WSJ - Brazil to become energy independent due to ethanol use

The Wall Street Journal had an excellent article today on how Brazil is about to become energy independent. Sorry, mini-link below, as I do not know if they have their articles online except for pay. But, their non editorial reporting is often very good.

But, about 30 years ago, Brazil started making massive investments in the production of ethanol through sugar, to the tune of billions of $ (in the US, we produce ethanol through corn, which is more expensive.) Brazil is the world's largest producer of sugar.

This investment is now paying dividends. With the cost of producing ethanol around $1.00/gallon, it is now more economical than gas, even though ethanol is less fuel efficient than gas. Even with the lower fuel efficiency, it is still cheaper these days. With the cost of gas not likely to come down much, if it all, it is something that even our government is reviewing.

20% of Brazilian cars use ethanol for fuel, compared to around 1% in the rest of the world. Brazil will likely become energy independent this year.

Now imagine if we had a president that had that sort of foresight around 30 years ago? Oh wait, didn’t Jimmy Carter call for a similar investment in alternative fuels during his presidency nearly 30 years ago?

http://online.wsj.com/public/us
Brazil Fills Up on Ethanol

After nearly three decades of work, Brazil has succeeded where much of the industrialized world has failed: It has developed a cost-effective alternative to gasoline. Now, the country expects to become energy independent this year.

...and they don't need to use crappy corn sweetener in their soft drinks either!

cutoff at the kneecaps.

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