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Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has become one of the most widespread environmental management instruments. Despite this, EIA is routinely criticized for being ineffective at impacting decision-making. This study compared the EIA systems of Paraná, Brazil and California, United States using the effectiveness dimensions from the EIA literature. This study formats the cases into contextual conditions using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify the necessary or sufficient conditions that cause effective outcomes. These effectiveness outcomes are then ranked by EIA stakeholders via the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to identify stakeholder priorities and to improve stakeholder management. The results show that in Paraná stakeholders identified normative effectiveness as the most important dimension, while stakeholders in California identified this dimension as the second-most important following substantive effectiveness. Public participation was found to be a necessary condition for both substantive and normative effectiveness to occur. Early project definition was found to be sufficient for substantive effectiveness and necessary for normative effectiveness, for which stakeholder coordination was a sufficient condition. This suggests that in order for EIA to influence decision-making and foster sustainable development, greater care needs to be taken to actively engage stakeholders in public participation, with clear roles and project design communicated early on, and a clear role for regulatory authority to promote stakeholder coordination for acceptable outcomes. These findings suggest that some effectiveness dimensions are caused by similar conditions, which could help focus stakeholder management efforts and point to new avenues for future EIA effectiveness research., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

This paper reflects on the fundamental duty, extracted from art 225, caput, of the Brazilian Constitution, to protect and defend the environment. It refers to the duty arising from the fundamental right to an ecologically balanced environment. As it is a fundamental right, it defends the existence of a corresponding duty, in this case, a fundamental duty. Such a fundamental duty involves the relationship between present and future generations. The present generation must maintain and protect existing natural resources so the future generation may also enjoy the same natural resources. To reach the proposed objective, this paper adopts a deductive approach, has a qualitative character and uses the bibliographical-documentary procedure for its development. It concludes that the duty provided for in art 225, caput, is not enforceable by itself because it lacks efficacy; however, the right and duty to and with the environment are associated constitutional categories that become effective in return. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ánfora is the property of Universidad Autonoma de Manizales and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Economía Institucional is the property of Universidad Externado de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Iniciação Científica Cesumar is the property of Iniciacao Científica Cesumar and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Contexto Internacional is the property of Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Relacoes Internacionais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores means of achieving more efficient and sustainable river transport in remote regions by making relatively simple, practical modifications to boats or implementing new technologies for propulsion and energy generation. The research focuses on the case of the simple boats used to transport children to school in riverine communities of the Brazilian Amazon. A range of options to improve the efficiency of existing boats is described. Under normal operational conditions, small improvements to these boats may have long-term environmental and socioeconomic benefits. Implementing changes such as those suggested, it may also be possible to boost sources of employment in these regions and elsewhere, where industrial and technological limitations are significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic improvement of animals plays an important role in improving the economic and environmental sustainability of livestock production systems. This paper proposes a method to incorporate mitigation of environmental impacts and risk preferences of producers into a breeding objective via economic values (EVs). The paper assesses the effects of using these alternative EVs of breeding goal traits on discounted economic response to selection and on environmental impacts at commercial farm level. The application focuses on a Brazilian pig production system. Separate dam- and sire-line breeding programs that supply parents in a 3-tier production system for producing crossbreds (fattening pigs) at commercial level were assumed. Using EVs that are derived from utility functions by incorporating risk aversion increases the cumulative discounted economic response to selection in sire-line selection (6%) while reducing response in dam-line selection (12%) compared with the use of traditional EVs. The use of EVs that include environmental costs increases the cumulative discounted social response to selection in both dam-line (5%) and sire-line (10%) selections. Emission of greenhouse gases, and excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus can be reduced more with genetic improvements of production traits than reproduction traits for the typical Brazilian farrow-to-finish pig farm. Reductions in environmental impacts do not, however, depend on the use of the different EVs (i.e., with and without taking into account environmental costs and risk). Both environmental costs and risk preferences of producers need to be considered in sire-line selection, and only environmental costs in dam-line selection to improve, at the same time, the economic and environmental sustainability of the Brazilian pig production system.

Copyright of Redes (1414-7106) is the property of Associacao Pro-Ensino em Santa Cruz do Sul - APESC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arte y Políticas de Identidad is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Geosul is the property of Geosul and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyses the process of internationalising the legal mobilisation that sought reparations for the mining disaster that took place in 2015 in the city of Mariana, the Doce River basin and on Brazil's southeastern coastline. It seeks to understand the dynamics produced by activating different levels of justice and the effects of internationalisation on the functioning of justice institutions at national level. Two separate patterns of internationalisation are noted: a) via the traditional human rights defence networks; and b) a new one, promoted by an international office specialised in "alternative litigation financing" (ALF), which employs arguments from environmental law and transnational legislation. The characteristics of these two patterns are examined along with their effects on the dynamics of legal mobilisation and national institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista em Agronegócio e Meio Ambiente is the property of Revista em Agronegocio e Meio Ambiente and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Internacional Interdisciplinar INTERthesis is the property of Revista Internacional Interdisciplinar INTERthesis and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Until 1999 the endemic cases of Sylvatic Yellow Fever were located in the states of northern, midwestern and pre-Amazon regions. Since then, the disease progressively expanded its territory of occurrence, cases being registered beyond the traditional boundaries of endemism. The São Paulo State is considered to be part of this context, since after decades without registration of autochthonous cases of the disease, it reported, in 2000 and 2008-2009, epizootic occurrence in non-human primates and 30 cases in humans. Facts like these, added to the increase in incidences of serious adverse effects resulting from the Yellow Fever vaccination, have highlighted the importance of defining priority municipalities for vaccination against the disease in the state. Two groups of municipalities, some affected and some non-affected by YF, were compared for environmental variables related to the eco-epidemiology of the disease according to literature. The Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was used to pinpoint the factor able to differentiate the two groups of municipalities and define the levels of risk. The southeast region of the São Paulo State was considered to be the area with a higher number of municipalities classified as high risk and should be considered a priority for the application of prevention measures against Yellow Fever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Since the early 1990s, Brazil has adopted an experimental approach to environmental management. Its reforms continue to this day and have produced robust water-management policies. This article reveals the different positions, the power structures involved, and the result of the disputes and agreements concerning the social construction of legitimate environmental behaviour in jeans manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach: Comparative case study. Data collection for this research started in 2017 and ended in 2020. The data were gathered by concentrating on a few cases in two clusters. The author visited public agencies, trade associations, and firms of all sizes and levels of specialization in the industry and conducted semi-structured interviews with them. The intention was to acquire systemic and deep knowledge of the local industry. Findings: The article's findings demonstrate a divergence in typologies that reflects the ecological limits in the use of natural resources, law-enforcement policies, and firms' legal status. The article extends our understanding of the ability of organizations to respond to institutional pressures to become sustainable. This study's findings provide insights for policy design in times of increasingly catastrophic pollution in regions that are immersed in global competition. Research limitations/implications: The study focuses only on two industrial textile clusters in Brazil, which may not be representative of the wider industry in the country or in other regions. The findings may not be generalizable to other industries or locations with different ecological limits, legal frameworks, and firm structures. Practical implications: The article's practical implications include the need for tailored regulatory frameworks, effective law enforcement policies, promoting a culture of environmental responsibility among businesses, and collaboration among stakeholders in promoting sustainability. Policymakers, regulators, and businesses in industrial textile clusters in Brazil and other regions facing similar ecological and regulatory challenges can use these insights to develop more effective policies and practices that balance economic growth with environmental sustainability. Social implications: State actors emerge as the most important stakeholder group in forging the upgrading of water-management systems and technology. The optimal solution to the problem is cross-institutional and multilevel collaboration and coalitions between the different authorities and organizations involved who need to pay due attention to the relevant ecological limits and social needs. Only when this multilevel collaboration is achieved and maintained will the state's agents be able to collaborate with industrial actors and society at large. Originality/value: The article examines the various factors that influence water usage and analyses the dynamics of change in two distinct locations in an emerging market. It demonstrates that, despite the existence of the same regulatory framework in both locations, different outcomes can arise due to the construction of diverse coalitions between social actors. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-03-2023-0154 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper promotes a reflection on the relationship between daily practices and consumption. Understanding how conflicts, resistance and consensus are generated from daily consumption practices opens up possibilities for reflecting on the construction of sustainability in the context of diversity, one of the landmarks of the globalized world. Within this socio-cultural context, the central issue is: can consumption generate citizenship practices? The concepts of subject and agent help one think about collective action and subjectivation processes and their interferences on the collective consuming behavior. Based on empirical data from a research carried out in the municipality of Estrela in 2007, in the Taquari Valley - Rio Grande do Sul (Southern Brazil) on local reality consumption practices, it was possible to conclude that various reasoning mechanisms and values underlie the daily consumption practices. Citizenship construction, based on consumption practices, depends on the subject's reflection capacity on his/her daily practices or on what goes through the circulation of environmental information based on sociability spaces.

Copyright of HOLOS is the property of Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do norte - IFRN and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Human occupation/activity in the suburbs of the large cities in Brazil, together with high social vulnerability associated with poor living conditions, influence the dynamics of schistosomiasis mansoni as well as several other emerging and re-emerging diseases. Previous notification data surveys for Campinas, São Paulo state, Brazil, carried out by the Information System for Notification Disease, show that there are distinct prevalence differences across healthcare districts of the city. This paper supports the hypothesis that the distribution of schistosomiasis is not random and that the centralized location of cases are linked to human behaviour, in particular to human activities that interfere with basic landscape structure. This paper analyzes the spatial patterns of the parasitic worm Schistosoma mansoni and its intermediate host Biomphalaria comparing disease prevalence with natural conditions and the current pattern of territory occupation by the population. The spatial and hierarchical distribution of factors related to the environmental conditions and land use that indicate the risk for schistosomiasis has been surveyed. It was found that landscape characteristics define the areas at risk for this endemic disease and, as a result, a risk map comprising different risk classes was established. This risk map highlights the regions prone to become new foci for infection or that serves to maintain an existing focus. The research approach used attempts to introduce "geotechnology", i.e. a social application in which better knowledge about these foci, designated endemic "hot spots" can assist preventive public intervention measures in a way that is inexpensive and easy to handle.

This study investigated potentially infectious waste (feces, urine, blood, body fluids) in the composition of total municipal solid waste. From August to September 2002, solid waste samples from southern Belo Horizonte, capital of the State of Minas Gerais, were collected and sent to the solid waste treatment and disposal site at BR-040 for segregation and quantification. Sharps (objects that can cause cuts or puncture wounds) made up 0.02+/-0.02% of the collected waste, while non-sharps accounted for 5.47+/-1.11%. In the sharps category, the majority were razor blades (0.01+/-0.01%), while among non-sharps the most frequent components were toilet paper (3.00+/-0.90%), diapers (2.21+/-1.08%), and sanitary napkins (0.22+/-0.12%). Household infectious waste was twice the total amount of waste (infectious + common) from healthcare units. The study was discussed in light of the health hazards and safety aspects for formal and informal waste collectors.

Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although Nasua nasua is broadly distributed geographically and relatively common, it is still little studied. This paper reports observations of coatis in an Atlantic Forest area, the Parque Estadual Carlos Botelho (PECB) in São Paulo State, Brazil. The social structure of coatis at PECB seems to be the same related in the literature. The mating season appears to be August-September and the pups are born in October-November. Coatis are mainly arboreal at the PECB, contrasting with habits reported in the data from other areas. This preference for the arboreal stratum no doubt is related to their foraging in epiphytic bromeliads, which occurred in 90.6% of the instances in which they were observed feeding. Bromeliads are a rich food source much more common in the Atlantic Forest than in other areas where coatis have been observed. This result suggests that this species is able to adjust its foraging and strata preferences to different environments without changing its basic social structure.

Copyright of Problemas del Desarrollo. Revista Latinoamericana de Economía is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. Instituto de Investigaciones Economicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sustainability in Debate / Sustentabilidade em Debate is the property of University of Brasilia, Center for Sustainable Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Scientiarum: Human & Social Sciences is the property of Universidade Estadual de Maringa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present paper describes the contentious process of settlement formation of a particular type of land reform settlement, which we call "spontaneous" direct action land reform. In addition, the paper place the settlement formation process within a land cover and land use framework by describing the underlying processes that lead to spontaneous settlement formation in terra devoluta in the Brazilian Amazon. The paper concludes with policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a framework for understanding social movements that address issues related to science, technology and expert knowledge. ‘Democratizing science movements’ contest, reframe, and engage in the production of official scientific research in order to achieve their goals. They contest the seeming objectivity and neutrality of science and seek to legitimate lay perspectives. In order to empirically explore why such movements arise and how they work, I discuss two cases: the anti-dam movement in Brazil and the environmental breast cancer movement in the USA. While there are obvious internal and contextual differences between these two movements, they both exemplify similar characteristics of democratizing science movements. In this sense, these cases are representative of a broader, transnational phenomenon. Qualitative data in the form of interviews, ethnographic observations and document collection were used to study these cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the governance of hydroelectric dam planning in Brazil with a particular focus on two factors: first, governmental institutions that aim to provide participatory mechanisms for civil society, and second, new participatory institutions created by civil society to remedy the lack of meaningful participatory measures. One example of the latter are new collaborative research projects, which have changed dam building policies and governmental thinking about participation. It is argued here that these kinds of collaboration are fundamental to making dam-building policy more accountable to local citizens. The analysis demonstrates that lay/expert collaborations provide pathways through which affected people can contest inaccurate official scientific reports, in turn influencing the policy process. I examine six such participatory projects across the country: four are nationally based and two are international in scope. A four- pronged typology is used to analyse the processes and outcomes of these collaborations. This typology reveals multiple types of knowledge-sharing that constitute concrete means to implement participation in environmental policy, hence advancing the democratisation of environmental governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree felling around a chicken coop and periodic insecticide spraying at the Palmital farm in the county of Terra Boa in southern Brazil impacted the ecology of sand fly species. The most prevalent species (51.6%) before clearing the trees and insecticide spraying was Lutzomyia migonei (França, 1920), and it is now Lutzomyia (Nyssomyia) whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho, 1939) (89.8%). There was a highly significant difference between the proportions of L. whitmani reported by this paper (89.8%) and another publication before the tree felling and insecticide spraying (32,6%).

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper focuses the silencing of voices in news production in Posadas, Argentina (Primera Edición and Territorio Digital) and Porto Alegre, Brazil, (Zero Hora and Correio do Povo), and investigates the media coverage of 2003 until 2014, in relation to the construction of two hydroelectric plants on the border between both countries, Brazil and Argentina, on the Uruguay river. The analysis indicates the absence of the riverside dwellers' voices, who are affected by the project. Finally, the article stand up for the idea journalism makes a great contribution to the discussion of environmental complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To obtain a history of occupational exposure in the workplace, the questionnaire is one of the main sources of information. The aim of this study was to develop an online questionnaire using the REDCap data management platform based on the Work-Related Cancer Surveillance Guidelines, reported by the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. Several issues were taken into consideration for its routine application. It should be simple, easy, capable of being applied in a short time and used in the clinical setting of collecting information on the occupational history of the cancer patient. Consequently, this could enable the compulsory notification of work-related cancer. The questionnaire was developed based on questions about the use of and exposure to carcinogenic factors at work and due to smoking. An entirely electronic version of the cancer patient interview was performed using tablets. The online questionnaire was applied at the Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, to newly diagnosed patients from July 2016 to 2018. A total of 1063 patients were included, and 550 indicated positively when asked "Do you work, or have you worked with this substance and/or in this function?/job?" Of these potentially notified patients, 38 subsequently had compulsorily reported work-related cancer. Another important result of this study was the creation and development of a website. In conclusion, we developed an online tool that could facilitate hospital routines, contributing to generating data for the compulsory notification of work-related cancer and triggering investigations and surveillance actions in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has consistently related the production and consumption of meat with environmental degradation, health problems, and damage to animal welfare. However, meat consumption represents a well-established eating behavior among many consumers. After all, meat is a central food in many cultures, and changing eating habits can be very challenging. Nevertheless, there is a group of consumers who have reduced the consumption of meat in their diet. Understanding the facilitators and barriers that influence these behavioral changes in different cultures and contexts can help to promote future collective reductions in meat consumption. This article investigates the main facilitators of and barriers to the reduction of consumption in the largest meat-consuming market in the world to contribute to the advancement of knowledge on meat-reduced diets. In order to achieve this objective, semi-structured interviews were conducted with consumers who reduced their meat consumption. In this context, a content analysis was conducted to identify 22 facilitators and 15 barriers classified according to the COM-B system. This system conceptualizes Behavior, which can be influenced by Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation. The results of this research corroborate previous discoveries or confirm the presence of a set of facilitators of and barriers to the reduction of meat consumption previously suggested in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of grains and flour can be influenced by genetics, crop management, and environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the technological quality of wheat grains and flour influenced by the interaction among genotype, nitrogen (N) fertilization and weather conditions in different regions of wheat crop adaptation in southern Brazil, aiming to support farmers and the bakery industry sector in their decision-making processes. The experiment was carried out in three environments (Londrina in rainfed and irrigated conditions; and Ponta Grossa in rainfed) in a randomized block design with a 10 × 2 factorial scheme. Ten wheat genotypes (BRS Sanhaço, BRS Graúna, BRS Gaivota, BRS Gralha-Azul, TBIO Sinuelo, TBIO Mestre, TBIO Sossego, TBIO Sintonia, TBIO Toruk, and Quartzo) and two N rates (40 and 120 kg ha-1) were assessed. The following technological quality analyses were performed in grains or flour: hectoliter weight, thousandkernel weight, falling number, grain protein concentration, experimental flour extraction (i.e. flour yield), wet gluten concentration, and alveography. Increasing N rates from 40 to 120 kg ha-1 enhanced the concentrations of grain protein and wet gluten. However, it did not influence dough gluten strength and the commercial classification of the flour. Nitrogen fertilization also influenced the flour yield, dough tenacity and elasticity index, depending on the genotype × environment interaction. Environments with higher temperatures favored the flour yield and wet gluten concentration, while lower temperatures increased thousand-kernel weight and falling number. Water deficit increased the dough extensibility and grain protein concentration, whereas higher water availability favored the falling number, dough tenacity, and tenacity/extensibility ratio. Therefore, these outcomes are important drivers for farmers when choosing specific wheat genotypes for the environmental conditions of their farms, when they intend to meet the industrial requirements of mills and food companies that use wheat flour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the benefits and negative effects of cane sugar in Brazil. In 2012, 9,075,388 hectares were harvested, grown in nine soils with critical humidity, 6,350 MJ m-2 year of solar energy, temperature between 30-45 ° C, precipitation between 1.500 to 2.500 mm, growth and 100 mm in plant ripening. Large areas of monoculture cause ecological instability. Infestation of crops with more than 23 species of weeds was detected. The trend is to apply integrated pest management. Harvesting takes place in the period from April to November. For the 2014-2015 harvests, burning will be prohibited in areas where sugarcane mechanized harvesting is practiced and on 2017, for the not mechanized areas. Of the total acreage, the 88.80% of the area can be harvested with machines, which allows for crop residues, between 10-20 t ha-1; this amount of waste is effective for good weed management. The yield loss caused by weeds varies from 10 to 100%; the worst weeds that infest crop residues are Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Convolvulaceae. The seeds can be transported by winds up to 1,000 km, flooding 100 km, erosion 10 km and landslide 1 km., 47 ingredients of herbicides have been registered for controlling weeds in Brazil; of which 823.20 thousand tons were applied to control agricultural pests in 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goal: This study analyzes the impacts of the transportation sector on air pollution within the scope of one major Brazilian metropolitan region. Design / Methodology / Approach: A literature review was conducted on the subject's constructs, with subsequent reasoning grounded on the fleet's characteristics and data obtained from in-depth interviews from a government transportation agency. Results: The results show Brazil's contextual evidence that risk management for the haulage sector should consider air pollution's negative impacts. With air quality standards as an essential reference, it is possible to observe that the city of Uberlândia does not effectively manage air quality. Limitations of investigation: One limitation of this research is related to the representativeness of the sample. The research also recommends future studies to use government policies for the improvement of the framework. Practical implications: The local and contextual addressing of air pollution and transport correlation in one focal point for cargo transportation at a national level pontentially contributes to environmental public policies. Originality / Value: Originality value resides in considering emissions from cargo vehicles as a significant factor in this process of air pollution in a specific context of a metropolitan area of an emerging economy that has its transportation modal grounded on trucking freight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sustainable supply chains are now growing in importance as shareholders, employees and consumers question whether the company and its associate suppliers are socially and environmentally responsible. This fact has been seriously considered in the auto industry supply chain where companies seem to be concerned with the environment performance of their vendors. In order to verify to what extent the environmental requirements have been imposed by the auto industry companies to their suppliers, this paper examines the case of a first tier multinational Brazilian auto parts manufacturer. The case analysis was able to demonstrate that environmental requirements are of key importance in the evaluation, selection and maintenance of a supplier as part of the respective supply chain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Having the objective of minimizing costs and improving their image in the consumer and export market, car battery industries began to seek environmental alternatives geared towards sustainable development. Reverse logistics flow represents an unprecedented tool for the economic and operational development of company activities, as well as a differential in the search for competitive advantages through environmentally correct practices. The aim of this paper is to describe the reverse logistics chain adopted by automotive battery industries in the midwest of the state of São Paulo, proposing a reverse logistics framework for small manufacturers that creates actions aimed at not harming the environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Biology is the property of Instituto Internacional de Ecologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper approaches the question: what are the factors that discriminate between positive and negative companies' performance, when in turbulent environment? Aimed in achieving this goal a study was conducted involving Brazilian companies in manufacturing industry that were active in the period comprised between 1996 to 2001, characterized by intense turbulence in national and worldwide macroeconomic scenes. A discriminant function was proposed to measure and analyze the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variables, comprised by information about competitive environment, strategic orientation and economic context. As results variables risk exposition, long term debt and market share were identified as the factors that discriminate between positive and negative financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper approaches the research question: what are the factors that determine companies' performance, when in turbulent environment? Aimed in achieving this goal and based on a structural and nomological model proposed by Dias (2004), a study was made involving Brazilian companies of manufacturing industry that were active in the period comprised between 1996 and 2001, characterized by intense turbulence in national and worldwide macroeconomic scenes. To measure and analyze the relations between model's constructs, Partial Least Squares (PLS) method was adopted when estimating parameters. As results relations that differ in intensity and signal were identified: (a) predominance of environment influence when analyzing organizations that performed between R$10 million and R$100 million; (b) an equilibrium of factors when analyzing organizations that performed between R$100 million and R$1 billion; and (c) predominance of strategic orientation when analyzing organizations that performed greater than R$1 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the expression "recreated" is used to describe a new creation: The recuperation of lost natural spaces for integration into the urban habitat. Through descriptions of the projects Parque de la Gleba E and Parque de la Educación Ambiental Profesor Mello Barreto in Brazil, both created by the landscape architect Fernando Magalhães Chacel and his collaborators, it is possible to appreciate the premise of environment sustainability underlying these spaces. Both projects are very successful examples to take into account not only in Brazil but also in other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production of academic knowledge in the past two centuries has been marked by a clear trend towards specialization. The considerable importance currently gained by environmental issues, as seen through the lense of sustainable development, has promoted significant changes in this scenario and highlighted the need for interdisciplinary approaches (de-specialization). The recent creation of interdisciplinary master's and doctoral training programs in Brazil faces a range of obstacles related to the general crisis prevailing in University. Using examples taken from Brazilian graduate programs, our paper outlines and analyzes critically the programs focused on environmental issues nationwide and shows the significant limitations and challenges incurred in building this new field of knowledge. Despite a growing trend towards "environmentalization" of some disciplines, the issue at stake is to interdisciplinarize the focus on sustainable development. The consolidated programs are presented according to the specific institutional arrangements adopted by them. They clearly reflect a need to act creatively in order to break through the impenetrable structure of disciplinary departments. To conlcude, the idea of building a network structure within University is argued as a possible alternative, a solution that does not deny the role of traditional departments, but opens spaces for their interaction with interdisciplinary units and programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Gestão Ambiental e Sustentabilidade (GeAS) is the property of Revista de Gestao Ambiental e Sustentabilidade / UNINOVE and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Reusing scrap tires has become a worldwide challenge, especially due to the great difficulty in finding ecologically and economically feasible ways to dispose of them. This has led to the creation of specific programs and legislation for reusing scrap tires. Research has shown that a certain percentage of scrap tire rubber can be added to asphalt compositions, and this has become a worldwide practice. This paper describes the properties of four asphalt compositions modified with scrap tire rubber (STR) prepared in the laboratory. These properties are then compared with those of asphalt modified with styrene butadiene styrene (SBS), a synthetic polymer and one of the most common modifiers, to verify the feasibility of using scrap tire rubber as a substitute for SBS. The scope of this study does not include an analysis of how STR affects end-of-life asphalt. The main findings indicate that STR is a potential substitute of SBS in paving material, and although it does not meet some of the standard specifications when compared with SBS, these issues can be overcome by proper care during storage and transportation. The substitution of SBS by STR also showed the potential for about 10% in expenditure savings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista Ambiente e Água is the property of Revista Ambiente e Agua and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)