Jonathan's Annotated Bibliography
From WolfWikis
Associated Press. SOUTH AMERICA Saying No to Soy. Earth Island Journal, Volume 22, Issue 2(Summer 2007), pp. 13-15.
An assessment of the soy industry in South America and the lengths taken to halt its expansion. The Earth Island Journal gives empirical evidence of the Amazon being used for raw materials. Cargill, a grain company, has established a lucrative soy process in the Amazon River. Earth Island Journal speaks of the actions Greenpeace International used to shut down a $20 million dollar port. The article helps spread the word of problems in the rainforest yet does not describe the extent of the problem. More statistics of harm in the rainforest would provide a better understanding of why measures of this extent happened and needed to happen.
Martins, Monica Dias. The MST Challenge to Neoliberalism. Latin American Perspectives, Vol. 27, No. 5, Radical Left Response to Global Impoverishment. (Sep., 2000), pp. 33-45.
Martins describes the work of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST) in Brazil. The MST works to provide autonomy to Brazilian workers, who have no property of their own. The MST teaches their followers solidarity and social justice through their own education system. With half of the country's land being owned by 1% of the population, the MST protests for land reform in Brazil. Providing workers with their own plots of land will provide an area for families to practice sustainable agriculture. With the pressures of globalization, land for corn and black beans has turned into soy processing plants. Recent development of soy production has taken away these staple crops from the workers who already struggle to survive. Martins develops a vivid description of lower class problems in Brazil and the need for land reform and environmental awareness. While Martins describes the history of the MST, she leaves out statistical evidence of development or lack there of in Brazil dealing with workers' rights. Although the ideas of the MST are described, the success rates have no mention throughout the article.
Parlini, Alex. Brazilian Environmental Policy: A Dialogue With The President of IBAMA . Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, (January, 31, 2002).
Parlini describes the progress of The Brazilian Environmental and Renewable Natural Resources Institute (IBAMA)with the help of the President, Dr. Hamilton Casara. IBAMA monitors, preserves and controls the sustainable use of natural resources in Brazil, especially that of the Amazon Rainforest. Monitoring the Brazilian land includes the use of high technology such as aircraft, sensory technologies, and satellite imaging. Maintaining biodiversity in the ecosystem and the survival of unique plants and animals to the rainforest remains important to IBAMA. To enforce policies set for the Amazon Rainforest, task groups have been established. One very important task group curbs the extraction of mahogany from the rainforest. While Parlini gives a brief description of IBAMA, he does not have enough examples of success and failure within the organization. While he makes it seem as if they do some good for Brazil, the audience does not know its exact effectiveness.
Powell, Rachel. Gay and Green. Advocate, Issue 978. (Jan., 2007), pp. 32-39.
Powell describes the exciting activities of numerous international environmental organizations. Brianna Cayo Cotter of the Rainforest Action Network tells of the success that they have had internationally. Cotter talks about their extensive projects against multinational corporations such as Burger King, Home Depot, Massey Energy, Wells Fargo, and Ford Motor Company. Other activists quoted in Powell's article describe the extent of the problem going on at a global level. These activists speak of the problems with papers, plastics, oils, and other environmental risks. While the article deems important for green awareness, more of the effects on the Rainforest would be nice. Powell included helpful statistics and great primary source quotations from the leaders of international environmental organizations.
Shaiko, Ronald G. Greenpeace U. S. A.: Something Old, New, Borrowed. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 528, Citizens, Protest, and Democracy. (Jul., 1993), pp. 88-100.
Shaiko describes the coming to of Greenpeace International and their portfolio of work globally up until 1993. Although a more recent article would have been beneficial, Shaiko incorporates plenty of empirical evidence and hard facts. Greenpeace has over 1.8 million members in 1993. Shaiko describes Greenpeace as an organization with no set policy. Every mission they go on is just a "giant experiment". However, the importance of social movements in evironmental endeavours has become severely important for changes. While Shaiko's article proved helpful on the corporate infrastructures of environmental organizations and the marketing of ideologies and core leadership, there was a lack of information about their projects. This article describes how non-profit organizations make their money and how they market their ideology. It would be pleasant to see how they put their ideologies in action and empirical evidence from protests and lobbying.