Alternative fuel: "Bush" and "Brazilian", but no joke

[KamaAina]

http://www.slate.com/id/2135236/

Instead, Bush put his faith in technology, emphasizing in particular "cellulosic ethanol," which would use not just corn kernels but husks and stalks as well. This is well-meaning fantasy. Ethanol has already spent several decades as an agribusiness boondoggle of dubious environment benefit; critics contend that it takes more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than the ethanol contains, and no one would use it if not for massive subsidies. Brazil has had success with a more efficient type of ethanol made from sugar cane. But in a speech filled with denunciations of protectionism in the abstract, Bush was silent about the 50-cent-a-gallon tariff that keeps Brazilian ethanol off the American market—a concrete instance in which domestic politics prevents the use of a cleaner, OPEC-diminishing fuel.

So Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman is giving the pResident his daily briefing, and... :evilgrin:

(Did you even know that Samuel Bodman is our Energy Secretary/ I didn't, and headed over to their web page.)

[melissinha]

1. my granfather used ethanol fuel in Brazil in the 80s

if memory serves me.... man this country IS behind the times. It was in Sao Paulo, the largest city, of course.

[robinlynne]

2. And every other city all across Brasil.

There was pretty much no difference between running a car on alcohol, which is what ethanol is, or gas. There was a little more wear and tear on the carbueratur. that's the only difference. It was less than half the price of gas, but had government subsidies helping. It can be made from anything. sugarcane was used in Brasil, but they found they can make it from corn, coconuts, proabbly from any crop. The American oil companies worked to drown out the program, but it had wide acceptance. I have been in ethanol cars many times. you cannot tell the difference, except as I said, you need to get a tuneup more often.

[melissinha]

3. didn't know that

I was a kid in the 80s, so its being that widespread was not known to me.

Sounds like an alternative to me! Tenho tanta saudade! ;)