Saturday, July 14, 2012

Due to high gas prices why doesnt the U.S. look into making fuel from sugarcane like they are in Brazil?

Due to high gas prices why doesnt the U.S. look into making fuel from sugarcane like they are in Brazil?
Its been 30 years since the gas crisis in the 1970's. Why didnt we move toward different fuel sources after that? Are U.S. congressmen and senators backed by "big oil" that they dont look at alternatives because they would stand to lose money. We could put farmers to work growing sugarcane....
Current Events - 10 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
no....it turns out it takes more energy to make biofuel... better off finding something else or god forbid we start conserving.
2 :
1. Big oil is in control to some extent. 2. We cannot grow the amount of sugar cane that Brazil grows due to climate.
3 :
Because biofuels are not cost-effective, and cause high fuel prices to spread into higher food prices. Soon everything will cost more... sounds like artificial inflation to me. I have an idea; let's drill for oil in our own country, and maybe build a refinery or ten. It will drop the price of both crude oil and its component products, employ thousands of unionized Americans, reduce the trade deficit, support the dollar, and stop enriching terrorist-friendly regimes. We could build some nuclear plants as well. We don't need undiscovered pie-in-the-sky solutions; we have solutions that work, but won't employ them for political reasons. Hope is not a strategy. Neither is change.
4 :
We could import ethanol form Brazil, but the Congress imposed a tariff to discourage it. Apparently alternative fuels are a good idea only in so far as they subsidize American agri-business.
5 :
You're right, we should have moved towards a different fuel since the 1970's. The one word answer to your question is politics! But converting corn to bio-fuel is a bad idea because it almost takes as much energy to make it as you can get from it. However, converting sugarcane to bio-fuel is much better. But the USA has price support for the domestic production of sugar. The domestic sugar is about double the price of international sugar. The domestic sugar lobby has connections in Washington, D.C. In Brazil, they would like to export ethanol, produced from sugar, to the USA. However the USA has a tariff on it that jacks up the price. This protects the domestic sugar producers, again. We got the best government money can buy!
6 :
You know Brazil over a decade ago bought a lot of the EU wine lake to convert into fuel. Now why didn't the EU do that themselves one asks. In fact every motorist in the world would love to know these kind of things how to make items we have a surplus of to make fuel. I sure would and I don't drive have not for seven years in fact but I still have an interest in motoring. Where are the plants in Europe turning our wine lake into fuel? Why have they not got the Brazilians to shear this great achievement with the rest of the world. A world where what is not needed can be used when in surplus to fuel our transport systems.
7 :
Because our government is always a slower learner than one expects.
8 :
Synthetic fuel is better. Converts biomass, coal or natural gas. It's best to keep your options open.
9 :
Our farmers should be put to work growing food. Not fuel. Burning food in our cars and trucks is immoral and obscene. Wait until the price of food rockets upward like gasoline is. The howling and whining will be loud indeed. And it is coming soon. Ethanol is a cruel hoax being pushed by the liberals and environmental wackos. The gas crisis in the 1970's was caused by Jimmy the buffoon Carter interfering with oil production and refining. There is an important lesson in that. Expensive gas is better than no gas.
10 :
The legend of food crisis was created by an oompa-loompa called Hugo Chavez. Brazil ALWAYS used alternative energy, and today we have millions of cars using biofuels, without any food crisis. And it´s only US$ 0,50/liter, with the same efficiency of gasoline.