The BBC has posted an interesting perspective on the ethanol industry in Brazil. Here’s the key to the article:

More than 80% of new cars now sold in Brazil are equipped to use ethanol as well as gasoline. Both fuels are available almost everywhere, and since ethanol can cost about a third less than petrol per litre at the moment (though the mileage is not quite as good), the home grown fuel is more popular than the foreign import.

Mileage not quite as good, eh? Here’s an idea, mix that ethanol with waste vegetable oil and put it into a diesel engine and watch your average mileage double. I think people get too hung up on a purist vision of the next energy source. Even the biodiesel folks I often meet are “100% veg” this and “pure-bio” that. Let’s face it, the infrastructure doesn’t exist yet (to support biomass energy creation and distribution) and the engines aren’t sophisticated enough yet (to run on multiple forms of energy), so let’s find a best-fit blend that can significantly reduce dependance on insecure sources of energy without wasting any more time. It’s a game to find a new set of trade-offs to replace the old ones, which are no longer sustainable, without falling into another trap of over-consolidation or unsustainability.

Why diesel? Because it was designed from the start to adapt to any form of oil: vegetable, animal, or even mineral. If you marry that together with an electric, hydrogen, or other engine you get a wide variety of options and a far more competitive market.