DISCLAIMER:  These are notes taken by Stephanie Silberstein.  They are not a complete representation of what occurred.  Not all of the notes have dates to go with them.  If you have a question, please contact Stephanie Silberstein at srs@mit.edu.
 

• Wed. 9/4/02

Mission 2006:  Develop a way to characterize and monitor the well-being of the Amazon Basin Rainforest Ecosystem and devise a set of practical strategies to ensure its preservation.

Break up into smaller groups/tasks (10 teams)
*Not have to wait for other groups
*Equal workload

(The groups as of the end of class that day, to some extent)

1.    Public Relations-communicate/sell design (and data management)
2.    Legal & Political
3.    Biota-Flora
4.    Air
5.    Land
6.    Water
7.    Alternative Development Strategies
8.    System interaction
9.    Fauna
10.    Socioeconomic and Finance

(The final groups were as follows)

1.    Public Relations and Data Management
2.  Legal and Political
3.  Flora
4.  Fauna
5.  Land
6.  Water
7.  Air
8.  Alternative Development Strategies
9.  System Interaction (and Theory?)
10.  Socioeconomic, Economic, and Finance
 
 

• Fri. 9/9/02

We basically learned how to post our website.  For a great representation of that day’s lesson, please go to http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2006/teams/kvhodges/.
 
 

• Wed. 9/11/02

*How is land being destroyed, used, and useful?
*Sustainability
*Technology/ learn from natives
*Technology for best practices
*Research responsibilities

It is important that we all contribute.
Marion wrote up a comprehensive definition of our mission statement later that night.  It can be found on our website, specifically at: http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2006/teams/r8/team_mission.html
 

• Mon. 9/16/02

We discussed readings that can be found at:  http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2006/kvh/perspectives1.html
They were regarding scientific research in the Amazon Rainforest

We (as a class) brainstormed about what exactly we could monitor in the rainforest.  The list was as follows:

*Acreage of rainforest – Satellite photos
*atmospheric temperature
*precipitation
*biodiversity
*contiguousness
*soil chemistry
*topography
*erosion & change of depositional loci
*humidity
*groundwater and rivers
*atmospheric chemistry
*chemical character of biomass
*(extinction rate) number of species and their health as a population
*water chemistry
*wildlife co evolution
*species interaction
*canopy density
*sub canopy temperatures
*solar influx
*agriculture sustainability
 

• Fri. 9/20/02

*crops
    -more efficient ways to grow them
    -alternative crops
*natural resources
    -more efficient ways to extract them
    -alternative natural resources
*conservation groups
*urgency
*other farming practices
*re-growth
*how locals are less damaging than corporations (and is this true?)
*solutions that have worked elsewhere

We also made it a point at this meeting to contact our mentors.
 

• Wed. 9/25/02

    Brendan-
*Agroforestry-tree in southern Florida, and Venezuela
-Absorbs CO2
-Lumber
*Forestguru.com (which doesn’t exist right now)
    -scientific forestry
    -Keystone species- many things/species dependent on its survival.
*Asexual propagation-plant them in less populous areas

    Marion-
*wants to go broader

    Emma-
*World Forest Commission

    Juliana-
*farming techniques currently in use

(More was said by these and other members of the group, but I don’t have it recorded)
 
 

• Fri. 9/27/02

Idea:
*Show the products that can be derived from the rainforest, in turn, people/corporations will be more willing to save it.  They know that they will be out of luck without the rainforest.

*Set aside areas of land
*Remote sensing
 

• Mon. 9/30/02

We discussed readings that can be found at http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2006/kvh/perspectives2.html
They were regarding the different people that live in and/or use the Amazon Rainforest

Students were separated into groups in which they role-played a member of a certain group from the rainforest.  The wants and needs, as well as what they had to offer, were explained.  All of these opinions were strictly of the students that spoke.  We have no actual proof that this is exactly what they want or have to offer, but it is a reasonably good representation to build upon.

--Squatters & Subsistence farmers
    Infringed rights
    -Deserve compensation for land
    -Defense by Brazilian government
        They want:
*Enforcement of government policy
        *Education

--Indiginous Peoples
    *Wont give up land to anyone
    *Wont give up access to resources
    -will offer a better education to people who want to have better farming, building, etc. practices.

--Loggers
    They want:
*Protection of rights
*Government subsidy for reforestation

--Mining Corporations
    They think:
    *They shouldn’t have to change the processes that they use
    *They shouldn’t have to change the tools they use

--Ranchers
    They want:
    *To keep their land
    *Help to make the land they use more sustainable

--Large Farming Corporations:
    They want:
    *Land. . .and lots of it
    They (say that they) provide:
    -help to the government to alleviate debt
    -food for all (they are farming for the greater good)
 

• Wed. 10/2/02

Discussed Agenda 21
Also, decided we should be thinking about three different types of forest:
*Virgin
*Developing
*Destroyed
We hoped to create different models for the specific phases/types of forest.

We were to look at/understand:
*the current uses, potential development, and political issues relating to these different types of forest.
*the basic ideas of what is going on right now in the rainforest.
*what should be going on currently.
*what is being done by other groups.
 

• Mon. 10/7/02

Third Perspectives Class

We discussed readings that can be found at http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2006/kvh/perspectives3.html
They were regarding the conflicting needs for developing nations.

We as a class discussed the different programs like Advança Brasil
 
 

• Wed. 10/9/02

We need to read Adgenda 21 and Advance Brazil

We also need to strenghten the economy elsewhere so as to allieveiate some of the attention from the more land-destructive pracitces that are requiered for what is supporting the economy now.

We are also looking at the trend of land usage:
Before, now, later, and where.

More notes to come for the span of time "missing"
 

• Wed. 11/6/02

Discussed how to post the team sites.
-Marion has solution pages, to be put on separate links, to be uploaded ASAP.

A big issue was brought up at the separate meeting:  Infrastructure!
The flora and fauna groups are especially concerned, because building more roads will fragment the forests.

Expand reserves?
*not on far edges, but a ring aorund the reserves.
*should we strive for continuous forests or large areas?

There are small airports all over the rainforest, why not use them?
For roads, we need to look at anti-erosion and anti-runoff techniques.
Large roads perhaps to transport from agricultural areas to consumer?
-maybe not, the waterways can also be used for transport.
-also, the agriculture we are looking at is small scale, so there is no need to transport to market.

What about railroads?
-while it still will somewhat fragment the land,
*there will be less runoff because the land has not been paved.
*a lot less oil, gas, other polutants running off.
*a lot less busy

We need to show that more roads are not necessary using maps and population reports.

Another way to show that railroads would work is to show how successful all of Europe is, and how they use rail transportation so much.

Think about this too:  Alaska has barely any roads. . .we might need to use airplanes to get from place to place in the rainforest.  Airports could be built in already cleared out land, and the currently exsisting ones can be renovated, fixed, and otherwise brought up to code.

Which will be cheaper for the consumer?  Car or plane ride?
Let's contact some Course 11(?) people.  They are urban planners.

Also, we want to start up a general solutions page, including:
*More manufacturing, not just the extraction, production of raw materials
*An extra page could have a list of ideas that we would look at if we had more time.
 
 
 
 
 
 

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