BRAZIL: Ethanol production pushed to forefront as concerns raised that production of the commodity may pose major threat to environment

Brazil pushes ethanol production to forefront as concerns are raised that the production of the commodity by pose a major threat to the environment. The humble sugar cane has never been so prized. The ethanol produced from its stalks has propelled Brazil closer towards energy self-sufficiency and now nations like the U.S. are beating a path to its door - keen to learn from a nation which has all but weaned itself from the addiction of oil. Brazil began its sugar cane-based ethanol program 30 years ago when it was importing nearly 90 percent of its oil needs. Today, it is a model for all nations looking to promote biofuel use and reduce carbon emissions as concerns grow over global warming and its impact. Over the next four years, Brazil - already the world's largest export of ethanol - will invest 8.3 billion U.S. dollars in renewable fuels. The "green" benefits of ethanol seem undeniable - Brazil emits less carbon gas than most countries its size partly because of its rainforest cover and partly because nearly half its passenger car fleet runs on sugar-cane ethanol. But some experts warn of complacency over ethanol and its benefits. A biofuel specialist Rafael Schechtman from the Brazilian Infrastructure Centre (IE) says that although ethanol plays an important role in the search for renewable energy, it is only a small part of the solution. "In the search for other renewable (energy) sources, substituting coal, substituting natural gas, substituting oil, ethanol plays an important role, but alone it won't solve the problem," he said. Brazil and the United States, which account for about 70 percent of world ethanol output, recently sealed an agreement to advance biofuel technology, help spread ethanol production to other countries and set common standards for the fuel. As new cars flood Brazil's cities, 80 percent of all new vehicles boast flex-fuel car technology which can run on any mix of gasoline or ethanol. Brazil has over 30,000 filling stations which offer pure ethanol fuel and gasoline that is blended with 20-25 percent ethanol. While most Brazilians prefer ethanol over oil simply because of its lower cost, people are becoming increasingly aware of its environmental benefits. Two years ago Silvio Marchetti decided to change his regular car to a flex-fuel not only in an attempt to save money, but also to help save the planet. Marchetti said that by filling his car with ethanol he is doing his bit. "Firstly, because it's cheaper and secondly because it pollutes less." I am collaborating with our planet, trying to avoid high pollution rates. At least I am trying to do my part," he said. But there are concerns that ethanol may not be as green as it would first appear. With the Amazon forest already under threat from land-clearing by soy and beef farmers, there are fears that increasingly lucrative sugar cane plantations could consume ever greater tracts of the forest. In the past year alone officials say 6,450 square miles (16,700 square km) of the Amazon forest -- an area about the size of Hawaii -- may have been lost. While little of that can be blamed on sugar cane cultivation, any commodity that makes a profit could become a factor in the pressure on the Amazon forest. It's clear that Brazil has much at stake - experts say that in this century alone, temperatures in the Amazon rainforest could rise as much as 8 degrees Celsius (14 Fahrenheit) if nothing is done to halt global warming. Greenpeace president in Brazil, Marcelo Furtado, urged immediate action in a recent interview. "We don't have a lot more than two decades to act. If today, magically, I turned off all of our energy machines, we would continue to feel the impacts of global warming for the next fifty years," he said. Spurred by the chorus of warnings about global warming, Brazilian architect Alexandra Lichtenberg decided to act - building her dream house - a "green" home, near Rio de Janeiro's famous Sugarloaf Mountain in 2001. The "Ecohouse" was designed to harmonise with the city's hot tropical weather. It was covered with leafy vines to create a shield to absorb direct radiation and so cool the house. Old ceramic tiles were removed and covered with grass to help air circulate, as well as solar panels. The household's plumbing system is centred on a concrete cistern which collects rainwater - accounting for about 30 per cent of the family's total water use. The "Ecohouse" also has highly efficient thermal, lighting and water systems which have helped lower the family's monthly costs. Lichtenberg said she hoped her "green" home would prove that a house can be eco-friendly and cheap to run without compromising on comfort and style. "This is an attempt to show that one can live spending less, with the same comfort level, or even with more comfort. To remove this erroneous idea that an ecologically correct house, factory or any building will be less comfortable or be more expensive," she said. The youngest of the Lichtenbergs, Thomas, adores studying in the living-room where there is enough natural light to read. "The notion that you are doing a good deed everyday is another comfort in your subconscious, you will always be comfortable. When people say: "my house has this or that", you will be thinking: "but your house does almost nothing to prevent the degradation of the planet," he said. But because families like the Lichtenbergs are hard to find in Brazil, in 1991 a group of environmentalists decided to create a recycling information centre in Rio de Janeiro, to teach people how to live "green". With its permanent trash-art exhibition, the "Recicloteca" (Recyclary) inspires children and adults to find creative ways of making art from day-to-day garbage. The centre's coordinator, Eduardo Bernhardt, encourages visitors to play their part in saving the environment. Bernhardt said the recycling centre was designed to raise awareness over the issue of garbage disposal - a huge pollutant in the world's fifth-largest nation. "Garbage in decomposition, in an open-cast deposit generates methane gas, which generates twenty-one times more greenhouse gases than carbon gas, so a great part of global warming is enhanced by methane gas," he explained. Meanwhile, in the island of Ilha Grande, which lies about twenty-one kilometres from the coast of Rio de Janeiro state and welcomes droves of tourists every weekend, a group of about fifty boys and girls are working to keep their homeland clean. The volunteers belong to the Juvenile Ecological Brigade - created in 1989 as tourist numbers to the island surged. Every morning a group of about twenty teenagers gathers at the brigade headquarters to discuss the day's activities with their instructor, Rodrigo Chagas, who has been part of the team since 1993. A Saturday of clear blue skies indicates the brigade has a long day of work ahead. When the large ferryboat arrives - bringing hundreds of people to the island - the clean-up crew lines up at the dock to distribute pamphlets and plastic bags for tourists to collect their garbage. Chagas, who followed the island's devastation along the years, said it was vital to raise ecological awareness among the young because they passed on what they learnt to other residents. "The island began to self-degrade with this tourist invasion. With this awareness the boys and girls, and even the residents of the island, help at least to preserve something," he said. The brigade also owns a marine farm where they cultivate thousands of Saint Jacques shells. Besides helping increase biodiversity in the region, the shellfish also help provide a livelihood to the group - sold as a delicacy to local restaurants for $14 dollars a dozen. The young residents of Ilha Grande worry that the growing number of visitors may put the island's rich fauna and vegetation at stake. Many believe that if the government fails to create laws limiting the number of visitors in the island, worse may happen. Fourteen year-old Paulo Rosario said he was concerned about the impact of tourism. "There are a lot of tourists. It's good in a way, for the residents, the boat owners, the hotel and commerce owners who win, but nature loses," he said. The young brigade also cultivates native plants - using them to reforest denuded areas around the island. While these small-scale initiatives point to a greener future for Brazil and as the nation enjoys its moment as the world's king of renewable energy, concerns remain that things are not quite as green as they should be and need to be to lessen the threat posed by global warming.

ITN Source | March 19, 2007

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