Brazil looks to use fuel alternative

Brazil looks to use fuel alternative

For the world's gathering troupe of cheerleaders for ethanol as fuel for
cars, the economic argument is clear.

When produced at its cheapest, ethanol comfortably undercuts the price of
petrol and emits far less carbon dioxide.

But as well as heading off global warming, could ethanol also contribute to

Jerry Okamura...

Well, what would you call it when the state mandates the use of ethanol (in
this case) and the primary source of that ethanol in Hawaii is from sugar
cane?

Alvin Toda...

No. IIRC we have to import it. And in the future, there are many
other sources of ethanol other than sugar cane. It may be easier to
use sea weed?

Jerry Okamura...

Well, yes. But is that likely to happen, or is it more likely that in
Hawaii, we will use sugar cane to get the ethanol? You are grasping at
straws.

Alvin Toda...

No the jury is out on best ethanol sources for fuel. We've only been
concerned with ethanol as an alcoholic beverage. Recently in the news
in Honolulu was a small company that got a grant to experiment with
bagasse from sugar cane for ethanol. That's cellulose from cane, but
the source could just as well be recycled newspaper.

Jerry Okamura...

You cannot be serious. Hawaii has a lot of sugar cane. Sugar cane can be
used to make ethanol. It doesn't matter what is the "best source" for
making ethanol. Even the use of bagasse from sugar cane, is a phony
argument, what do you think the sugar cane producers are going to do, give
the sutff away?

Alvin Toda...

But as you have stated: prices, or "supply and demand", does affect
the profitability of using ethanol. Sugar cane producers do have a
problem with excess bagasse. You'll note the piles of the stuff at the
edges of the plantation-- just rotting away? Only use as far as I
remember is the mushrooms that people used to collect. These were to
eat-- not like the ones that grow on cow dung which some have said are
hallucinogenic. :)

Jerry Okamura...

No I have not noticed any such thing, and we still produce a lot of sugar
here on Maui.

Alvin Toda...

So what do you do with your excess bagasse?

Jerry Okamura...

What we do with it now?

energy security as western governments fret about increasingly unpredictable
and volatile supplies of oil and gas?

By far the world's most efficient producer is Brazil, which distils ethanol
from sugar cane. Brazil has about half the world's sugar export market and
aims to produce 40 per cent more ethanol by 2010.