Environmental Studies Sends Students to Brazil
  
by Matthew Green 

During the month of January, most students leave the cold of northeastern Ohio. Few venture below the equator. This year, however, a group of four senior environmental studies majors went farther south than the average seeker of warmth. 
At the beginning of January, sophomore Morgan Williams, senior Casey Pickett, junior Sandra Kronick and junior Eve Bratman met in the city of Curitiba, Brazil to embark upon a project they had spent months planning.
Located in the foothills of the Atlantic Rainforest in the state of Parana, Coritiba is regarded as a model of urban, ecological design by environmentalists and urban planners alike. 
The city has approached many of the problems common to urban centers by embracing programs that provide both efficient, and ecological, sustainable solutions.
The students first learned about Curitiba’s many virtues in an environmental policy class taught by Professor of environmental studies David Orr. The students were fascinated by the notion of a seemingly utopian center of ecological initiative. 
“We were sitting around at a potluck when Casey presented us with the proposition to go down there and study it,” Williams said. The trip’s goal was to observe many of the concepts discussed in the classroom, and to learn how to make them into a reality. Furthermore, they intended to return with what they had learned, ready to present it to the Oberlin Community as a plausible model for correcting current problems. What initially seemed like a far-fetched plan soon began to take shape. 
After intensive brainstorming, the four presented their ideas to offices and committees ranging from the environmental studies department to the president’s office and members of the Oberlin City Council. “We tried articulating to ourselves why we wanted to get down there and then shared these ideas with other people,” Williams said. In a task similar to grant-writing, the group spent weeks researching and networking, establishing numerous contacts in Curitiba as well as raising funds to cover housing and airfare. 
Funding came from a range of sources including the environmental studies department, office of the president, Latin American studies department and the Winter Term Committee. 
“It started off as an exciting idea, the ball got rolling, momentum carried, and we made it happen,” Bratman said enthusiastically. The group was surprised to find that many connections fell into place. For example, they quickly discovered that Ohio was a sister state of Parana. When the group arrived in Curitiba, they had already established three major contacts with local officials there, who are instrumental in the city’s ecological developments. 

Upon arrival, the group was immediately struck by the green of the city, surrounded by a “green belt,” filled with numerous parks and open spaces. 
Some examples of the city’s achievements include one of the world’s most efficient inter-city transportation systems as well as the highest rate of recycling compared to any other region in either North or South America. Furthermore, the city incorporates a program of welfare into its green-mindedness, exchanging with poorer residents one bag of food for every five bags of garbage in a program known as the “Green Exchange.”