Brazilian sugar cane ethanol provides significantly more energy than the fossil fuels required to produce it, whereas corn ethanol in the US provides only marginal energy gains. Sugar cane ethanol also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Due to pressure from US corn growers, the US imposes tariffs on imported sugar cane ethanol to protect the domestic corn ethanol industry. Brazil has cultivated a profitable ethanol industry through government subsidies and high gasoline taxes, and nearly all fueling stations offer ethanol.

1. Alternative Fuels Ethanol in Brazil

3. Sugar Cane vs Corn Brazilian sugar cane ethanol provides 8 times the energy of the fossil fuel used to make it American corn ethanol provides only 1.3 times the energy of the fossil fuel used to make it. Sugar cane ethanol reduces greenhouses gases Sugar cane ethanol can easily be grown in poor tropical countries and could actually help alleviate their poverty. Due to pressure from Midwest farmers and agribusinesses, who want to protect the U.S. corn ethanol industry from competition we have imposed a stiff tariff to keep it out. The US is still the biggest importer at 90m gallons

4. History of Ethanol in Brazil Brazil has the tropical climate that is required for the productive culture of sugarcane. Brazil has the largest sugarcane crop in the world, and is the largest producer of ethanol in the world. High government sales taxes on gasoline , as well as government subsidies for ethanol , have cultivated a profitable national ethanol industry. Nearly all fueling stations in Brazil offer a choice of either E25 or pure ethanol. With the 1973 oil crisis the Brazilian government initiated the National Alcohol Program was a nation-wide program financed by the government to phase out all automobile fuels derived from fossil fuels in favour of ethanol. The decision to produce ethanol from fermented sugarcane was based on the low cost of sugar at the time.

5. Success model in Brazil Brazilian sugar cane ethanol is made for half the cost of US ethanol made from corn. Brazil has a better climate for biofuels. 18-month, frost-free growing season in Brazil, yields high ethanol volumes. Corn and other crops grown between winter freezes in the US don't have the same yields per acre of crop. Brazilian sugar mills use the cane husks as a boiler fuel, and they send surplus electricity into the national grid., lowering production costs. Pump prices for ethanol are more than $ 1 a gallon less than gasoline, driving consumers to purchase the fuel.