Sweet Rides

Brazil has become the world's leader in ethanol production. In Brazil, ethanol is created from sugarcane crops and serves as a renewable form of energy to fuel vehicles. In Brazil, fuel flex car sales, which run on gasoline and ethanol, made up approximately 75% of total automobile sales in Brazil. More than 30, 000 pumping stations sell ethanol, generally mixed with gasoline. Ethanol in Brazil is also a much more affordable option, as normal gas costs around $4.69 p/gallon and ethnaol, which is cheaper to porduce and has a slightly lower tax sells at around $3.59 p/gallon. However, as this article points out, recent increases in ethanol prices have hurt sales within the country because although normal gas is still more expensive, the fuel is more efficient. It seems that ethanol is here to stay and sales will only increase once Brazil's 25 year record high sugarcane costs decrease.
President Bush hopes to end "America's addiction to imported oil"' by replacing 3/4 of the oil imported from the Middle East with American made ethanol (mostly produced from corn crops within the U.S.). Although many new cars in the U.S. are now ethanol ready, few consumers actually know that their car is ethanol compatible. In addition, with only 610 ethanol fueling stations in the country, it is virtually impossible to come by the fuel. If the U.S. hopes to follow in Brazil's footsteps, it will have to drastically increase the supply of ethanol fueled vehicle and the prevelence of pumping stations throughout the country. Check out another recent article on ethanol in Brazil at Rainforest Action Network , a great resource for information about forests and a highly influential corporate agitator :).