Internet Breakdown in Brazil

I don't know exactly what happened, because the brazilian government says nothing about it. Fact is: Internet in Brazil got down for more than a week. Every kind of online activity got affected by the major breakdown. Some people say it was some sort of problem in the major brazilian ISP equipments, and some other say the breakdown was caused by a group of hacktivists.
Anyway...almost everything is made through the Internet. Money withdrawals, shopping, medical appointments, television, telephony, and so on.
The breakdown directly affected me. I use the 'net all day long at work. So, i lost some jobs because of the breakdown, and i'm not happy about that, not at all.
I felt what being a digital orphan is like. The connections aren't good yet, but at least they're up again. I hope it's not too late.

The media covering the drought

I have a friend who works for a major tv broadcasting company here. He's a journalist, and writes for the nightly news. He knew i'm a GEAS volunteer, and after GEAS released their report about the drought in Sao Paulo, he asked me if he could interview me about it. I agreed.
He's coming over to the office tomorrow. I hope and can give him a precise picture of what we're doing at Superstruct.

By the way, the GEAS report caused a buzz in the news today. The Sao Paulo state governor said that he wasn't aware that the drought crisis was that big. Yeah, but we know it is, Mr. Governor.

I'll try to post the interview in first hand here. Stay tuned.
:)

Manuel gets a job

After a few days, Manuel found himself at home. The kids and the dog loved him, but my wife didn't. Actually, she got pretty uncomfortable having a total stranger suddenly living under the same roof as her, in her house, in her home, among her family. She told me Manuel had to leave, or she would, and she would take the kids with her.
I sat down and started wondering how the hell i was going to find Manuel a new home. He couldn't go back to the streets, that wasn't a fair option, right? So, i decided to have a little talk with Manuel.
He was in the living room, laid back on the couch, watching a movie and eating peanuts.

- Sorry Manuel, can i interrupt you for a few minutes?
- Yeah, sure.
- Great...Manuel, what's your profession?
- Oh, it's a bit complicated, my friend. In my hometown i used to teach kids. I did that for free, because i believe we should help our community in any possible way. But that's not my real profession. I don't have a specific profession, actually...i run some errands; i fix roofs, i paint houses, i can be a plumber -- a good plumber, if i might say so.
- Would you like to work for us at the office?
- Of course i would! When should i start?

We weren't in need of someone at the staff, but this was the only way i could get Manuel a new home, a job, and keep my wife. What was i supposed to do? I wasn't kicking him out, not a chance. Since i had some "decision power" at the office, i could convince the boss to accept Manuel as a new staff member. I really didn't know what he would be useful for, but i decided to give him a chance.

- Tomorrow sounds good?
- Sounds excellent. What will i do?
- Ehm... you're gonna work for us as a General Assistant.
- Great!
- So, wanna talk about your salary?
- No, no...you pay me what you think is fair, i don't care. Plus, i think i owe you for feeding and sheltering me.
- Oh, don't mention it. Okay, that's that. We're done. -- i smiled at him.

I went to my bedroom wondering why the heck i was doing all that for a total stranger. But he wasn't a total stranger anymore, he was a friend already.

Manuel finds a home

Sao Paulo has a lot of homeless people, especially downtown. Until 2012, all of the homeless were brazilians, and this scenario started changing when the civil war in Bolivia started.
The brazilian government estimates that around 500.000 bolivians came to Brazil as civil war refugees, and a big slice of these people decided to come to Sao Paulo, illuded by the city's figure, very similar to what happened to brazilian northeasterners, who also came to Sao Paulo looking for better oportunities, during the 1960's.

The next day i went to the office thinking about Manuel. In a matter of fact, i couldn't stop thinking about him since we met, and i didn't even know why.
I already had plans for him. I felt like i had to help that man in any possible way. I put myself in his position: what if my family suddenly didn't exist anymore? What if my hometown suddenly became a hostile place? What if i find myself in a strange place, hopeless, helpless and jobless? I would expect an angel to save me, nothing else. I would've spent days and days and days crying, blaming fate.

I jumped outta the bus as usual, walked a few blocks and i saw Manuel standing in the same spot as he was standing the day before. I walked towards him.
- Good morning fella.
- Good morning, how are you doing Jorge?
- I'm fine, very fine. How about ya?
- Good too. Didn't sleep too well today, it was too hot. I sweated all night long. And some bolivian kids shouted until 3AM. Hell, true hell.
- Haha. Manuel, i need to tell you something. I was gonna bring you some clothes today, in a nice bag, but i haven't brought it, sorry.
- Oh, okay. No problems.
- Know why?
- Because you forgot?
- No, i didn't. I deliberately decided not to bring the clothes. I want to invite you to stay in my house for some time.
- Woot!?
- You heard. I'm inviting you to go to my house, settle down yourself there for some time, until we find you a job and a place of your own. What do you say?
- I don't say anything man. I can't accept it.
- C'mon Manuel, don't be so stubborn. Can you swallow your pride only today? I really wanna help you. I don't know, i just feel like i need to do it, plus, i wanna do it.
- Don't you have a wife, kids, dog, cat, whatever?
- I do, and i already told my wife i was bringing a permanent guest.
I lied. I didn't tell her.
- What did she say?
- She said you're very welcome, and i asked her to make a special dinner for us tonight.
She would probably order it.
- I'm not gonna say no. Your kids yell at night? Do you have kids, by the way?
- I do, two kids. A boy and a girl. Well, sometimes they cry through the whole night, but i think you know howto deal with that, since you were a father too, right?
At this moment a tear started running through his face, and i realized i shouldn't have said that.
- Oh, sorry Manuel, sorry. I didn't meant.
- It's okay. So, when do we go? I really could do with a shower.
- Wanna go now? I can call the day off, i think my boss won't mind.
- Really?
His eyes sparkled.
- Yes, sure. I mean...i hope so. Hang on, imma call the office.
I called to my boss and told him what the situation was. The tone of his voice wasn't too friendly, but he agreed on giving me a day off.
- We're cool Manuel. Shall we go?

We faced 3 hours stuck in the traffic, but we finally got home. The apartment was empty; my wife was at work, and my kids were in the daycare.

- Welcome home Manuel. This is your new home. Don't feel threatened, embarassed, or whatever. Come're, imma show you your room.
The apartment had a spare room, planned to be a maid's room. Since we didn't have a maid, the room was available. It wasn't empty though...it was full of useless old stuff which should have been thrown away a long ago, but we were always too lazy to do that.
After 2 hours cleaning up the room, Manuel had a new bedroom. And he could finally clean himself.
- Jorge, can i take a shower? I feel dusty, sticky...
- Of course you can. Let me get you a towel.
I went to the drawer and grabbed him a fluffy towel.
- Here's your towel Manuel. Today i'll let you have a long bath, but don't get used to it. We have a policy here stating that all our bathes takes no longer than 5 minutes.
- Sure thing.

And old article about government's plans to avoid the climate changes and deforestation

Today i found an old pendrive of mine. I totally forgot i had it.
I plugged it into the old USB port, and i got surprised by what was in there. It's dated as 2008, September 25th, and i don't even know why i saved it. I think it was God's will that i stumble upon it now, exactly 11 years later, check it out:

Goverment's plan includes goal of reducing to zero the forest cover until 2015.
On this date, a balance between deforestation and planting would be reached.
The goal belongs to the Climate Change National Plan.

The ministers Sérgio Rezende (Science and Technology) and Carlos Minc (Environment), and the secretary for Climate Changes and Environmental Quality, Suzana Kahn, presented on this thursday (25) a preview version of the Climate Change National Plan, which aims to reduce the gases emission that cause the Greenhouse Effect.

The plan foresees that Brazil would reach the balance between the deforestation and the planting by the year of 2015, and therefore would no longer lose forest cover. “From this date, Brazil will be planting more than cutting. We'll have both illegal and legal deforestation decreasing, and an increasing tree-planting rate”, said Minc, in Brasília.

Amazon

To the amazonic region, the plan has a series of integrated policies to reduce forest incension and illegal deforestation, control of leeching and replacement of the illegal wood extractivism with management plans. The objectives also include the advance of a practicable agroreform to Amazon, and the implementation of conservation units and indian lands in prioritaries areas as elements of a sustainable development for the region.

According to the Ministery of Environment, the plan assures that Brazil compromise itself for the first time with decreasing deforestation average-rates on all biomes, measurable each 4 years, until reaching zero illegal deforestation, goal to which there isn't, however, a predicted date.

Public Consultation

Before being sent to presidential sanction, the plan stays, since monday, available for 30 days to public consultation. It doesn't determine mandatory goals for greenhouse-effect-gases emission. All measures to be adopted will be voluntaries, for the government and for the productive sector as well.

“Having a goal is easy, the hardest thing is convincing the sectors, having budget. We can always set a bolder goal, but we have to keep real to what we want from each sector. It's like they say: 'we've got to reach an agreement with the Russians', with the sectors which will have to adopt policies to reduce the emissions.”, compaired Minc, according to information from Agencia Brasil.

General Goals

To reduce the emission of greenhouse-effect gases, the plan also lists programs of energetic efficiency, encouragement of renewable-sources energy and a bigger use of biofuel. Among the actions to increase the energetic efficiency, the plan cites incentives to change the refrigerators that are still using CFC.

The plan explains, without further details, that Petrobras (brazilian oil agency, site in english) will avoid the emission of more than 20 million tons of CO2 until 2012, says Agencia Brasil. Another advance that the government expects to reach voluntarily from the productive sector is the replacement of mineral coal with reforested-wood coal in the siderurgic sector.

There's no prediction of the total cost on the implementation of the policies listed on the plan. The origin of the economic resources to its execution should be detailed on the second version.

Originally published on Globo Amazõnia.