Latin American and Caribbean countries bet on biofuels
Last week, in the city of San Salvador, several countries from Latin America and the Caribbean joined a seminar in which the main conclusion was that biofuels are the best alternative to stop their dependence on oil and lower energy costs. Most of these countries face huge economic deficits due to their energy needs. Relieving these deficits is a key step to helping these economies and boosting development.This seminar, the second after the inaugural 2006 edition, was backed up by the Inter-American Institute for Agriculture Cooperation (IICA in Spanish acronyms) and the Latin American Energy Organisation (OLADE).
One of the conclusions of this seminar is that the rising prices will make it hard for those countries to satisfy their needs in the next 40 years. World oil demand is expected to raise from 120 million barrels per day to 170 million in 2020 - and there's not enough for everybody. Therefore it's necessary for these countries to find alternatives to oil, either biofuels or to get energy from other sources of biomass.
The problem with these countries to develop their industry is the lack of funding. Despite Brazil's efforts to give away its ethanol technology (also with interest, since it exports raw materials to produce those biofuels, nobody is a saint), money is scarce and foreign investors focus on more profitable endeavors.
Finally, it was also mentioned that biofuels are one of the solutions to fight human-induced global warming.
[Source: Ecoticias]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
eckre 11:01AM (10/02/2007)
Yep.... but ethonal is a hoax. Read the consumer reports bit on it. BIODIESEL is the perfect interim answer between that and electricity. Personally my emissions went down 76% when I went from Petrol Diesel to B100. Just like that, no modifications, quieter, better performing, better lubricant, cheaper. win win win win win.
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Phil L. 11:08AM (10/02/2007)
Well - I'm not a huge fan of ethanol, but the lack of diesel vehicles in North America is a big barrier to biodiesel. A few models are now appearing, but it will take quite awhile for the trend to change (both in the marketplace and in available manufacturing capability) significantly.
As an aside, I've been disappointed in the variety of US diesel offerings. I've got three kids still in safety seats. Is there anything diesel-powered the US that's not a truck or SUV, and has at least 3 (preferably 4) LATCH safety seat positions?
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tim 11:46AM (10/02/2007)
Tree huggers make me laugh! Man made global warming... maybe. Man made deforestation... absolutely!
Wave by-by to the rain forests.
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Lisa Beamer 12:03PM (10/02/2007)
3 years ago wants its news story back.
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Alex 12:58PM (10/02/2007)
>Well - I'm not a huge fan of ethanol, but the
>lack of diesel vehicles in North America is a
>big barrier to biodiesel. A few models are now
>appearing, but it will take quite awhile for
>the trend to change (both in the marketplace
>and in available manufacturing capability)
>significantly.
Chicken and egg. The carmakers are not the problem. They push hybrids just because people are excited about them, despite the fact that they are an overrated solution. Tell your friends that biodiesel works now, and email your congressman to lobby for the EPA to get a clue and shorten the certification process. If the demand was there, we could have diesels in all sorts of vehicles on the lot tomorrow.
>Wave by-by to the rain forests.
Nope. Google "biodiesel from algae."
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david@ahlport.com 2:48AM (10/05/2007)
====Nope. Google "biodiesel from algae."====
The catch being that nobody is doing biodiesel from algae in any significant scale.
And Latin American companies wouldn't have an advantage versus Algae production, since that can grow anywhere.
SugarCane, Palm Oil, and Soy. That is what Latin American countries plan to grow.
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Phil L. 8:06AM (10/03/2007)
Alex -
> Chicken and egg. The carmakers are not the problem.
Well - US buyers can be blamed, but they have a long memory of diesel debacles of the past. So the automakers deserve some guilt, too.
I'd *love* to tell my friends about how great my diesel vehicle is. Except no one yet sells a diesel vehicle in the US that meets my needs (see my previous post) that I can afford. Hard to be a cheerleader when there's little action to follow on the field...
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