With alternative energy taking center-stage during the recent U.S. presidential election, an article published in Volume 33 of ELPR’s journal gave some insight on the Ethanol boom in another country– Brazil.
Vanessa M. Cordonnier’s article, titled “Ethanol’s Roots: How Brazilian Legislation Created the International Ethanol Boom” offers a detailed look at the partnerships Brazil formed to achieve the broad goal of developing new ethanol production technologies, sharing resources and promoting the use of ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuel.
Furthermore, the article discusses the environmental impact that increased ethanol production might have. The article also examines, in detail, the history of Brazil’s ethanol industry, looking closely to legal incentives used by the government over the past three decades to spur the industry’s remarkable growth.
The current ethanol boom in the United States has the strong support of the Presidential administration as well as many very vocal interest groups. By looking to Brazil’s history, this paper looks into whether a similar program in the U.S. would be in the best interests of the nation and the environment.
Several people have already chimed in on Cordonnier’s analysis elsewhere on the web, such as Biofuels Digest, and Autoblog Green, just to name a few. Let’s keep the discussion going!
