULGARIA (1879-2010)	3,337,301		ROMANIA	78,685
44	YUGOSLAVIA (FORMER SOCIALIST FEDERAL REPUBLIC) (1880, 1885, 1890-1991)	3,250,075		COLOMBIA	75,622
45	ALGERIA (1900-2010)	3,171,687		CHILE	72,203
46	GREECE (1867-2010)	3,083,406		DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE S REPUBLIC OF KOREA	71,569
47	PAKISTAN (1972-2010)	2,980,299		ISRAEL	70,602
48	IRAQ (1924-2010)	2,867,010		QATAR	70,477
49	UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (1959-2010)	2,780,355		AUSTRIA	66,846
50	NIGERIA (1915-2010)	2,714,931		BELARUS	62,174
51	FINLAND (1860-2010)	2,645,616		SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC	61,811
52	SWITZERLAND (1858-2010)	2,561,548		FINLAND	61,797
53	COLOMBIA (1921-2010)	2,546,829		LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYAH	58,990
54	CZECH REPUBLIC (1992-2010)	2,330,997		PERU	57,535
55	PHILIPPINES (1907-2010)	2,239,455		OMAN	57,158
56	UZBEKISTAN (1992-2010)	2,180,076		NORWAY	57,143
57	NORWAY (1829-2010)	2,144,457		BANGLADESH	56,110
58	CHILE (1895-2010)	2,104,012		TURKMENISTAN	53,014
59	PORTUGAL (1870-2010)	2,068,817		SWEDEN	52,475
60	VIET NAM (1892-1945, 1970-2010)	1,940,068		PORTUGAL	52,321
61	KUWAIT (1946-2010)	1,924,986		TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO	50,643
62	ISRAEL (1930-2010)	1,814,804		MOROCCO	50,570
63	IRELAND (1850, 1880, 1881, 1910, 1913-2010)	1,788,268		HUNGARY	50,544
64	NETHERLAND ANTILLES AND ARUBA (1926-1985)	1,751,000		DENMARK	46,268
65	LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYAH (1950-2010)	1,616,865		SERBIA	45,927
66	SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC (1931-2010)	1,525,857		AZERBAIJAN	45,696
67	SINGAPORE (1957-2010)	1,510,592		BULGARIA	44,645
68	NEW ZEALAND (1878-2010)	1,495,745		IRELAND	39,969
69	PERU (1884-2010)	1,447,912		SWITZERLAND	38,727
70	CUBA (1941-2010)	1,410,886		CUBA	38,335
71	HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINSTRATIVE REGION OF CHINA (1938-2010)	1,173,835		HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINSTRATIVE REGION OF CHINA	36,261
72	BELARUS (1992-2010)	1,158,896		SLOVAKIA	36,067
73	MOROCCO(1928-2010)	1,155,972		ECUADOR	32,611
74	TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (1908-2010)	1,134,598		NEW ZEALAND	31,527
75	QATAR (1949-2010)	1,115,926		BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA	31,102
76	ECUADOR (1917-2010)	810,995		ANGOLA	30,394
77	BANGLADESH (1972-2010)	806,646		TUNISIA	25,858
78	TURKMENISTAN (1992-2010)	748,275		BAHRAIN	24,184
79	SLOVAKIA (1992-2010)	747,107		YEMEN	21,835
80	AZERBAIJAN (1992-2010)	703,829		DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	20,948
81	OMAN (1964-2010)	659,016		CROATIA	20,868
82	YUGOSLAVIA (MONTENEGRO & SERBIA) (1992-2005)	643,252		JORDAN	20,805
83	LUXEMBOURG (1945-2010)	638,467		LEBANON	20,388
84	TUNISIA (1866-2010)	625,027		ESTONIA	18,325
85	ZIMBABWE (1903-2010)	610,542		PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA	15,445

Note: Original carbon contents of CO2 emissions were multiplied by a conversion factor (= 44.0095/12.0107) to make CO2-equivalent numbers.Source:
Boden, T., Marland, G., Andres, B., & Marland, G. (2013). National CO2 Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Cement Manufacture, and Gas Flaring: 1751-2010. Oak Ridge, TN: Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center.