Forests.org News Archive
Non-profit forests news links and archive of materials no longer on web provided on these terms to help find solutions and for posterity
|
Rate
|
Email
|
Printer
|
Disclaimer & Conditions for Use
|
Share on Facebook
Brazil biodiesel sputters on social, green goals
Booming demand for biodiesel has become a lifeline for some poor farmers who
plant oil seeds in Brazil's dry northeast but critics say the fuel is not as
clean, equitable and bountiful as the government boasts.
"Nobody ever wanted this stuff and now they can't get enough," farmer Joel
Queiroz said of the drought-resistant castor beans he sells to a biodiesel
refinery in Iraquara, 310 miles west of the Bahia state capital, Salvador.
Investors, including many foreigners, have flocked to Brazil's vast hinterland
with its large farm potential and highly competitive production costs to produce
biofuels.
"Brazil is the new Saudi Arabia," said Ricardo Alonso, plant manager of biofuel
maker Ecodiesel in Iraquara.
The refinery's tall steel structure and the sleek 36-wheel tanker trucks parked
outside are a stark contrast to the crumbling adobe shacks of local peasants.
President Luiz ...
Rate Article: 1 (Worst) to 10 (Best) |
Search the Internet with Forests.org's Search Engine for more information on: 'Brazil biofuel biodiesel'
Forests.org users agree to the site disclaimer as a condition for use.