Do As I Do, Not As I Say!

The headline, as you can see, is the inverse of the traditional “Do as I say, not as I do”. I thought it was suitable, and you will understand why. Environmental preservation, the recovery of carbon credits, the reduction of CO₂, reducing deforestation and many other flashy phrases have arisen in recent years, becoming part of people’s daily life. From primary school to university classes, the theme is constant. Nevertheless, among us Brazilians, there is too much rhetoric and too little action on the part of the authorities. In reality, what progress we see always comes from the private sector and NGOs – Non-Governmental Organizations.

With data manipulation, often challenged by those who follow the subject, the Amazon deforestation is surely the factor that most worries environmentalists. Cutting down centennial trees to plant grass is unacceptable. Considering what we have done to our once lush Atlantic Forest and its wildlife, do not be surprised if we destroy what is still called the “lungs of the world.” Besides concentrating the biggest biodiversity on the planet, the Amazon contains 20 percent of all the Earth’s fresh water reserves, which isn’t a small amount, and will be essential in the not-too-distant future.

Then, the United States and China, the biggest polluters, usually refuse to sign protocols and agreements about pollution reduction. Nobody wants to lose. But, with this rhetoric that others are the polluters, we continue to delude ourselves. Public officials talk about reducing pollution by 40 percent, a number that we will bring to Copenhagen. Contrary to what has been said, according to official data, Brazil intends triple the amount of energy generated by burning coal. As a result, we will have an increase of four times in the pollution generated by the burning of this mineral, say the specialists. Relegating energy generation from clean sources, such as wind and solar – which hasn’t taken off around here, in contrast to success elsewhere in the world – to a secondary plan is making us miss the train of history.

Well, in the U.S., a country which resists international agreements, it is anticipated that by 2030, 20 percent of the energy generation will be from wind. On October 28, Texas, one of the richest North American states, with a bigger economy than most of Latin-American countries, achieved an impressive 25 percent of energy consumption from wind turbines. This record was much celebrated by the authorities. Solar energy is also being eagerly explored by North Americans, and there are official incentive programs like “build your own solar panel”, which today, because of intensive use, is more accessible to lower income classes. To source 20 percent of its energy consumption from renewable resources, North Americans plan to install 180,000 wind turbines by 2030, 100 new nuclear reactors, not to mention the countless number of solar panels individually installed in private residences. Meanwhile, preferring the official “blah-blah-blah” and the lies of the insecure and ill-informed ministry, we’re still saying more than we do!