Mr. Eduardo Vasconcellos: Resource Depletion in Brazil

Depletion of Natural Resources in Brazil

Cultural and Educational perspectives

By Eduardo Vasconcellos

Brazilian flag with recycling items.

Bad habit among Brazilians

Many of us dispose trash on the streets.

There is still hope...

At schools and in some other institutions, the use of recycling trash cans is very much encouraged.

An election for best pictures concerning the environment and Brazil sponsored by Google.

At schools, we try to foster a more environmental awareness towards the protection/preservation of the

environment.

Mostly, we try to tell the future generations that they are in charge of protecting the environment. It is everybody's job.

In Portuguese, the language spoken in Brazil, we encourage students to read texts related to the protection of our

planet.

In Science classes, we tend to teach about some endangered species, such as the one below ...

When we try to create school projects like environmental week or recycling week, we count on the help of the Art

teachers.

Art from recycling ...

During Rio +20, named because of the anniversary of Rio'92, some statespeople and the population debated how our (non)-protection of

the environment has had an impact on the lives of human beings...

The idea of creating art out of trash was designed by one of the most famous Brazilian artists, Vik Muniz. For this work, participants of Rio +20 were asked to insert recycled trash in order to set an example for

society...

Most of the schools created special projects to talk about it.

Eco Hab Lab logo – an attempt to make youngsters more aware of their role in society by helping them build more sustainable houses.

One of the things we teach is to operate a machine that creates bricks with the lands of one of the 'favelas' in Rio called 'Complexo

do Alemão'. The aim is for them to multiply what they have learned to other dwellers.

Some drawbacks and/or challenges:

* Theory x practice.

* Cultural mindset (collective x individual) must be changed.

* Sometimes, teachers and students are not committed to the cause.

Additional Materials

Waste land - trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNlwh8vT2NU

Video on one of the landfills Rio used to have (Jardim Gramacho 0 Além de Gramacho 2) – in English.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU3Q1aNRyv4&feature=related

Contact:

eduardovasconcellos@prof.educacao.rj.gov.br