an overture into Brazilian life

Oi!!!-- Meaning "Hey!!!" in Portuguese---  It's currently 10:30 pm on the Fourth of July, and i'm writing from my bunk at The Sao Paulo Lodge, wondering when I'd last been This sober on America's Independence Day.  Anyways, my name is Billy Wilson, and this post marks the first of many to come, as I am documenting my experiences on the Sao Paulo Dialogue of Civilizations. 

I'm in the midst of my middler year at Northeastern University.  I study anthropology and urban studies.    I chose this program because I'm interested in learning about renewable energy technologies and their influence on the (ever-conflicting) social, economic, and environmental "spheres" within Brazil.  For those unfamiliar within Brazil's energy portfolio, understand the nation generates roughly 80% of its electricity from renewables, predominantly hydroelectric and biofuels.  What interests me is learning the  pros and cons of its renewable infrastructure (which began in the 70's, prompted by the Oil Embargo): we'll look into deforestation for the implementation of cane and dam reservoirs, we'll look into how the construction of hydroelectric plants habitually results in indigenous tribe displacement, misdistribution of water (and its minerals), along with methane emissions due to decaying biomass.  *Note the intimate relation between the "social" and "environmental" spheres*.  I then wish to learn Who the beneficiaries are: Maybe the urban areas receive far more grid attention than the expansive rural (and jungle) landscapes.  Maybe the electricity is sent to the top 1% of the population, who evidently own 50% of the nations wealth.  Or perhaps the electricity is sent not to resident neighborhoods, but to large-scale aluminum smelters who seek to sell their commodities competitively in the global economy.  After a while, it easier and easier to conceptualize the fluid interplay between the three societal spheres mentioned above.