Sugar ethanol

Roger Cohen writes about the plight of sugar farmers in Brazil. " Danuza, round-faced and soft-eyed, makes between $8 and $13 a day depending on her productivity. At 35, she has four young children. Only 20 percent of the 7.5 million acres planted with sugar cane in Brazil is mechanized. The rest depends on manual labor like hers.
Not exactly a glamorous life, sure, but isn't $8-$13 per day smack dab in the middle fiftieth percentile in Brazil? The numbers I'm seeing seem to indicate as much, but they're also a few years old at this point.

Comments

Cohen brilliantly touched on the importance of fostering new wealth from ethanol, rather than merely channeling the same narrow wealth that already exists. He is right, and it doesn't just apply to Brazil and a few African nations. This could happen right here in the US, and corn may not be the answer. While corn production for ethanol has gone through the roof, the real answer lies in switchgrass and other next generation sources for ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol has proven to be more energy efficient and less hazardous to the o-zone layer than corn ethanol. For great insight into the corn ethanol controversy, check out TheIssue.com which did a comprehensive blog search in order to find the most insightful articles on corn ethanol and the controversial issues surrounding its use.

Cheers,

Mike
The Issue | http://TheIssue.com

Posted by: Michael McGregor on January 10, 2008 04:04 PM

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