The Brazilian Amazon, at CUNY - Larry Rohter, Anthony Cak

The Brazilian Amazon: Exploration, Exploitation, Sustainability

Friday, October 25, 4 PM Segal Theatre The Graduate Center, CUNY

Cândido Rondon, a Brazilian military officer and explorer, is considered one of the foremost Brazilian heroes and patriots known for his lifelong support for the indigenous Brazilians. He was the first director of Brazil’s Indian Protection Services (later known at FUNAI) and supported the creation of the Xingu National Park. He spent his life exploring Brazil, including mapping the state of Mata Grosso, advocating for the indigenous peoples, and leading Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition into the Amazon. The Explorers Club of New York nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.  Larry Rohter's new book trackes Rondon's paths in the Amazon and discusses how and who will arise to safeguard the Brazilian Amazon's future.

Larry Rohter (M.A., Columbia University) served as a correspondent in Rio de Janeiro for fourteen years for Newsweek and later as The New York Times bureau chief. He is widely considered a top expert on Brazil. He is the author of three books about Brazil, the most recent of which is a biography of the explorer, scientist and statesman Cândido Rondon, Rondon : Uma Biografia(Objetiva, 2019).

Anthony D. Cak (Ph.D., Indiana University) is the Associate Director of the Environmental Sciences Initiative at the CUNY Advanced Science Research Center. His dissertation focused on the impacts of deforestation and urban development on the water chemistry of small streams in the Brazilian Amazon, in and near the city of Altamira in the state of Pará. Dr. Cak's research interests include ecosystem ecology, stream and river ecology, geospatial technology, data visualizations, and science policy and communication.