Global Issues1 Energy Resources2 Above-level Student Edition

Apuntes

Global Issues: Energy Resources, Above-level Student Edition Brazil ́s Bio: AN ALTERNATIVE TO OIL In the 1970s, people in the United States sat for hours in long lines waiting to fill their cars with gasoline. The country was in an energy crisis due to conflicts in Southwest Asia, the region that produces a vast amount of the world’s oil. The supply of oil was down and prices were soaring. Americans wanted a more reliable source of energy. Brazil experienced that same crisis too. At that time it imported about 80 percent of its oil. High energy prices hurt the economy. The government wanted to find an alternative to unreliable and expensive foreign oil. It decided to invest in a program to produce ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, a type of biofuel. Biofuel comes from plant or animal waste. Wood and charcoal are traditional biofuels. Modern biofuels are liquids made from crops such as sugarcane, corn, or soybeans, which are plentiful in Brazil. A Brazilian sugar mill produces gasohol from the sugar cane plants. BRAZIL’S ENERGY NEEDS Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country, both in area and in population. It consumes more energy than any other country in South America. In fact, the cou...