Do Jardim ao Poder

by José Lutzenberger

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

José Antônio Kroeff Lutzenberger was a Brazilian agronomist and environmentalist. In 1988, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "his contribution to protecting the natural environment in Brazil and worldwide."

Reviews

[Walter Souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foi o primeiro livro de ecologismo que propriamente me deparei e me fascinou por mostrar de forma simples os desafios ambientais, partindo do contexto brasileiro. O autor entrelaça os temas sociais, ecológicos e econômicos de maneira natural, como não poderia deixar de ser (mas que raramente se lê em outras bibliografias do gênero). Contudo não é um livro definitivo: é apenas uma introdução, que serve de motivação para estudos mais avançados do tema.

[Luciana Brandão · Rating 4 out of 5]

José Lutzenberger is a Brazilian ecologist who lived during the twentieth century and wrote most of its essays during the 90's. In this book, his family assembled together a few of his writings after he died and published it in a small volume. Therefore, it is a very light reading, the perfect companion for a short bus ride or a quick snack. Lutzenberger is one of my favorite thinkers - and authors! - for two main reasons. First, he writes for the reader, for all readers. This means he describer his ideas in a very simple and clear way (without being simplistic whatsoever). It doesn't matter if you are a biologist or a retired who never worked in anything related to ecology. If you read one of his texts, you will definitely get what he means. Secondly, Lutzenberger complaints a lot. Because he worked in the field of environmental management for many years, he knows about many scandals and untold events, so he knows better than many people the actual causes for several problems, both on the political and on the scientific side. The book is not only abstract theories: it is about real world, practical and contemporary situations. However, what I like the most is that he does not only denounces the problems but he offers and describes detailed alternatives for their solutions. Many books are disappointing because the author finishes them with a general sentence on how society must fight for a better world or any dull variation of this statement. Lutzenberger does not. He is honest on every piece of writing and more often than any other author I have read, he proposes a solution, explaining which steps should be taken and how to do it. All those people who write guides for policy makers could learn a great deal with him and with this short, revealing book.