1 post tagged “brazil”

Biofuel is a good thing, right?

Biofuel is liquid or gas transportation fuel derived from biomass. Biomass is material derived from recently living organisms such as plants, animals and their by-products. For example, manure, garden waste and crop residues are all sources of biomass. It is a renewable energy source based on the carbon cycle, unlike other natural resources such as petroleum, coal, and nuclear fuels. Agricultural products specifically grown for biofuel production include corn and soybeans, primarily in the United States; rapeseed, wheat and sugar beet primarily in Europe; sugar cane in Brazil; palm oil in South-East Asia; and jatropha in India.(wikipedia.org)

Biofuel is big news in Brazil, where sugar cane and soybeans tantalize with the possibility of cheaper energy.

At what cost?

Deforestation, according to the Science and Development Network, accounts for 80% of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions.

Brazil is the world's fifth largest country by landmass, with a sizeable population that is amassed mostly in the coastal cities, away from the Amazon basin and rainforest, which is rapidly being encroached upon. Between 2002 and 2006, an area of the Amazon Rainforest the size of South Carolina was completely decimated, for the purposes of raising cattle and woodlogging.

Deforestation.

Soybeans and sugarcane don't grow in forests, either. Well, at least not efficiently.

Cutting down trees in order to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Sounds like a zero-sum game to me, but I leave the science to the scientists. Hopefully they will prove me wrong.

Preschool2

What will her car run on in twenty years?

Next up: China and the cult of cheap disposables