Solar water heaters

On Sunday, we traveled to our work site in a slightly more well off favela, where we were constructing a solar water heater to be installed into a house. These water heaters provide warm water to families who would otherwise not have hot water.  The black panels absorb solar radiation and heat the water from the tub. 

Sustainable energy presentation

On Saturday, with collaboration from the engineering students at Mackenzie University, we gave our presentation on Personal Sustainable Transport. Our website link is sites.google.com/view/privatetransport/home.

 We had a wonderful time collaborating and learning with the students, as we both learned so much from each other about each other's culture and engineering difficulties.

University of São Paulo

On Friday, we visited the Instituto de Energia e Ambiente at São Paulo University, where they talked to us about their experiments. They have solar panels, biodiesel plants, and high voltage experiments.  This apparatus produces a max of 3 million kilowatts, a staggering amount! The sound it made when the arc was produced was near ear shattering. 

Paca embu

On Thursday, we visited the Corinthians futbol club's first stadium, Paca embu, where legends like Roberto Carlos and Pele played. The stadium has been turned into a sports club where anyone can use its infrastructure. Also, a museum has been made in half of the stadium, where scenes of famous soccer plays and players littered the museum.  

Government's take on energy

On May 24th, we visited the minister of energy's office in São Paulo. With the knowledge of the governmental corruption in the back of our mind's, we were hesitant to believe what he was going to say. We know that Brazil was relying more on fossil fuels than in the past, about 18 percent of energy coming from fossil fuels. However, we were impressed with his knowledge of energy and how Brazil attained it. He explained things thoroughly. 

The view of the financial district is beautiful, with original buildings and churches right next to brand new skyscrapers and apartment buildings.

 

May 23rd in Brazil

On Tuesday, we had a presentation by Sociedade de Sol on our project this weekend building Solar water heaters. These water heaters cut down the energy needed to heat water, by having the water pre-heated by the sun.  

Cleaning a reservoir

On Monday, we visited an NGO that is creating a park on the banks of a reservoir, which is next to a favela. To clean the water, they pump sewage away from the reservoir and they implemented plants that take up much of the pollution.  This reservoir is huge, and takes a huge effort to clean. With support of surrounding communities, they are making a difference. 

Day 5: Mackenzie University

 On Day 5, we met Brazilian engineers at Mackenzie Presbytarian University, who were all graduate students. We started our research project with them, our group's topic being private sustainable transportation. Companies like Tesla and technologies like biofuels fall into this category. Once we finish the website, the link will be on this blog.

Day 3

 Brazil has the second largest population of Japanese people after Japan, so it makes sense that we ate sushi. Day 3 was relaxed, as we were still getting acquainted with the city of São Paulo. We had our first sustainable energy lecture as well, to learn the fundamentals behind sustainable energy.

Bella Vista

Today was a fairly relaxed day. We went to Avenida Paulista, the main street in São Paulo in the morning, and we took the Metro to get there. The quality of the train surprised me, but the line we took was a private company, so everything was clean and new. We saw Bella Vista, which translates to good view.  The view used to be better, but because of construction and new buildings, it is slowly diminishing. 

Villa Madelena and street art

The neighborhood where we are staying is known for its street art, which covers most buildings in the vicinity. One alley is famous world wide, and has gotten recognition from bands like Kiss (who actually spray painted a piece on a wall) and the actor from the newest spiderman.  The street artists have incredible passion for their work. Normal people see a blank wall and think nothing of it. Street artists see a canvas for a creative outlet. Their perception of the world must be beautiful, full of endless possibilities. 

Beautiful Day for Trash Burning

 This is the building we pulled up to on our company visit to Biogás Ambiental, a company that burns organic material and trash to collect methane, which is then burned to turn a turbine to get high grade electricity, which supplies power to about 400,000 people in São Paulo. 

 The mist was rolling over the top of this hill, which is actually layers of trash to burn. We all thought it would be more pungent, but surprisingly enough you could still smell the forest that surrounds this area (maybe we were just upwind).

São Paulo Day 2

Campus Casa is a beautifully integrated building with rooms to live in and a classroom. The staff are a close knit group that are not co-workers, but actual friends. 

São Paulo has street art everywhere, like the picture below, found under a bridge. 

 So far, São Paulo has blown away expectations and I'm looking forward for what's to come. 

Touchdown in Brazil

What should I have expected landing in Brazil? Favelas left and right, crime running rampant, kids playing futbol in the streets with no shoes? These are some misconceptions that people have about Brazil. When I landed, I was greeted with beautiful landscapes and nature surrounding a massive city. Flying over São Paulo, the immensity of the city hits you. Few buildings are over 7 stories, for geographical reasons, forcing the city to spread laterally. 

I've been in cities where I don't speak a word of the language or customs, and I've managed to get what I need. I feel comfortable enough to go to restaurants and supermarkets and order what I need.

So far, I have not seen evidence of sustainable energy, and the main river through São Paulo is horribly polluted. It's a strange juxtaposition of sustainability and pollution. 

A second juxtaposition is the incredible wealth and poverty, living side by side. Apartment buildings built last year exist next to slums. Progress and regress. 

Brazil, however, truly is a beautiful country.