Assignment 6

Secretary of Energy of São Paulo

Today we went to see the Secretary of Energy for the State of São Paulo.

Hearing what that had to say definitely gave me hope.  As I have learned more and more about the extreme barriers that need to be overcome in order to actually run on nearly renewable energy sources. I think that São Paulo and Brazil as a whole really is setting an example of what is really possible, so that we can stop degrading our environment not only in a way that hurts our wildlife, but basically running a clock that will eventually stop.

That clock is for traditional energy sources as well as all the people involved in harvesting them. When that clock stops, there will be many people without work. By moving to renewable energy, we can create new jobs for many people as well give our environment a break.

Seeing the numbers that Brazil was starting to get close to 50% for operating on renewable energy and seeing that the state of São Paulo was already at 60% was really staggering. I was very surprised that there was actually a place that has made this much progress in terms of adapting renewable energy and kicking the habit of fossil fuels.

One of the questions that I had asked to the Secretary was the status of the mindset for your average Paulistano for renewable energy. If there is one thing that I have learned about adapting renewable energy it is that a whole other element of is changing the way of the people to see the merit of something new, because as with anything, change is hard. The Secretary had given a thorough explanation of all the different tax incentives that are provided with adaption as well as how they plan to instruct the people about the importance of making the switch to sustainable energy.

Another thing about today’s presentation that really stuck out to me was that everything that was presented had a very strong sense of authenticity and legitimacy. I heard nothing but cogent reasoning and logic today from the Secretary as well as some very plausible numbers that I think were quite emblematic of where things stand as well where things need to go. My biggest takeaway was optimism. I think as São Paulo and Brazil as a whole further develops its renewable energy, the world can follow suit. I think every day as a society we learn more about the best method for every place for replacing traditional energy sources with renewable ones. I was very moved by today’s presentation, to see that there was a lot of real action occurring, and that things can only improve as more people learn about the need for sustainable energy as well as further technology development for minimizing impact to the environment.