The beginning of Brazilian colonization by the coast determined the formation of the first cities and population centers in this region. The demographic concentration has many stretches with more than 100 inhabitants per km ² , especially in the Southeast and Northeast stretches. About 22% of Brazilians live by the sea, which is equivalent to more than 35 million people.

The urban concentration on the coast causes serious pollution problems, since almost all the sewage is discharged into the sea by effluents, without any type of treatment. This is one of the factors that contribute to the destruction of estuaries and mangroves – fundamental areas for the reproduction of several marine animals.

There are very few submarine outfalls that release sewage over distances that pose less risk to the population. Ideally, sewage treatment and discharge into water through these outfalls would be ideal .

Real estate speculation causes the expansion of urbanization and the disorderly occupation of natural spaces – in most cases, without the physical structure for such uses – which endanger not only the environment , but also the buildings and the lives of residents.

According to Rrrjewelry, an important part of Brazilian economic production is located in the coastal and marine areas, such as oil and natural gas extraction; industrial activities such as those in the Baixada Santista (SP) – petrochemical and steel industries (Cosipa) -; in addition to the movement of port facilities.

These activities also cause environmental impacts, due to the release of toxic substances into the oceans and accidents with oil spills. Not to mention air pollution as a result of the emission of toxic gases from industries, which affects vegetation, fauna and people in coastal environments.

The city of Cubatão – the main petrochemical and steelmaking hub on the coast of São Paulo – was once considered one of the most polluted in the world, with the air, soil and water channels contaminated by industrial waste. Today, the living conditions of the local population are eased due to government actions that inspect and fine companies that do not follow the current environmental legislation, and the interventions of NGOs – Non-Governmental Organizations – such as Greenpeace, which currently has adopted the strategy of buying shares to force companies to invest in the environment

As a result of urban-industrial expansion, the east coast and the southeast coast, especially the São Paulo strip, are the areas that suffer the most from environmental impacts.

On January 18, 2000, all the newspapers reported yet another “black spill” – a damaged Petrobras pipeline allowed 1.3 million liters of oil to contaminate Guanabara Bay.

The leak lasted 4 hours, but it will take 20 years for nature to return to what it was. The oil kills or weakens fish, poultry, shellfish, coastal vegetation – most forms of life that is the believer. Coral banks take decades to fully recover, because the oil inhibits their photosynthesis and reproductive capacity. The oil adheres to the birds’ wings, preventing them from flying and contaminating their digestive system. The stain also changes the alternating flow of fresh and salt water that produces the richness of the mangroves. Smaller rims can no longer grow and trees, with their roots suffocated, may lose their leaves. As a result, crustaceans that feed on decomposed leaves are in trouble.

Unfortunately, accidents of this type are common:

• in the last 30 years, there have been around 150 leaks associated with the Almirante Barroso Maritime Terminal, in São Sebastião – São Paulo coast – due to failures in the pipelines, lack of safety devices on the vessels or problems in the maintenance of ships;
• in 1978, the Liberian ship Brazilian Marina, contracted by Petrobrás, spilled 6,000 m ³of oil on the beaches of São Sebastião;
• in April 1999, 6 beaches in the same municipality were affected by an oil spill by a Petrobras emissary;
• the same company was responsible for the biggest industrial accident in the history of Brazil – a leak followed by an explosion in Vila Socó, Cubatão (SP), which killed 98 people in 1984;
• in 1975, Petrobras was also involved in the biggest accident in the Guanabara Bay – 5 million liters were spilled by the oil tanker Tarik.

Province since 1853, when it was separated from São Paulo, Paraná only became part of the Brazilian economy from the first half of the 20th century, when it became the largest coffee producer in the country. Also benefiting from the influx of European immigrants (Poles, Germans and Italians), the state, at the end of the century, presented a panorama of rapid industrialization and progress in all sectors of social life.

According to picktrue.com, the state of Paraná is located in the southern region of Brazil, where it occupies an area of ​​199,554km2. It is limited to the east with the Atlantic Ocean, to the north with São Paulo, to the south with Santa Catarina, to the northwest with Mato Grosso do Sul, to the southwest with Argentina and to the west with Paraguay. Its capital is Curitiba.

Climate

Three climatic types characterize the state of Paraná: the Cfa, Cfb and Cwa climates of the Köppen classification. The Cfa climate, subtropical with well-distributed rains during the year and hot summers, occurs in two distinct parts of the state, on the coastal plain and in the lower portions of the plateau, that is, in its western portion. It registers average annual temperatures of 19o C and annual rainfall of 1,500mm, somewhat higher on the coast than inland.

The Cfb climate, subtropical with well distributed rains during the year and mild summers, occurs in the highest part of the state and involves the crystalline plateau, the paleozoic plateau and the eastern part of the basaltic plateau. Average annual temperatures oscillate around 17o C and rainfall reaches about 1,200mm annually.

The Cwa climate, subtropical with hot summers and dry winters, occurs in the northwestern portion of the state. It is the so-called high altitude tropical climate, because unlike the two described above, which register well-distributed rains throughout the year, it presents rainfall typical of tropical regimes, with dry winters and rainy summers. The annual average temperature oscillates around 20o C and the annual rainfall reaches 1,300mm. Almost the entire state is subject to more than five days of frost per year, but in the southern portion and in the higher parts of the plateaus there are more than ten days. Snow appears sporadically in the Curitiba area.

Hydrography

The drainage network comprises rivers that flow directly to the coast and rivers that flow westward, tributaries of Paraná. The former have short courses, as they are born a short distance from the coast. The longest are those heading for the state of São Paulo, where the waters of the Ribeira de Iguape River will thicken. Most of the state’s surface is thus under the control of the tributaries of the Paraná River, of which the most extensive are Paranapanema, which borders São Paulo, and Iguaçu, which partly borders Santa Catarina and Argentina. The Paraná River marks the western limits of the state, separating it from Mato Grosso and Paraguay.

At the point of convergence of the dividing lines of Mato Grosso do Sul-Paraguay, Paraná-Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraná-Paraguay were the falls of Sete Quedas, formed by the Paraná River when descending from the basaltic plateau to the gorge that led to the platinum plain. In 1982 two jumps were submerged, under protest from environmentalists, by the lake of the Itaipu dam. Further south, the Iguaçu River also descends from the basaltic plateau towards the same gorge. It then forms the falls of Iguaçu, which were not affected by the construction of the dam, since Itaipu is located upstream of the confluence of the two rivers.

Population

High rates of population growth characterized Paraná between the 1940s and 1960s, due to considerable human contingents coming, in large part, from the states of São Paulo, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais. These migratory currents were linked to the expansion, through the territory of Paraná, of agricultural areas in São Paulo and Santa Catarina, which moved in search of still virgin forest soils. The most populated areas of the state are those of Curitiba, from the north and west.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the population of Paraná reached only about 330,000 inhabitants, and in 1950 it was barely more than two million. From that period onwards, there was a rapid urbanization process. Not only has the number of cities increased dramatically, but the most important centers have experienced a sharp increase in population.

Urban network

The largest cities in the state, in addition to its capital, Curitiba, are Londrina, Maringá, Ponta Grossa, Cascavel, Foz do Iguaçu, Guarapuava, Colombo, Paranaguá, Umuarama, Apucarana and Campo Mourão.

The territory of Paraná is located within the area of ​​influence of the city of São Paulo. The metropolis of São Paulo commands the economic life of the state through the urban centers of Ourinhos, in São Paulo, and Jacarezinho, Maringá, Londrina and Curitiba, in Paraná. Ourinhos and Jacarezinho jointly dominate the eastern portion of northern Paraná; Londrina is the center of the region, and Maringá, the western part.

Curitiba serves the rest of the state of Paraná and almost all of the state of Santa Catarina, excluding the Tubarão region in the east and Chapecó in the west. The action of the capital, in its area of ​​influence of Paraná, is felt directly or through the intermediate centers of Ponta Grossa and Pato Branco. The area of ​​direct influence comprises the entire east and southeast of the state. Pato Branco serves the southwestern portion, and Ponta Grossa, the entire center and west.