Search

This research intended to know how is made the process of environmental education in a school's context, supported by *Instituto Terra*, located in the city of Aimorés, state of Minas Gerais, analyzing the possibilities of this pedagogical practice. Environmental education is a transversal theme that must be present in all subjects of High School and Elementary School, due to the situation that our environment is, mainly in the present days, beginning of XXI century. This subject became important because it provides the teachers support to work with the students about how to deal with environmental issues in a more participative, critical and conscious way, with the intention to slow down the destruction of our natural resources and protect more the nature, including the human being itself, and its quality of life. As a result of a research, this study propose to present the work developed by *Instituto Terra* with state schools in the city of Aimorés, as a successful case regarding environmental education, demonstrating that is possible to change a local natural reality with strong and present environmental teaching in school's context, in which the student is more dynamic, critic and participative in his behavior towards the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paperbringsthe themes of theimpact caused by developmentof the oil activitythat providesso manyriches andconflicts. The approach is madeupon theimpacts ofoil extraction andutilization of gasfrom wellsin theremovedthermal powerplantco-generation Vale doAçu,Jesus SoaresPereira. It is based on a literature search and field survey data. It coversthe main pointsof history, the composition of the oil, mining, production, geopolitical and the development of the oil activityin the territoryof Rio Grande do Norte, with the characterization of the municipality ofAlto do Rodrigues, made by thereport of the MRCP(2005), abrief reporton natural gasand presentation of data thatwere collected duringthe planttechnical visit, wherenotedthe importance of activity for the state and concern about environmental issues and no toxic fumes or gases company, which is still responsible for the production of water vapor that is injected in some wells -demonstrating the interaction between the mining activity and the generation of energy and wealth for the territory of RioGrande do Norte. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The business sector is promoting a change in its management model, since the early 90s, when it took a positive attitude toward the environment. Thus, environmental issues have become part of the strategic planning of organizations due to stricter regulations and to society's demands for greater environmental responsibility. Therefore, this study aims to identify and analyze environmental practices adopted by companies of this sector in Goiás and to seek answers to questions related to the factors that can contribute to the creation of competitive advantages within these organizations. Organizations involved in that study are labeled A, B, C and D. This research has used the fundamentals of qualitative and exploratory approach and it can be characterized as a field research. In the growing and processing of sugar cane, certainly negative impacts to the environment are still present. However, adoption of actions mentioned here, as the search for the conservation of soil and vegetation, replacing the burned by harvesters, the rational use of chemicals, the recycling of waste in the production process (such as power generation through bagasse sugarcane), among others, point out benefits to business sector and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to analyze how the company X Advocacy and Legal Consultancy can implant sustainable and quality practices to obtain the environmental certification ISO 14001. To achieve the objective, a qualitative and quantitative approach study was conducted. Regarding procedures, it consisted in a case study with a descriptive focus. From observation of the reality of X Advocacy and Legal Consultancy and its claims in relation to obtaining ISO 14001 certification, it is possible to propose as solution the implementation of a number of initiatives and sustainability actions in three pillars - social, environmental and economic. Suggestions were also developed about the dimensions of quality in order to formulate the basis for X Advocacy and Legal Consultancy environmental policy and possible implementation of ISO 14,001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines a set of arguments about the term value as an input to the process of decision in environmental public policy. In order to understand the role of the value of natural resources in policy decision an extensive search in the literature was done on various scientific studies in environmental sciences. Initially, we focus on the ethical pillars of anthropocentrism, biocentrism and ecocentrism, which represent a support for the inclusion of the economic, biological and ecological variables as theoretical anchors to decision-making. Finally, we present various views of economic values of natural resources, as well as the justifications of environmental valuation and the main valuation methods applied in costbenefit analysis of environmental public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preservation of the environment is one of the main social concerns of the XXI century. This includes finding alternatives that can provide future generations with an environment that permits the continuity of human life. The present qualitative study involved discussions about collective awareness of issues including environmental sustainability and the need to develop new ways to create targeted policies. Adolescents participating in the "Saber Cuidar" project were encouraged to understand the meaning and importance of environmental education, and the creation of a system of peer group environmental education was encouraged. This study was undertaken in a State school, southeast of the city of São Paulo, with the participation of twelve students aged between 11 and 12 years. Data were collected using interviews and participant observation. Four themes emerged from the analysis: ecological awareness, social transformation, difficulties with the implementation of the proposal, and achievement of the proposed environmental education. The main results showed the importance of environmental awareness during the educational process, and of encouraging the perception of students concerning the environment in which they live. The work revealed a need to build new types of interaction able to raise perception of educational and social problems, which might then favor constructive action to stimulate necessary social mobilization. The students who participated in this study were encouraged to pass their acquired knowledge to their peers, and to teach others about environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities are sources of innovation: they may develop discoveries into marketable innovation while promoting policies that could potentially create a receptive environment for entrepreneurship. Technology transfer may occur to either the public or the private sector. In this way, universities must be involved in activities focused on transferring expertise and technology to user communities, industry, and businesses. A technology transfer office may be understood as a high performance team that guides research to business reality using different strategies. In order to suggest ways to improve communications and co-operation with industry and business community, this paper develops a reference model in which essential steps are presented to drive technology transfer offices to continuous improvement while focusing on strategic ICT planning. The model also considers the importance of training as a preparation for change as well as the creation of a knowledge base composed of case studies describing the transitions considered in each cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education with its interdisciplinary aspect has very significant potential to contribute to the conservation of natural areas and thereby ensure the accessibility of population to areas subject to experiential awareness towards the need to conserve biodiversity. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify significant points in experiential environmental issues facing the problems that people are constantly exposed. Most likely to succeed in the responses to the challenges of working environmental education focused on the exercise of citizenship, online surveys were developed using targeted keywords to search for information about environmental education associating them with information targeted for recovery biodiversity present in the spheres of education for practice in Natal / RN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The media, and journalism with them, play a key role in the social construction of environmental problems. This paper aims to describe the perceptions that journalists - understood as fundamental actors in the production of news - manifest about the interest of environmental issues in their own media agenda, the public agenda and the political agenda. The paper presents the progress of an investigation with local reporters in the city of Rosario, Argentina [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two main drivers shape the global governance of climate change: "climate power" and climate commitment. Climate power refers to the level of influence of certain agents over the climate social outcome at the systemic level. Climate commitment recalls the fact that the logic of global climate governance is also defined by the interaction of reformist and conservative forces, with the former willing to take post-sovereigntist measures to tackle the crisis, and the latter resisting any major changes in the way business is conducted. This article analyses the role of Brazil in global climate governance, considering both climate power and climate commitment. It argues that the country transitioned from a conservative great climate power to a moderate conservative position over the last decade, based on three pillars: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of domestic climate policies, and a shift in its international standing on the issue. However, since 2011 the process has stalled and partially reversed. The aim of this article is to address that transformation and explore its perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of global governance, we analyze the topic of policy transfer in which the formulation of public policies is influenced by experiences of different political contexts. Thus, we question how the Cartagena Protocol influenced the formulation of the Brazilian National Biosafety Policy (PNB). The empirical research was accomplished through semi-structured interviews with qualified respondents who worked directly or indirectly in the PNB's formulation process. In order to analyze the data we adopted a qualitative approach, through the use of content analysis. The results reveal that there was a policy transfer in the form of lesson drawing from the Cartagena Protocol to the PNB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the problem of water in the wood, from the origin of the settlement to the present day, with special attention to the exploitation and protection of this natural resource. In Madeira, water exists in abundance, thanks to the weather phenomena that occur on the island, also due to relief and the nature of the rocks are predominantly basaltic (waterproof) and also due to the investments that the Regional Government has made, particularly in terms of the exploration, through the construction of boreholes and galleries to extract groundwater as a way to meet the needs of the whole population and the tourists who visit us. Nevertheless, it is essential to continue with a balanced and systematic management of water, so that in future this fluid continues in our lives. Fortunately in Madeira, the company--owned IG--Investimentos and Water Management, SA has done an excellent job in terms of exploration, treatment and supplies to the people of Madeira and Porto Santo, as well as sustainable management of this resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the area of environmental management, the environmental consulting and advisory services stand out as promising segments. The demand for this line of work has grown due to the Brazilian Environmental Legislation to have one of the most elaborate in the world and the rigorous control by environmental agencies, for companies to comply with the requirements of the law. The studies found that it is still a small number of companies looking for consulting or advisory services in the municipal studied. There was greater planning in relation to environmental issues, and many organizations consider the issues in their budgets and the service sector is one that seeks to identify further opportunities to reduce costs facing the environment. Still, as the performance of the environmental manager noted that there is a resistance to the incorporation of actions which minimize the impacts of its projects on the environment and the lack of information on environmental management systems and the performance of professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research intents at reviewing the environmental movement within an unfinished modernity, studying the peculiarities of the phenomenon and the incorporation of everyday life in the diffusion of environmental issues. The proposal is to discuss the history of environmentalism in this socio-historical context, to then understand the relevance and possibilities in the communicative processes and then to proceed with specific examples that can illustrate the relationship of the environmental movement with everyday life in a society in which the postmodern condition highlights a still unfinished modernity, which deserves an attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study, holding as background the conflicts that involve the environment, analyzes the fraternity principle, from the perspective of the theory proposed by Baggio, concluding that the official pattern of environmental litigations composition that exist in Brazil --solidified by the obsolete monopoly of Judiciary-- consolidated on a Law's positivism and on a competitive point of view of the society, does not contemplates the fraternity as a legal value. In other hands, the paper starts to focus the mediation, making clear that this alternative way of contest's solution not only disposes with justness to the environmental conflicted issue but --remarkably by its communicative characteristic acting and shared true-- deeply excited by the fraternity idea. The subject has been researched in the specialized literature, making sure about the precarious systematization of the mediation as management way of environmental conflicts, as well as a lack on the approach of the fraternity as juridical category of potential incidence at the environmental field. In the end, the analysis concludes that the eco mediation may appease the insertion of the fraternity component on arguing related to environmental estates, generally ruled by the radicalization and a vision of world's representationalism, contributing perhaps to the co-operation construction of a new paradigmatical systemic epistemology for conflicts solutions, that insures the emphasized roll to fraternal as imperative of conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the consequences of the social construction of the environment on the exercise of citizenship in a land reform settlement. It discusses the environment as a social construct, in order to the relation between ownership and access to natural resources, seeking to gain a better understanding of environmental and social relationships, and their implications for the construction of citizenship in the settlement studied ― the Don Orione settlement, in Betim, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It addresses the challenges of building citizenship, and its extension with the inclusion of environmental rights. The research techniques adopted were the application of forms, semi-structured interviews, and participant observation. It was observed that the environment is not an expression of social and political struggle for the community investigated, even in view of the environmental problems faced. The community does not exercise all the rights that constitute the exercise of citizenship, and the right to a healthy environment is compromised. Moreover, citizenship presupposes emancipation, and the members of Don Orione settlement do not yet constitute critical subjects capable of building their own history, or collectively organized. The community has a low level of cooperation and social organization, which is hindering the achievement of rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of policies for managing the water resources, such as charging policies for the use of the water, has been influenced by different perspectives that not only affect the views that people have of the world, but also their actions. This paper discusses the different perspectives that influence the process of creation and implementation of these policies, seeking to evaluate their consequences on the system of charging for the use of water resources in Brazil. It was observed that although the Brazilian legislation on water resources has been created in a context of discourses of sustainable development, the focus of its implementation is, basically, the technical-driven perspective, with an anthropocentric and utilitarian view, relegating social and ecological sustainability to second place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe some forms of operation of the political power of the Colombian State and their impacts on the territory. The analysis uses some results of a doctoral research that sought to understand the institutional and regulatory foundations and the water management practices in two metropolitan areas of South America, Cali in Colombia, and Campinas in Brazil. The theoretical framework, primarily based on critical thought, starts by making an approach to the concept of power and then links it with the concepts of territory and governance. We present empirical evidence on how the political power of the Colombian State operates on the environmental institutional structure. We concluded that the authoritarian interference of the executive power has generated crisis on the institutional framework and facilitated the advancement of the neo-liberal capitalist model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demographic and epidemiological transition is resulting in global population aging, this phenomenon is at different stages in the world, requiring a reorganization of Health Population aging in Brazil is growing in numbers, approaching the values of developed countries, however the question social does not follow this path. This study aims to stimulate discussion of the need for public policies on elderly care interface with the Health and Environment as a strategy for care and health promotion. It is grounded in a theoretical study of literature. We conclude that health promotion involves the educational and environmental support. The interdisciplinarity of courses with the health of natural areas is one way to develop innovative approaches to finding solutions and promoting health for the elderly interface environment. The Environment and health are inextricably linked, in that case the relationship between humans and the environment may be favorable or detrimental to health, so your compression is essential for health promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of the environmental policy is a recurrent theme in the debate on environment and development in Brazil. Each environmental policy constitutes an institutional arrangement that allows for legislation fulfillment and sets a new relation between humans and the environment. The aim of this paper is to comparatively evaluate the implementation of three environmental policies provided by State of Paraná in recent decades, by analyzing their institutional arrangements in order to identify particular fragilities. The policies in analysis are the Ecological-Economic Zoning (ZEE), the Coastal Management (GERCO) and Incentive policies to agroecology. The hypothesis is that the difficulty of implementing these environmental policies in the state is due to the inherent weaknesses of their institutional arrangements. Among them, there are the diversity of interests and conflicts between actors and between local, state and federal institutions; the incapacity of the environment institutions to enforce its policies in the context of economic development; and the financial, material, technical and personnel deficiencies of environmental agencies. It concludes by pointing out the lack of long-term vision that transforms these policies into government actions instead of State policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

O Parque Estadual da Cantareira (PEC) é uma Unidade de Conservação de Proteção Integral criada através do decreto n° 41.626/63, atualmente gerenciado pela Fundação Florestal órgão vinculado a Secretaria de Estado do Meio Ambiente. Possui 7.916,52 hectares e abrange parte dos municípios de São Paulo, Mairiporã, Caieiras e Guarulhos é um dos últimos remanescentes de Mata Atlântica, rico em mananciais e que abriga diversas espécies de fauna e flora ameaçadas de extinção. Por estar inserido em uma das maiores metrópoles urbanas do mundo sofre com as pressões provenientes de uma sociedade em expansão como: a ocupação urbana desordenada, despejos irregulares de lixo, caça predatória, incêndios e invasões de moradores do entorno para as mais diversas finalidades, que colocam em risco a integridade da Unidade prejudicando assim nosso objetivo maior que é o de conservar os recursos naturais oferecidos pelo PEC para as atuais e futuras gerações. A fim de minimizar a degradação o PEC elaborou o Projeto Cuca, uma estratégia de Conservação que vem agindo na comunidade de seu entorno através de parcerias com as associações de bairro e diversos atores da comunidade desenvolvendo atividades de sensibilização e mobilização ambiental e assim a conseqüente conservação desta área. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Este artigo é fruto das reflexões oriundas de intervenções em educação ambiental desenvolvidas durante a 35a Semana Riograndina de Enfermagem no Hospital Universitário da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande - FURG, no primeiro semestre de 2011. Sua temática aponta para um novo olhar sobre o processo saúde-doença, buscando estratégias de ressignificação do ambiente hospitalar através de um cuidado de enfermagem mais sensível. Para tanto, propõe-se, dentro de uma ética interventiva, trazer o afeto para as relações, chamando a atenção para uma nova concepção de vida, além da lógica capitalista. Tais intervenções engendram-se como práticas educativas ambientais a partir de processos multidisciplinares. As mesmas envolvem diferentes campos do saber, não menos passíveis de serem articulados, quais sejam: Saúde, Teatro (clown), Artes Visuais (audiovisuais) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study talks about Environmental Education as a fundamental right for man, showing that the man himself is part of nature and plays a main role of preserving, due to his rationality, aiming humankind to enhance their relation with the planet. The study is based on bibliographical research and review of literature was also used, as well as descriptive and comparative methods, with indirect research. It also discusses the historicity about Environmental Education, its conceptual evolution and Brazilian legislation. It talks about environmental knowledge, the emergency of the issue and the possibilities to the environmental preservation. It relates the role of Environmental Education in the context of sustainable development and the intrinsic interdisciplinary. It provides theoretical basis on the issue, using renowned authors who lend credibility to the topic. As a conclusion, this study reports the difficulties faced in formal teaching and the urgent needs in constructing of knowledge and environmental rationality, via Environmental Education in formality and informality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Judiciary also has the basic duty of protecting the environment. Starting from this premise and using the inductive method, the article discusses the legitimacy of judicial intervention in the implementation of the fundamental ecological duties that are constitutionally assigned to Public Administration. The article is justified due to the lack of specific studies relating the judicial control of public policies with environmental issues, the increasing judicialization of environmental disputes and the strong controversy this issue still raises. It concludes that the Judiciary should be an institutional partner in the task of implementing environmental policies and that its active intervention is legitimate in case of omission by government agencies or officials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment is essential for life. However, the model of human exploration, mainly for economic reasons, is predatory. More and more, the ecological crisis and the social risks are growing. In this sense, the environmental protections cannot be evidenced as exclusive task of the state. The citizen must effectively participate in environmental preservation, inclusively through judicial instruments. Therefore, the Popular Environmental Action is an important mechanism of defense of diffuses interests. Although the environmental, citizenship is insipient. With the objective of promoting environmental awareness and dialogue between generations, through solidarity values, this study discusses the theoretical model of the Environmental Rule of Law and the integrated environment. Thus, this research intent to analyze the Popular Environmental Action and the solidarity support of the Environmental Rule of Law, looking for the effects of the judicial participation of the population in the environmental management. The methodology is bibliographic, descriptive and exploratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to understand how a Family Health team (FHT) identifies the environmental issues present in their geographic jurisdiction, which potentiate the risk of contamination with intestinal parasites in the city of Venda Nova do Imigrante, Espíírito Santo state, Brazil. It also examines the actions of environmental monitoring and the use of data from the A form of the Primary Care Information System (SIAB) related to environmental planning, aiming at reducing the prevalence of such diseases. We chose a qualitative approach - case study - with descriptive purpose, and the focus group technique for data collection. Analysis of selected categories showed that the understanding of health professionals about the concept of environment is still confined to a naturalistic view - which does not relate the human being to the ecological dynamics of the life of an ecosystem - and that the FHT does not use data provided by the A form to plan actions related to environmental issues. As for the interaction with other government sectors, non-governmental organizations and the population itself, we found inertia concerning environment, since there is no dialogue or empowerment of these issues on the part of the FHT or the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article aims to understand and analyze social policies concerning the environment, specifically on the management of solid waste in the Distrito Federal. At first we introduce the concept of public policy, its evolution, its actors and stages of formulation. The second topic provides the definition and classification of solid waste. In the third topic, shows the evolution of public environment policies in the world. Then, the evolution of public environmental policy at national level. Later, as it develops the issue of solid waste management in the Distrito Federal. Finally, there will be an evaluation of the suggested public policy for the management of solid waste in the Distrito Federal. At the conclusion, in addition to general observations about the various aspects covered in this paper, it is verified that there is little being made by the public policies developed on this theme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This text observe how the newspaper Gazeta do Povo (Curitiba) addresses environmental public policies during the period 2000 to 2009. The policies are the result of the attention that the government provides for certain topics and the need for a large number of people, in which case the environmental theme was highlighted from the last decades of the twentieth century, when the environmental problems brought to the attention of society . In this scenario, the media act as a space for debate, where we can see to what extent it gives the public discussion on the subject and also as a way to schedule the public sphere. The paper presents empirical data that allow you to observe what the most common themes and moments in which development of these actions the media gives more attention and makes the cover. The initial hypothesis that guides the work is that the themes do not appear in a balanced way and the media coverage has also fragmented, addressing the issue only as a means of disseminating the government agenda and not the debate preceding the establishment of policies and in its assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper wants to establish theoretical foundations and ideas about the environmental communication from the practice of research in Mato Grosso do Sul, in preserving the Pantanal biome. The production of news related to the Pantanal area in Mato Grosso do Sul, also is minimally present in the newspapers, as receive other approaches to environmental issues, showing that the preservation area is understood as the exploration area. It follows, by analysis, that the angle, presence and speech of news related to the Pantanal come as an instrument for firm economic issues, devaluing the biome and the relevant environmental considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last decades were marked by the large amount of transborder environmental problems and, consequently, the increase in the number of related international regimes. However, the creation of a regime per se does not guarantee that it be implemented nor that its objectives be fully attained, much less that the issue be solved. This fact has been stimulating an interesting debate: are international regimes really effective to deal with environmental issues? This article discusses the main methods of analyzing environmental regime effectiveness. For that purpose it presents general conceptual issues related to regime effectiveness, discusses the main questions and specific methodological needs in the specific case of international environmental policy, analyses its most important findings, and focuses on the factors that contribute to effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the environmental regularization of mining activities in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, where such activities exhibit prominent economic, social and environmental importance. The main environmental rules and data from the licensing system are analyzed, focusing on the post-licensing stage, when the system is partially hampered due to insufficient technical assessment and nonsystematic inspection of the impacting activities by the environmental authorities. A preliminary assessment of the changes introduced in the environmental system in the last five years is also made, and comprise: the regional decentralization of the licensing system - and of the environmental management as a whole -, with eight regional offices, and the institution of the declaratory authorization for environmental operation of minor enterprises with potentially less degrading activities, in substitution of the traditional licensing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article search to argue the perspectives of qualification and technological development in the field of the genetic breeding of plants for the near future ( years), searching elements to support the elaboration of essential policies for maintenance and strengthening of the ability installed in Brazil in face of the very fast advance of the knowledge, in the fields of the biotechnology and the information technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article intends to study the evolution of the participation of the private sector in the Global Environmental Governance (GEG), identifying the contributions and the main obstacles faced by this actor. To achieve this goal, emphasis was done on qualitative research strategy based on analysis of academic literature, working papers, diagnostics and institutional reports. It shows that the participation of business in the GEG occurs through the process of formation and implementation of international environmental regimes and the development of hybrid and private environmental governance schemes. In conclusion, this article defends that the private sector can contribute to the effectiveness of GEG, however, there are several obstacles to a stronger participation of this actor in the world ecopolitics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that economic growth and environmental quality could be complimentary in a virtuous cycle of sustainable development, in opposition to the traditional view that suggests that environmental policies create obs- tacles to the productive sector. Even though the relationship between growth and environmental conservation has been historically characterized by antagonism, recent studies about competitiveness and environmental regulation show that firms can profit with "green" postures, consequence of efficiency and market gains, better capacity to attract capital and reduced risk perception. But this virtuous relationship can only be achieved if proper regulation mechanisms are established, moving away from the excessive rigidity of the current environmental policy mechanisms towards more flexible instruments that encourage changes in the business behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection is connected to human been protection, implying the search of interfaces between both regimes, the main goal of this paper. Convergence between environment and human rights will be traced back starting at the origin of the environmental international law, focalising the analysis of relevant international instruments, in order to demonstrate that they represent a common concern of humankind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to analyze the options and opportunities available to environmental governance, starting from a definition of the global environmental crisis. The article provides a detailed analysis of the three clusters under which the international relations theory has investigated the collective management of this environmental crisis as well as the effectiveness of current institutional answers. Finally, the article reexamines matters pertaining to trade and environment and to environmental security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present essay offers a sociological panoramic view of the development of modern environmental policy, of the new environmental movements and their paradigms, as well as a discourse-ethics (diskursethisch) reflection about the problematic relationship between the human being and nature. This reflection will connect the issue to an empirical vision of the problem as shown by the agents of environmental policies (to be described), systematize the ethical element of the different perspectives and will also provide a foundation, within the realm of discourse ethics, for a social approach to nature based on responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the history of Brazil and its natural ecosystems. It begins by taking a look at Brazilian society as it was during the 1500's when the indigenous people engaged in agricultural activities. Over time, nations decided to work together to fix the environmental crises that were occurring and to protect biological diversity. The article details the development of agricultural policies which would protect international interests concerning biodiversity and the preservation of forests.

The technological development has allowed man to reshape the environment, opening new risks socio-political-ecology, which requires changes in legal interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to demonstrate that the Barack Obama administration points out an ambicious reversion in the energy and enviromental policies in comparison to the controvertial political agenda of the Bush administration though actions in the national and international arenas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study shows how a large school can help with the adoption of a policy of recycling its main material consumption, the paper. It presented a simple model for calculating through a case study. The results can serve as a model for students and teachers from other institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the current issue of "Impulso" including one by Dorthée Susanna Rüdiger on globalization and social justice and another by Tullio Scovazzi on the role of government in the protection of the environment.