Guacira’s Recent Comments

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  Balance may be the answer

  Is it possible that, at the root of the fuel problem, is the fact that there's so much consumerism and such a high demand not only for vehicles of all kinds, but also for manufacturing processes that require petroleum? A few "2-cents worth":

  • Do y'all remember when gas supplies weren't a problem in the U.S.? That started a cycle which saw families moving to the suburbs, hence creating increased need for cars and fossil-fuels. I wonder: if fuel weren't as available then as it happened to be, would that migration to suburbs take place so thoughtlessly?

  • Now let's suppose that the fuel-supply challenge is solved with biofuels, hydrogen, solar power, you name it: what kind of consumerism cycle will that create? It seems like the more is available, the more consumers want.

  • So consumers not only need to be educated about the impact of fossil fuel usage, but also, there's a need for education where individuals would learn to live, leaving as small a footprint as possible.

  • Is it possible that different markets, with different renewable resources, should first aim to develop self-sustainable energy technologies, without vying necessary to supply fuel to others? That would take away the enticement of destroying forests and fields for the sake of exporting ethanol or whatever it may be. As an example: Brazil would produce enough renewable fuels for its own market, to the point where mass deforestation WOULD NOT occur. In the meanwhile, the U.S. would develop some other type of fuel - appropriate to its ecosystem - without, again having the ambition of creating so much of it, that its natural resources, quality of life, sustainability, ecosystems and biodiversity would be at risk.

  • According to the US Department of Energy, the amount of used cooking oil now disposed of in the U.S. exceeds the current potential demand for biodiesel fuel, making it an abundant resource (see "The Power of Biofuels" article, at SustainableReview.com.

  • Perhaps, at the end of the day, the answer to fuel supply is a bit like mutual funds: you don't put all your eggs in one basket! That is one thing I like about the premise behind the flex-fuel engine in Brazil, since it apparently doesn't create dependency on ONE specific type of fuel. Back in the 80s, in Brazil, so many cars were sugarcane-powered, that at one point, from what I have read, there wasn't enough of a supply. Now, I don't know WHY that happened, but it does teach us a lesson, doesn't it?
  On How South American biofuels are gaining steam, and why that freaks the U.S. out posted 3 years, 11 months ago 10 Responses