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4. to stop water pollution by industries;
5. to stop the development of nuclear energy.
As an environmental activist, on the one hand, Lutzenberger campaigned against
(i) the privatization of potable water resources, (ii) the use of fossil fuels, (iii) the
population explosion, (iv) the use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as measure of
development, (v) the paradigm of continued progress, and (vi) the control of the
world's farmers by transnational corporations. On the other hand, he campaigned
for the creation of three state preservation parks, a state law to regulate the use of
agrotoxins, the Agronomic Prescription Directory, waste selection mills, and small
waste recycle enterprises.
Lutzenberger was also a far sighted entrepreneur. He created the Gaia Foundation
to serve as a role model and teaching institution in the areas of sustainable develop-
ment, regenerative agriculture, environmental education, and urban waste recycling.
As its president, he signed an environmental assistance contract with the Amazon
State to promote sustainable development through rational exploration of natural
forest, fi shing, and mineral resources.
His other organizations -
Vida Produtos Biológicos Ltda
(Life Biological
Products Ltd.) and
Tecnologia Convivial Ltda
(Convivial Technology Ltd.) - were
created to carry out research and develop technologies for recycling paper pulp
solid residues, as well as the organic waste of tanneries, slaughterhouses, and pack-
ing plants. Now merged under the name of
Vida
(Life), they have over 3,000 clients
and an annual gross income of about 3.5 billion US dollars (Jornal do Comércio
2012
, p. 4).
In his 31 years of environmental militancy Lutzenberger delivered over 80 lec-
tures in Brazil and 40 abroad. In recognition for his contribution to the environmen-
tal cause, he received over 40 awards from countries such as Austria, Bolivia, Brazil,
Germany, Italy, Spain, and the People's Republic of China.
Most of Lutzenberger's ideas and campaigns reached the general public through
newspapers and magazine articles. He did not focus on organizing his writings for
publication in topic form. He trusted his friends and collaborators to undertake this
task. His topic production consists of nine titles.
Fim do futuro
?
Manifesto ecológico
brasileiro
(The end of the Future? Brazilian Ecological Manifesto,
1976
) is proba-
bly his foundational text.
Lutzenberger was a melting pot of infl uences. Due to his family origins, he had
a German mind set and grew up in an important German community in Brazil. Then
he was infl uenced by the American environmental movements, while studying in
Louisiana for his MA degree. Later, he contacted European green organizations
during his stay in Germany. It is easy to understand that on his return to Brazil, he
put into practice what he had learned in the northern hemisphere. Lutzenberger was
not the only person to bring American and European environmental ideals to Brazil.
Many former political refugees from the military dictatorship came back after the
country's re-democratization. Fernando Gabeira, for example, acquired special
prominence, as he went directly into politics and founded a Brazilian version of the
European Green Party.
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