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The World's Sugar Daddy


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Vanguard's Mariana van Zeller travels to the "Saudi Arabia of Ethanol", and has a few drinks while she's at it.
MarianaVanZeller

9 responses // The World's Sugar Daddy

  • now if the US could find an alternative source for fuels like this it might alleviate high oil prices...
    supply and demand is a B@*%$
    jvanauken
  • Mesquite is drought hardy, fixes its own nitrogen, requires no seeding, fertilization or irrigation, resprouts vigorously after topkill and grows on dry, nutrient-poor soils.
    It can even be grown in dessert climates.
    Without sacrificing the plant, mesquite pods can be made into alcohol.

    The high cellulose count of hemp makes it ideal for fuel as well maybe one day laws will change to benefit the people here in the U.S.
    VegaNerDiva
  • Congratulations to Mariana on her story on Brazil's ethanol program. It actually began long before the first energy crunch in the 1970's. It was added to gasoline as an additive (gasohol) as a subsidy for the sugar industry, to use up surplus production. The early 70's first generation alcohol cars were hard to start when cold, and had a gadget to squirt a little gasoline into the carburetor to prime it. Most of those problems were overcome with fuel injection and engine computers.

    One disadvantage is that alcohol contains less energy per liter than a liter of gasoline, so you burn more of it to achieve the same power. That's true of flex fuel engines too. Mileage is significantly better running on gasoline than on alcohol, but the reduced mileage is offset by the lower cost at the pump (in Brazil). Alcohol also tends to absorb water from the air, and if a tank is left open, the fuel dilutes itself.

    Brazilian alcohol motor fuel is close to pure alcohol, not the E85 sold in the US which has 15% gasoline blended in
    rocknocker
  • for me this puts alot of the alternitive fuels into focus, ive just started to get involved via the internet, but the fact is i dont want to be living in the country that (8 yrs ago everyone was driving and now there all having to walk everywhere they go. if theres a chance that this will help the u.s. then its something we should be up on.
    rickrosas
  • I'm glad to see that other countries around the world care about the world and not there pockets. Here in the US we need to speak out and demand better ways to fuel or cars. Lets all speak up.
    mnava
  • we did it again.....the State of Florida is buying out US Sugar Corp and their 80,000 acres of sugar cane to take it out of production and flood the land in an attempt to help restore the Everglades. Instead of using this existing infrastructure to produce ethanol as a bio fuel we will sell oil and gase leases on public lands in Montana., We're trading land that's already been destroyed for virgin forest that's just waiting for exploitation. We can now continue our dependence on oil and put more money into the pockets of businesses that supported Bush/Cheney. How long will this BS go on?
    traillens
  • This was a good insight into another countries economy that is self suffinent which is what the united states goal should have been many many years ago. It is a very good piece.
    forgot171
  • once again a brilliantly balanced video giving a fascinating insight. is still very tragic to see the endless fields of sugar cane where beautiful rainforest once grew.
    jamesmallin
  • Brazil is officially the greatest country in the world when it comes to energy. its always the foreign countries like china and America that think its crazy talk and expensive.

    don't listen to your parents kids it turns out sugar is good for you :D
    CalgarC

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