Ethanol as an Alternative Fuel: Greenwashing at it~s Finest

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So, I was under the impression that Brazil was progressive in its sustainable practices. Yet, having these ideas before researching it fully gave me a misconception. While travelling to Botacatu I meet a group of farmers (140) working together to stop the overproducton of sugarcane. Why is sugarcane being over produced? ethanol.
Ethanol is made from sugarcane which is grown in brazil where the rainforest (atlantic coast and amazon) used to exsist. According to the farmer I interviewed, Japaneese companies have bought these forests, cut them down, and monoculturally grew sugar cane. Seeing this with my own eyes was devistating. The land is completly erroded, monocultured, and smells. While driving through the sugar cane farmes, the chemicals were overwhemlming my senses along with the polluted river.
After the harvest the sugar cane (3x they can harvest it, each time growing back) they burn it, yet cuasing more pollution. Throughout my day in Botacatu I smelled and saw the fires burning. Then the sugarcane is sent to sao paulo. Where I learned from Lonely Planet, the factories that ineffecintly make this ethanol send major pollunants into the rivers,and destorying the entire watershed.
I was shocked and sad to hear this, becuase hear I thouhgt brazil was doing something goood with ethanol. When in fact they are replacing a greater evil, with only a slightly better evil. The producton of ethanol is litterally killing their water ways and with out water we know that people can~t live.

I researched my favorite environmental blog, treehugger.com, and could only find praise of Brazil and ethanol. The other sad part is that other countries are copying brazil and are making sugarcane farms..check it out

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/making_ethanol.php


Yet, while trying to get a broader perspective I found biofuelwatch, stating the problems over and over again about the production of ethanol.
http://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/background5.php


Please take time yourself to fully understand this issue. with peak oil approaching (or declining) we almost become more educated and make sure that we are not replacing a bad thing wtih only a slightly less bad thing. we need a paradigm and systemic change.

Ciao for now.
Sara

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