Brazilian condoms will help save the rainforest
Brazil is starting the first government run condom factory in their country. They want to cut back on dependence upon imported condoms and save the rainforest while they're at it.Their logic is a little convoluted, though. The government says this factory they're building will use rubber from trees in the Amazon, to produce 100 million condoms a year. By their reasoning, this will cut back on pressure for Amazon residents to fell trees, because it will give them another source of income and will provide jobs.
550 families will earn about $1.3 million a year in this new Brazilian condom industry.
I'm really not sure I trust the Brazilian government on this one. I just don't believe that their condom industry will be sustainable, nor am I certain that their rationale makes sense. It might work if the $1.3 million is actually distributed amongst those families, but I know that money sometimes has a way of finding it's way into the hands of the wrong people, rather than those who are supposed to be on the receiving end.
What do you think?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-21-2008 @ 9:38PM
Natural Selection said...
"I'm really not sure I trust the Brazilian government on this one."
Huh? Would you rather have the U.S. govt in charge? The U.S. would spend $1.3 Billion on the same 550 families and there would be nothing left in the piggy bank when it finally trickled down to them.
At least these 550 families might get low voltage electricity or running water out of it. It might also keep them from fleeing the farms and moving into the favelas in the cities in search of a living wage.
Reply
4-21-2008 @ 9:52PM
kylehepp said...
Natural selection: Heck no, I wouldn't trust the Brazilian government OR the U.S. government on this one. The point I was trying to make was the same one you were. I doubt very much of that $1.3 billion dollars will make it into the hands of the intended recipients.