Questões de Concurso – Aprova Concursos

Text II

             Examining the fluff that frustrates northern China
      Like most blizzards, it begins with just a few white wisps swirling 
about. Gradually the volume increases and the stuff starts to 
accumulate on the ground. During the heaviest downfalls the air is 
so thick with it as to impair visibility. But this is no winter scene. It is 
what happens every April across much of northern China, when 
poplar trees start giving off their cotton-like seed-pods.
     The phenomenon has already begun in Beijing. On April 8th an 
eddy of fluff balls wafted around the American treasury secretary, 
Janet Yellen, as she held a press conference in an embassy garden.
     To call this a nuisance is an understatement. In many people 
the fluff triggers allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems. 
Experts say the white balls—produced by the trees’ catkins—are 
not themselves allergenic, but that they distribute irritating pollen.
      They also clog rain gutters, drain pipes and car radiators. Worse, 
they pose a fire hazard. Officials have warned that the fuzz balls have 
a low ignition point and called for extreme caution on the part of 
smokers, welders or anyone inclined to burn them “out of curiosity”.
      China’s catkin problem is the unintended consequence of an 
old effort to improve the environment. Intensive tree planting 
began in the 1950s with the aim of ending the scourge of 
sandstorms caused by winds sweeping out of barren areas. The 
trees were also meant to firm up the soil and slow desertification. 
Poplar trees, along with willows, were selected because they are 
cheap, fast-growing and drought-resistant.
      In some ways the plan worked. Today sandstorms are less 
severe and the threat of desertification has faded. But the annual 
onslaught from catkins is another legacy. Female trees are the 
cotton-ball culprits. There are millions of them (poplar and willow) 
in Beijing alone.
       Authorities have sought to mitigate the mess. The simplest way 
is to spray water on the trees, turning the fluffy flyers into damp 
squibs. More advanced solutions involve “birth control”, or injecting 
female trees with chemicals that suppress catkin production. 
Another option is “gender-reassignment surgery”, in which branches 
on female trees are cut and replaced with male grafts.

     But experts say that these efforts will take time. The good 
news is that the flurries of poplar fluff will only last for a few more 
weeks. The bad news is that wafts of willow fluff will then begin.
From: https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/18/examining-thefluff-that-frustrates-northern-china

Text I

              Energy Transition in a Transnational World
      Within the sphere of environmental law, the climate crisis is 
increasingly understood to be an intersectional challenge that 
implicates and exacerbates existing systemic challenges and 
prevailing pathways of inequality. From this vantage point climate 
change also creates opportunities for rethinking the role of law in 
limiting the destructive impacts of climate change and moving 
towards a more sustainable and equitable world in the process. 
This view is advanced by the climate justice movement, which is 
swelling in influence worldwide. Drawing from the environmental 
justice movement, the climate justice movement exposes not only 
how social and economic inequality has led to and perpetuates 
patterns of climate change, but also how climate change deepens 
inequality by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable 
members of society. Climate justice seeks greater emphasis on this 
issue and advocates on the part of those most affected by climate 
change. The movement envisions a world which simultaneously 
curtails the negative effects of climate change and reshapes 
existing social, political, and economic relationships along the way.
    Amidst the overlapping crises of modern times, the modern 
climate justice movement is reviving dialogue at the intersection of 
feminism, environmentalism, social and economic justice, and other 
progressive law reform movements, as well as creating the space 
and momentum for intersectional ideas to flourish. For lawyers and 
legal scholars, the opportunity is to see climate change and 
environmental degradation within its broader social context and to 
seize upon the rule of law as a powerful tool for change.

    Nowhere are these intersecting challenges as acute as in the 
context of energy. One of the principal aims of the climate justice 
movement is to achieve a just and equitable transition from an 
extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This requires 
transitioning from fossil fuel-dependent to low and zero-carbon 
economies. However, the pathways for overhauling energy 
systems worldwide remain indeterminate. Energy systems are 
evolving in response to a combination of law and policy changes, 
developments in energy technologies, and market forces. 
Moreover, given both the entrenched nature of fossil fuel 
economies and the varied social, political, economic, and 
environmental factors that shape energy transition, pathways to 
decarbonization are bound to be beset with complex trade-offs, 
such as those between energy security and environmental 
objectives, or between energy choice and economies of scale. The 
precise contours of these systemic changes vary from country to 
country, and remain under-explored both within their national 
contexts and from a broader transnational perspective. This 
knowledge gap is critical. Understanding how, why, and to what 
end states are restructuring their energy economies is essential for 
transitioning to more environmentally sustainable and just 
societies worldwide. In short, this is an area in need of 
experimentation and iterative learning. It is a subject ripe for 
greater scholarly focus, particularly at the transnational level, 
where improved learning and sharing is indispensable for 
achieving the global-level shifts needed to address climate change.

Adapted from: Etty, Thijs et al. “Energy Transition in a Transnational World.” 
Transnational Environmental Law 10.2 (2021): 197–204. Available at 
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/energy-transition-in-a-transnationalworld/9F9D4229588B39C0E5916DFBE82EA046

Text CB1A8

     The idea of giving rights to animals has long been contentious, but a deeper look into the reasoning behind the
philosophy reveals ideas that aren’t all that radical. Animal rights advocates want to distinguish animals from inanimate objects, as
they are so often considered by exploitative industries and the law. The animal rights movement strives to make the public
aware of the fact that animals are sensitive, emotional, and intelligent beings who deserve dignity and respect. But first, it’s
important to understand what the term “animal rights” really means.
    Animal rights are moral principles grounded in the belief that non-human animals deserve the ability to live as they wish,
without being subjected to the desires of human beings. At the core of animal rights is autonomy, which is another way of
saying choice. In many countries, human rights are enshrined to protect certain freedoms, such as the right to expression, freedom
from torture, and access to democracy. Of course, these choices are constrained depending on social locations like race, class, and
gender, but generally speaking, human rights safeguard the basic tenets of what makes human lives worth living. Animal rights
aim to do something similar, only for non-human animals.
    Animal rights come into direct opposition with animal exploitation, which includes animals used by humans for a
variety of reasons, be it for food, as experimental objects, or even pets. Animal rights can also be violated when it comes to human
destruction of animal habitats. This negatively impacts the ability of animals to lead full lives of their choosing.

Internet: <thehumaneleague.org > (adapted). 

Text

In 2017, Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed introducing a “robot tax” that would temporarily slow  the pace of automation and whose revenue could be used to “finance jobs taking care of elderly people or working with kids in schools, for which needs are unmet and to which humans are particularly well suited”. Since then, many researchers all over the world have weighed in on the idea, publishing proposals and findings on how such a tax might work in reality.What gave rise to this novel proposal? The first factor was a growing sense of alarm that the development of robots and artificial intelligence could 
seriously alter our economy and society in the years to come. Indeed, some such changes are already unfolding. As technology develops, robots and AI may even be able to perform jobs that require specialized skills and knowledge, providing services like medical consultations and diagnosis, legal advice, and translation and interpreting. There is a growing sense 
of anxiety about what the future portends. A second worry is the prospect of further social polarization. Wealth could become concentrated in the hands of those providing the ideas and capital for the development and use of AI, along with a small elite 
of managers with the skills to harness the technology, while the situation for the majority of other workers displaced by technology becomes increasingly bleak. The social divide could be exacerbated as disparities grow between the haves and the have-nots. To prevent technological progress from tearing our societies apart, we must, in the short term, strengthen social safety nets to support workers who lose their jobs, and in the longer term, we will need to enhance educational and vocational training opportunities for work that only humans can perform. Needless to say, expanding safety nets and offering retraining will both require considerable fiscal resources. There are already concerns about safety-net inadequacies for workers in the expanding gig economy, prompting some to call for a basic income that would guarantee a minimum standard of living to everyone. This was the context that gave rise to the idea of a robot tax, which could slow down the pace of automation, at least temporarily, and give policymakers time to secure the resources for needed countermeasures. It is thus much more than just a tax proposal; it entails rethinking the role of public policy in an age when AI and robots are having an increasingly large impact on our lives. The issue goes to the heart of what we want public policy to address in the digital society of the future.

Available at: https://www.tokyofoundation.org/research/
detail.php?id=899. Retrieved on: Feb 29, 2024. Adapted.

Read Text II and answer the five questions that follow it

Text II

Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equity in the Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program in Brazil

 Women make up more than half of Brazil’s population and account for 47 million (~50%) of the labor market. Despite these numbers, women are still underrepresented in many sectors: they occupy 37% of leadership positions in private companies; only 15% and 13%, respectively, are federal Representatives and Senators; and only 12% of cities have women as mayors. The fewer women there are in leadership positions and in politics, the lower the representation and scope of their interests and needs.
 Coupled with that, men’s wages are, on average, 24% higher than women’s who hold the same position. Furthermore, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 10.4 hours/week more than men to household chores and caring for family members (for example, children and the elderly), a type of work characterized as “domestic” and unpaid. As a result, women dedicate less time to professional improvement relative to men. The fewer women in mixed gender work teams, the less likely women are to excel in their roles and positions.
 In Integrated Fire Management (IFM), women face similar challenges, whether in coordination roles or technical and operational ones. In Brazil, specifically, Solis and colleagues1 identified that there are no regulations or guidelines that promote multiculturalism and gender equity in the processes of hiring forest fire brigades. Although gender equity in IFM is recognized, in Brazil this debate is still informal and poorly documented.

¹ Solis I, Vera J, Aguado RC, et al. Diagnóstico de Manejo do Fogo no Brasil. Brasília, Brasil, 2021.
Adapted from https://pcabhub.org/en-us/resources/general-publications/gender-and-fire-usfs.pdf

Text CB1A8

     The idea of giving rights to animals has long been contentious, but a deeper look into the reasoning behind the
philosophy reveals ideas that aren’t all that radical. Animal rights advocates want to distinguish animals from inanimate objects, as
they are so often considered by exploitative industries and the law. The animal rights movement strives to make the public
aware of the fact that animals are sensitive, emotional, and intelligent beings who deserve dignity and respect. But first, it’s
important to understand what the term “animal rights” really means.
    Animal rights are moral principles grounded in the belief that non-human animals deserve the ability to live as they wish,
without being subjected to the desires of human beings. At the core of animal rights is autonomy, which is another way of
saying choice. In many countries, human rights are enshrined to protect certain freedoms, such as the right to expression, freedom
from torture, and access to democracy. Of course, these choices are constrained depending on social locations like race, class, and
gender, but generally speaking, human rights safeguard the basic tenets of what makes human lives worth living. Animal rights
aim to do something similar, only for non-human animals.
    Animal rights come into direct opposition with animal exploitation, which includes animals used by humans for a
variety of reasons, be it for food, as experimental objects, or even pets. Animal rights can also be violated when it comes to human
destruction of animal habitats. This negatively impacts the ability of animals to lead full lives of their choosing.

Internet: <thehumaneleague.org > (adapted). 

Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it:

Text II

             Examining the fluff that frustrates northern China
      Like most blizzards, it begins with just a few white wisps swirling 
about. Gradually the volume increases and the stuff starts to 
accumulate on the ground. During the heaviest downfalls the air is 
so thick with it as to impair visibility. But this is no winter scene. It is 
what happens every April across much of northern China, when 
poplar trees start giving off their cotton-like seed-pods.
     The phenomenon has already begun in Beijing. On April 8th an 
eddy of fluff balls wafted around the American treasury secretary, 
Janet Yellen, as she held a press conference in an embassy garden.
     To call this a nuisance is an understatement. In many people 
the fluff triggers allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems. 
Experts say the white balls—produced by the trees’ catkins—are 
not themselves allergenic, but that they distribute irritating pollen.
      They also clog rain gutters, drain pipes and car radiators. Worse, 
they pose a fire hazard. Officials have warned that the fuzz balls have 
a low ignition point and called for extreme caution on the part of 
smokers, welders or anyone inclined to burn them “out of curiosity”.
      China’s catkin problem is the unintended consequence of an 
old effort to improve the environment. Intensive tree planting 
began in the 1950s with the aim of ending the scourge of 
sandstorms caused by winds sweeping out of barren areas. The 
trees were also meant to firm up the soil and slow desertification. 
Poplar trees, along with willows, were selected because they are 
cheap, fast-growing and drought-resistant.
      In some ways the plan worked. Today sandstorms are less 
severe and the threat of desertification has faded. But the annual 
onslaught from catkins is another legacy. Female trees are the 
cotton-ball culprits. There are millions of them (poplar and willow) 
in Beijing alone.
       Authorities have sought to mitigate the mess. The simplest way 
is to spray water on the trees, turning the fluffy flyers into damp 
squibs. More advanced solutions involve “birth control”, or injecting 
female trees with chemicals that suppress catkin production. 
Another option is “gender-reassignment surgery”, in which branches 
on female trees are cut and replaced with male grafts.

     But experts say that these efforts will take time. The good 
news is that the flurries of poplar fluff will only last for a few more 
weeks. The bad news is that wafts of willow fluff will then begin.
From: https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/18/examining-thefluff-that-frustrates-northern-china

Text

In 2017, Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed introducing a “robot tax” that would temporarily slow  the pace of automation and whose revenue could be used to “finance jobs taking care of elderly people or working with kids in schools, for which needs are unmet and to which humans are particularly well suited”. Since then, many researchers all over the world have weighed in on the idea, publishing proposals and findings on how such a tax might work in reality.What gave rise to this novel proposal? The first factor was a growing sense of alarm that the development of robots and artificial intelligence could 
seriously alter our economy and society in the years to come. Indeed, some such changes are already unfolding. As technology develops, robots and AI may even be able to perform jobs that require specialized skills and knowledge, providing services like medical consultations and diagnosis, legal advice, and translation and interpreting. There is a growing sense 
of anxiety about what the future portends. A second worry is the prospect of further social polarization. Wealth could become concentrated in the hands of those providing the ideas and capital for the development and use of AI, along with a small elite 
of managers with the skills to harness the technology, while the situation for the majority of other workers displaced by technology becomes increasingly bleak. The social divide could be exacerbated as disparities grow between the haves and the have-nots. To prevent technological progress from tearing our societies apart, we must, in the short term, strengthen social safety nets to support workers who lose their jobs, and in the longer term, we will need to enhance educational and vocational training opportunities for work that only humans can perform. Needless to say, expanding safety nets and offering retraining will both require considerable fiscal resources. There are already concerns about safety-net inadequacies for workers in the expanding gig economy, prompting some to call for a basic income that would guarantee a minimum standard of living to everyone. This was the context that gave rise to the idea of a robot tax, which could slow down the pace of automation, at least temporarily, and give policymakers time to secure the resources for needed countermeasures. It is thus much more than just a tax proposal; it entails rethinking the role of public policy in an age when AI and robots are having an increasingly large impact on our lives. The issue goes to the heart of what we want public policy to address in the digital society of the future.

Available at: https://www.tokyofoundation.org/research/
detail.php?id=899. Retrieved on: Feb 29, 2024. Adapted.

Text

In 2017, Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed introducing a “robot tax” that would temporarily slow  the pace of automation and whose revenue could be used to “finance jobs taking care of elderly people or working with kids in schools, for which needs are unmet and to which humans are particularly well suited”. Since then, many researchers all over the world have weighed in on the idea, publishing proposals and findings on how such a tax might work in reality.What gave rise to this novel proposal? The first factor was a growing sense of alarm that the development of robots and artificial intelligence could 
seriously alter our economy and society in the years to come. Indeed, some such changes are already unfolding. As technology develops, robots and AI may even be able to perform jobs that require specialized skills and knowledge, providing services like medical consultations and diagnosis, legal advice, and translation and interpreting. There is a growing sense 
of anxiety about what the future portends. A second worry is the prospect of further social polarization. Wealth could become concentrated in the hands of those providing the ideas and capital for the development and use of AI, along with a small elite 
of managers with the skills to harness the technology, while the situation for the majority of other workers displaced by technology becomes increasingly bleak. The social divide could be exacerbated as disparities grow between the haves and the have-nots. To prevent technological progress from tearing our societies apart, we must, in the short term, strengthen social safety nets to support workers who lose their jobs, and in the longer term, we will need to enhance educational and vocational training opportunities for work that only humans can perform. Needless to say, expanding safety nets and offering retraining will both require considerable fiscal resources. There are already concerns about safety-net inadequacies for workers in the expanding gig economy, prompting some to call for a basic income that would guarantee a minimum standard of living to everyone. This was the context that gave rise to the idea of a robot tax, which could slow down the pace of automation, at least temporarily, and give policymakers time to secure the resources for needed countermeasures. It is thus much more than just a tax proposal; it entails rethinking the role of public policy in an age when AI and robots are having an increasingly large impact on our lives. The issue goes to the heart of what we want public policy to address in the digital society of the future.

Available at: https://www.tokyofoundation.org/research/
detail.php?id=899. Retrieved on: Feb 29, 2024. Adapted.

Read Text II and answer the five questions that follow it

Text II

Diversity, Inclusion and Gender Equity in the Forest Management and Fire Prevention Program in Brazil

 Women make up more than half of Brazil’s population and account for 47 million (~50%) of the labor market. Despite these numbers, women are still underrepresented in many sectors: they occupy 37% of leadership positions in private companies; only 15% and 13%, respectively, are federal Representatives and Senators; and only 12% of cities have women as mayors. The fewer women there are in leadership positions and in politics, the lower the representation and scope of their interests and needs.
 Coupled with that, men’s wages are, on average, 24% higher than women’s who hold the same position. Furthermore, Brazilian women dedicate, on average, 10.4 hours/week more than men to household chores and caring for family members (for example, children and the elderly), a type of work characterized as “domestic” and unpaid. As a result, women dedicate less time to professional improvement relative to men. The fewer women in mixed gender work teams, the less likely women are to excel in their roles and positions.
 In Integrated Fire Management (IFM), women face similar challenges, whether in coordination roles or technical and operational ones. In Brazil, specifically, Solis and colleagues1 identified that there are no regulations or guidelines that promote multiculturalism and gender equity in the processes of hiring forest fire brigades. Although gender equity in IFM is recognized, in Brazil this debate is still informal and poorly documented.

¹ Solis I, Vera J, Aguado RC, et al. Diagnóstico de Manejo do Fogo no Brasil. Brasília, Brasil, 2021.
Adapted from https://pcabhub.org/en-us/resources/general-publications/gender-and-fire-usfs.pdf

Read Text I and answer the five questions that follow it

Text I

Impact of Climate Change on Firefighting Extends Beyond Wildfires

 Global warming is often mentioned as a factor in the accelerating frequency and intensity of wildfires. However, there are other consequences of global warming that impact the fire service, including new hazards and medical emergencies, emerging training challenges, population migration, and technology developments.
 Climate change is often discussed as a future event. However, the impact of wildfires is just the most obvious example of how climate change is already impacting the world, and fire and emergency personnel will be called on to mitigate the effects.
 The most obvious and extreme impact of global warming can be seen in the increase of frequency and intensity of wildfires. Hotter and drier weather is extending the wildfire season (maybe to become year-round?). Higher temperatures, low humidity, less rainfall, and high wind increase the likelihood of wildfires.

Adapted from: https://www.thebigredguide.com/insights/impact-climate-change-firefighting-extends-wildfires-editor-s-dispatch.1645685564.html

Text I

              Energy Transition in a Transnational World
      Within the sphere of environmental law, the climate crisis is 
increasingly understood to be an intersectional challenge that 
implicates and exacerbates existing systemic challenges and 
prevailing pathways of inequality. From this vantage point climate 
change also creates opportunities for rethinking the role of law in 
limiting the destructive impacts of climate change and moving 
towards a more sustainable and equitable world in the process. 
This view is advanced by the climate justice movement, which is 
swelling in influence worldwide. Drawing from the environmental 
justice movement, the climate justice movement exposes not only 
how social and economic inequality has led to and perpetuates 
patterns of climate change, but also how climate change deepens 
inequality by disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable 
members of society. Climate justice seeks greater emphasis on this 
issue and advocates on the part of those most affected by climate 
change. The movement envisions a world which simultaneously 
curtails the negative effects of climate change and reshapes 
existing social, political, and economic relationships along the way.
    Amidst the overlapping crises of modern times, the modern 
climate justice movement is reviving dialogue at the intersection of 
feminism, environmentalism, social and economic justice, and other 
progressive law reform movements, as well as creating the space 
and momentum for intersectional ideas to flourish. For lawyers and 
legal scholars, the opportunity is to see climate change and 
environmental degradation within its broader social context and to 
seize upon the rule of law as a powerful tool for change.

    Nowhere are these intersecting challenges as acute as in the 
context of energy. One of the principal aims of the climate justice 
movement is to achieve a just and equitable transition from an 
extractive economy to a regenerative economy. This requires 
transitioning from fossil fuel-dependent to low and zero-carbon 
economies. However, the pathways for overhauling energy 
systems worldwide remain indeterminate. Energy systems are 
evolving in response to a combination of law and policy changes, 
developments in energy technologies, and market forces. 
Moreover, given both the entrenched nature of fossil fuel 
economies and the varied social, political, economic, and 
environmental factors that shape energy transition, pathways to 
decarbonization are bound to be beset with complex trade-offs, 
such as those between energy security and environmental 
objectives, or between energy choice and economies of scale. The 
precise contours of these systemic changes vary from country to 
country, and remain under-explored both within their national 
contexts and from a broader transnational perspective. This 
knowledge gap is critical. Understanding how, why, and to what 
end states are restructuring their energy economies is essential for 
transitioning to more environmentally sustainable and just 
societies worldwide. In short, this is an area in need of 
experimentation and iterative learning. It is a subject ripe for 
greater scholarly focus, particularly at the transnational level, 
where improved learning and sharing is indispensable for 
achieving the global-level shifts needed to address climate change.

Adapted from: Etty, Thijs et al. “Energy Transition in a Transnational World.” 
Transnational Environmental Law 10.2 (2021): 197–204. Available at 
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/transnational-environmental-law/article/energy-transition-in-a-transnationalworld/9F9D4229588B39C0E5916DFBE82EA046

Text II

             Examining the fluff that frustrates northern China
      Like most blizzards, it begins with just a few white wisps swirling 
about. Gradually the volume increases and the stuff starts to 
accumulate on the ground. During the heaviest downfalls the air is 
so thick with it as to impair visibility. But this is no winter scene. It is 
what happens every April across much of northern China, when 
poplar trees start giving off their cotton-like seed-pods.
     The phenomenon has already begun in Beijing. On April 8th an 
eddy of fluff balls wafted around the American treasury secretary, 
Janet Yellen, as she held a press conference in an embassy garden.
     To call this a nuisance is an understatement. In many people 
the fluff triggers allergies, asthma and other respiratory problems. 
Experts say the white balls—produced by the trees’ catkins—are 
not themselves allergenic, but that they distribute irritating pollen.
      They also clog rain gutters, drain pipes and car radiators. Worse, 
they pose a fire hazard. Officials have warned that the fuzz balls have 
a low ignition point and called for extreme caution on the part of 
smokers, welders or anyone inclined to burn them “out of curiosity”.
      China’s catkin problem is the unintended consequence of an 
old effort to improve the environment. Intensive tree planting 
began in the 1950s with the aim of ending the scourge of 
sandstorms caused by winds sweeping out of barren areas. The 
trees were also meant to firm up the soil and slow desertification. 
Poplar trees, along with willows, were selected because they are 
cheap, fast-growing and drought-resistant.
      In some ways the plan worked. Today sandstorms are less 
severe and the threat of desertification has faded. But the annual 
onslaught from catkins is another legacy. Female trees are the 
cotton-ball culprits. There are millions of them (poplar and willow) 
in Beijing alone.
       Authorities have sought to mitigate the mess. The simplest way 
is to spray water on the trees, turning the fluffy flyers into damp 
squibs. More advanced solutions involve “birth control”, or injecting 
female trees with chemicals that suppress catkin production. 
Another option is “gender-reassignment surgery”, in which branches 
on female trees are cut and replaced with male grafts.

      But experts say that these efforts will take time. The good 
news is that the flurries of poplar fluff will only last for a few more 
weeks. The bad news is that wafts of willow fluff will then begin.
From: https://www.economist.com/china/2024/04/18/examining-thefluff-that-frustrates-northern-china