Thursday, January 15, 2009
Do Atheists have all of the power?
Why it is that someone can say that they do not believe in God and can control the way we practice our religion? If I told a Jewish person are a Muslim person that they could not pray in public I would be sued and called a racist and other things that I could only imagine; however Atheists can sue me for practicing my religion in public, they can take pray out of schools and social events. The purpose of Separation of church and state was so that church would not run the government. It does not mean that we as a government, as a country should stop our beliefs. We have been pushed around by these Atheists to long, it is time that we say stop, and started suing them for not letting us practice our religion. We are one nation under God and should remand that way.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Ask Yourself
You have heard Obama’s speech and it has moved you, a man who wants change and wants to help the America people.
You have heard McCain’s speech and he talks about Obama inexperience, and then he sticks women in front to sway you.
Ask yourself are you so afraid of a black man that you would hand this country over to someone who would help the rich to keep getting richer and to let the middle class become poor. People are saying that McCain and Palin are right for this county but I haven’t heard anything about how they would make things better. Please people this is very important, we are Americans and our country has lost it status as being the greatest country in the world. If the Republicans had a good candidate I would vote for him but they do not. We need someone that will do the job. Ask yourself are you voting for who is the lightest or who is right.
You have heard McCain’s speech and he talks about Obama inexperience, and then he sticks women in front to sway you.
Ask yourself are you so afraid of a black man that you would hand this country over to someone who would help the rich to keep getting richer and to let the middle class become poor. People are saying that McCain and Palin are right for this county but I haven’t heard anything about how they would make things better. Please people this is very important, we are Americans and our country has lost it status as being the greatest country in the world. If the Republicans had a good candidate I would vote for him but they do not. We need someone that will do the job. Ask yourself are you voting for who is the lightest or who is right.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Who is running for President Palin or McCain?
I can’t believe how the republicans have pulled the bait and switch on America. At first all of these people were not sure about McCain but as soon as he picked a female he is the best thing since apple pie. Let get it straight this female is not qualified, why didn’t pick Mrs. Rice she would be the best pick. Have you notice that since he picked Palin, John McCain is in the background. Do you really think that because she is a woman she can run the country better? Remember she is running for Vice President. What has she or McCain said that would make you believe that they would do a better job than Bush? We can’t afford to vote for Black, White, Republican, and Democrat, male, female. We have to vote for someone that has something to say. Someone that knows that the America people are feed up. We need jobs people. So please do not fall for the hype, Palin and McCain or wrong for this country.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
John McCain is a Racist
I found this on the website below
http://www.mikeschepker.com/blog/2008/08/john-mccain-is-a-racist/
John McCain is a Racist By DOUG THOMPSON
John McCain, a member of the House of Representatives in the mid-1980s, often held court at a table near the bar at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, telling jokes and matching hangers-on drink by drink.
As a Capitol Hill chief of staff, I often drank at Bullfeathers and was invited to join the throng at McCain’s table one evening. A few minutes listening to the racism, bigotry and homophobia of the Arizona Congressman told me all I needed to know.
McCain loved to tell jokes about lesbians, blacks, Hispanics and the Vietnamese community that occupied a large section of Arlington County, Virginia, just south of the District of Columbia.
Of course, McCain didn’t use polite language in the jokes: He used names like “fags” or “queers” or “dykes” or “niggers” or “spics” or “wetbacks” or “gooks.”
A typical McCain joke:
Two dykes are talking at a bar and one leaves. As she walks toward the door, the other watches her leave and says out loud: “God, I’ve love to eat her out.”
Two men are standing near by and one turns to the other and says: “I’d like to do the same. Guess that makes me a dyke.”
Or another:
Question: Why does Mexican beer have two “X’s” on the label?
Answer: Because wetbacks always need a co-signer.
When he ran for the Senate, I attended a gathering of GOP operatives at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where McCain outlined his campaign strategy:
I play to win. I do whatever it takes to win. If I have to fuck my opponent to win I’ll do it. If I have to destroy my opponent I won’t give it a second thought.
This is the man the Republican Party thinks should be the next President of the United States. What else should we expect from a party that promotes racism, homophobia and discrimination against anyone with a different skin color, sexual orientation or ethnic origin?
So we shouldn’t be surprised that McCain’s campaign strategy seeks to raise racial fear about Barack Obama, the first African-American with a serious shot at the Presidency of the United States.
John McCain is a racist: Always has been, always will be. Those who served with him in the Navy say he treated black sailors with disrespect and scorn. His collection of off-color jokes are riddled with racist words and sentiments. Advisors have toned down the raunchy rhetoric of his early years in Congress but close aides say his attitudes have not changed.
McCain opposed making the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King a national holiday. During his 2000 campaign for President, he told reporters on his “Straight Talk Express: “I hated the gooks (North Vietnamese). I will hate them as long as I live.”
Katie Hong of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who reported the remark, wrote:
It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.
It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.
For his 2000 campaign for President, McCain hired Richard Quinn, founder and editor in chief of Southern Heritage Magazine, to serve as his spokesman in South Carolina.
Notes Salon.Com:
Quinn’s articles have called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist” and King a man “whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state, a terrible bondage of body and soul.” In another piece, Quinn said of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, “What better way to reject politics as usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?” though he did condemn Duke’s bigotry.
Irwin A. Tank, author of Gook: John McCain’s Racism, notes a long and sordid history of racism from the presumptive GOP nominee, including:
* McCain’s use of the anti-Asian slur “gook” publicly for 27 years before dropping the use for his current Presidential run;* McCain’s endorsement of George Wallace Jr., a frequent speaker at white supremacist events;* His vote against establishing a holiday for Martin Luther King’s birthday and then another vote to rescind the holiday.* In answering a question about divorced fathers and child support, McCain called the children “tar babies.”
The list goes on and on.
What else do you expect from a racist?
By DOUG THOMPSON
John McCain, a member of the House of Representatives in the mid-1980s, often held court at a table near the bar at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, telling jokes and matching hangers-on drink by drink.
As a Capitol Hill chief of staff, I often drank at Bullfeathers and was invited to join the throng at McCain’s table one evening. A few minutes listening to the racism, bigotry and homophobia of the Arizona Congressman told me all I needed to know.
McCain loved to tell jokes about lesbians, blacks, Hispanics and the Vietnamese community that occupied a large section of Arlington County, Virginia, just south of the District of Columbia.
Of course, McCain didn’t use polite language in the jokes: He used names like “fags” or “queers” or “dykes” or “niggers” or “spics” or “wetbacks” or “gooks.”
A typical McCain joke:
Two dykes are talking at a bar and one leaves. As she walks toward the door, the other watches her leave and says out loud: “God, I’ve love to eat her out.”
Two men are standing near by and one turns to the other and says: “I’d like to do the same. Guess that makes me a dyke.”
Or another:
Question: Why does Mexican beer have two “X’s” on the label?
Answer: Because wetbacks always need a co-signer.
When he ran for the Senate, I attended a gathering of GOP operatives at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where McCain outlined his campaign strategy:
I play to win. I do whatever it takes to win. If I have to fuck my opponent to win I’ll do it. If I have to destroy my opponent I won’t give it a second thought.
This is the man the Republican Party thinks should be the next President of the United States. What else should we expect from a party that promotes racism, homophobia and discrimination against anyone with a different skin color, sexual orientation or ethnic origin?
So we shouldn’t be surprised that McCain’s campaign strategy seeks to raise racial fear about Barack Obama, the first African-American with a serious shot at the Presidency of the United States.
John McCain is a racist: Always has been, always will be. Those who served with him in the Navy say he treated black sailors with disrespect and scorn. His collection of off-color jokes are riddled with racist words and sentiments. Advisors have toned down the raunchy rhetoric of his early years in Congress but close aides say his attitudes have not changed.
McCain opposed making the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King a national holiday. During his 2000 campaign for President, he told reporters on his “Straight Talk Express: “I hated the gooks (North Vietnamese). I will hate them as long as I live.”
Katie Hong of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who reported the remark, wrote:
It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.
It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.
For his 2000 campaign for President, McCain hired Richard Quinn, founder and editor in chief of Southern Heritage Magazine, to serve as his spokesman in South Carolina.
Notes Salon.Com:
Quinn’s articles have called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist” and King a man “whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state, a terrible bondage of body and soul.” In another piece, Quinn said of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, “What better way to reject politics as usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?” though he did condemn Duke’s bigotry.
Irwin A. Tank, author of Gook: John McCain’s Racism, notes a long and sordid history of racism from the presumptive GOP nominee, including:
* McCain’s use of the anti-Asian slur “gook” publicly for 27 years before dropping the use for his current Presidential run;* McCain’s endorsement of George Wallace Jr., a frequent speaker at white supremacist events;* His vote against establishing a holiday for Martin Luther King’s birthday and then another vote to rescind the holiday.* In answering a question about divorced fathers and child support, McCain called the children “tar babies.”
The list goes on and on.
What else do you expect from a racist?
http://www.mikeschepker.com/blog/2008/08/john-mccain-is-a-racist/
John McCain is a Racist By DOUG THOMPSON
John McCain, a member of the House of Representatives in the mid-1980s, often held court at a table near the bar at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, telling jokes and matching hangers-on drink by drink.
As a Capitol Hill chief of staff, I often drank at Bullfeathers and was invited to join the throng at McCain’s table one evening. A few minutes listening to the racism, bigotry and homophobia of the Arizona Congressman told me all I needed to know.
McCain loved to tell jokes about lesbians, blacks, Hispanics and the Vietnamese community that occupied a large section of Arlington County, Virginia, just south of the District of Columbia.
Of course, McCain didn’t use polite language in the jokes: He used names like “fags” or “queers” or “dykes” or “niggers” or “spics” or “wetbacks” or “gooks.”
A typical McCain joke:
Two dykes are talking at a bar and one leaves. As she walks toward the door, the other watches her leave and says out loud: “God, I’ve love to eat her out.”
Two men are standing near by and one turns to the other and says: “I’d like to do the same. Guess that makes me a dyke.”
Or another:
Question: Why does Mexican beer have two “X’s” on the label?
Answer: Because wetbacks always need a co-signer.
When he ran for the Senate, I attended a gathering of GOP operatives at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where McCain outlined his campaign strategy:
I play to win. I do whatever it takes to win. If I have to fuck my opponent to win I’ll do it. If I have to destroy my opponent I won’t give it a second thought.
This is the man the Republican Party thinks should be the next President of the United States. What else should we expect from a party that promotes racism, homophobia and discrimination against anyone with a different skin color, sexual orientation or ethnic origin?
So we shouldn’t be surprised that McCain’s campaign strategy seeks to raise racial fear about Barack Obama, the first African-American with a serious shot at the Presidency of the United States.
John McCain is a racist: Always has been, always will be. Those who served with him in the Navy say he treated black sailors with disrespect and scorn. His collection of off-color jokes are riddled with racist words and sentiments. Advisors have toned down the raunchy rhetoric of his early years in Congress but close aides say his attitudes have not changed.
McCain opposed making the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King a national holiday. During his 2000 campaign for President, he told reporters on his “Straight Talk Express: “I hated the gooks (North Vietnamese). I will hate them as long as I live.”
Katie Hong of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who reported the remark, wrote:
It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.
It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.
For his 2000 campaign for President, McCain hired Richard Quinn, founder and editor in chief of Southern Heritage Magazine, to serve as his spokesman in South Carolina.
Notes Salon.Com:
Quinn’s articles have called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist” and King a man “whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state, a terrible bondage of body and soul.” In another piece, Quinn said of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, “What better way to reject politics as usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?” though he did condemn Duke’s bigotry.
Irwin A. Tank, author of Gook: John McCain’s Racism, notes a long and sordid history of racism from the presumptive GOP nominee, including:
* McCain’s use of the anti-Asian slur “gook” publicly for 27 years before dropping the use for his current Presidential run;* McCain’s endorsement of George Wallace Jr., a frequent speaker at white supremacist events;* His vote against establishing a holiday for Martin Luther King’s birthday and then another vote to rescind the holiday.* In answering a question about divorced fathers and child support, McCain called the children “tar babies.”
The list goes on and on.
What else do you expect from a racist?
By DOUG THOMPSON
John McCain, a member of the House of Representatives in the mid-1980s, often held court at a table near the bar at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill watering hole, telling jokes and matching hangers-on drink by drink.
As a Capitol Hill chief of staff, I often drank at Bullfeathers and was invited to join the throng at McCain’s table one evening. A few minutes listening to the racism, bigotry and homophobia of the Arizona Congressman told me all I needed to know.
McCain loved to tell jokes about lesbians, blacks, Hispanics and the Vietnamese community that occupied a large section of Arlington County, Virginia, just south of the District of Columbia.
Of course, McCain didn’t use polite language in the jokes: He used names like “fags” or “queers” or “dykes” or “niggers” or “spics” or “wetbacks” or “gooks.”
A typical McCain joke:
Two dykes are talking at a bar and one leaves. As she walks toward the door, the other watches her leave and says out loud: “God, I’ve love to eat her out.”
Two men are standing near by and one turns to the other and says: “I’d like to do the same. Guess that makes me a dyke.”
Or another:
Question: Why does Mexican beer have two “X’s” on the label?
Answer: Because wetbacks always need a co-signer.
When he ran for the Senate, I attended a gathering of GOP operatives at the National Republican Senatorial Committee where McCain outlined his campaign strategy:
I play to win. I do whatever it takes to win. If I have to fuck my opponent to win I’ll do it. If I have to destroy my opponent I won’t give it a second thought.
This is the man the Republican Party thinks should be the next President of the United States. What else should we expect from a party that promotes racism, homophobia and discrimination against anyone with a different skin color, sexual orientation or ethnic origin?
So we shouldn’t be surprised that McCain’s campaign strategy seeks to raise racial fear about Barack Obama, the first African-American with a serious shot at the Presidency of the United States.
John McCain is a racist: Always has been, always will be. Those who served with him in the Navy say he treated black sailors with disrespect and scorn. His collection of off-color jokes are riddled with racist words and sentiments. Advisors have toned down the raunchy rhetoric of his early years in Congress but close aides say his attitudes have not changed.
McCain opposed making the birthday of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King a national holiday. During his 2000 campaign for President, he told reporters on his “Straight Talk Express: “I hated the gooks (North Vietnamese). I will hate them as long as I live.”
Katie Hong of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, who reported the remark, wrote:
It is offensive because by using a racial epithet that has historically been used to demean all Asians to describe his captors, McCain failed to make a distinction between his torturers and an entire racial group.
It is alarming because a major candidate for president publicly used a racial epithet, refused to apologize for doing so and remains a legitimate contender.
For his 2000 campaign for President, McCain hired Richard Quinn, founder and editor in chief of Southern Heritage Magazine, to serve as his spokesman in South Carolina.
Notes Salon.Com:
Quinn’s articles have called Nelson Mandela a “terrorist” and King a man “whose role in history was to lead his people into a perpetual dependence on the welfare state, a terrible bondage of body and soul.” In another piece, Quinn said of former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, “What better way to reject politics as usual than to elect a maverick like David Duke?” though he did condemn Duke’s bigotry.
Irwin A. Tank, author of Gook: John McCain’s Racism, notes a long and sordid history of racism from the presumptive GOP nominee, including:
* McCain’s use of the anti-Asian slur “gook” publicly for 27 years before dropping the use for his current Presidential run;* McCain’s endorsement of George Wallace Jr., a frequent speaker at white supremacist events;* His vote against establishing a holiday for Martin Luther King’s birthday and then another vote to rescind the holiday.* In answering a question about divorced fathers and child support, McCain called the children “tar babies.”
The list goes on and on.
What else do you expect from a racist?
Sunday, August 31, 2008
IS JOHN MCCAIN A MEMBER OF THE KLAN?
I find it very strange that a black man is so close to winning the white house and we haven’t heard anything from the Klan. You would think that they would have some type of protest or make some type of statement; however we haven’t heard a word. Which makes me believe that John McCain may be a Klan member? I believe that the Klan is keeping quiet because they know that it will cost him the election. If you look at his tactics they are similar to the ones that they Klan use. He first accuse Mr. Obama of being a Muslim and now the Anti-Christ this are the same type of tactics that the Klan used to make white America fear Martin Luther King. You can also look that the fact that he feels more comfortable in town meeting settings. Not to mention the fact that he was against the Martin Luther King holiday and he hired a white supremacist to work on his campaign. He changed his views on the confederate flag from,” the flag is offensive and a symbol of racism and slavery to personally I see the fag as a symbol of heritage”. He also voted against any attempts to bring about the end to Apartheid in Africa six times. America does not need a racist in the white house.Go to this website to read more on how John McCain loves black people.http://mccain.bravenewfilms.org/blog/47576-john-mccain-talks-black
Monday, August 4, 2008
Flip-Flop
Why are people so ready to condemn anyone that changes their views on anything? You must realize that even politicians have the right to change their views when given more information about a subject. We complain that our elected officials do not listen to our needs, but when we have one that listen and changes his or her view because he wants to give the people what they want he is criticized for being wishy-washy. We need a President that has the power to change his mind.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Ethanol Fuel in Brazil
Here is some information that everyone should know:
Brazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol and the world's largest exporter, and it is considered to have the world's first sustainable biofuels economy and the biofuel industry leader.[1][2][3] Together, Brazil and the United States lead the industrial world in global ethanol production, accounting together for 70% of the world's production[4] and nearly 90% of ethanol used for fuel. [5] In 2006 Brazil produced 16.3 billion liters (4.3 billion U.S. liquid gallons),[6] which represents 33.3% of the world's total ethanol production and 42% of the world's ethanol used as fuel.[5] Total production is predicted to reach at least 26.4 billion litres (6.97 billion U.S. liquid gallons) for 2008.[7] Brazil’s 30-year-old ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used for process heat and power, which results in a very competitive price and also in a high energy balance (output energy/input energy), which varies from 8.3 for average conditions to 10.2 for best practice production.[8]The Brazilian ethanol program provided nearly 700,000 jobs in 2003, and cut 1975–2002 oil imports by a cumulative undiscounted total of US$50 billion.[9] The production of ethanol is concentrated in the Center and Southeast regions of the country, which includes the main producer, São Paulo State. These two regions were responsible for almost 90% of Brazil's ethanol production in 2004.[8]
There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. Since 1977 the government made mandatory to blend 20% of ethanol (E20) with gasoline (gasohol), requiring just a minor adjustment on regular gasoline motors. Today the mandatory blend is allowed to vary nationwide between 20% to 25% ethanol (E25) and it is used by all regular gasoline vehicles, plus three million cars running on 100% anhydrous ethanol, and five million dual or flexible-fuel vehicles. The Brazilian car manufacturing industry developed flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on any proportion of gasoline and ethanol.[10] Introduced in the market in 2003, these vehicles became a commercial success,[11] and by March 2008, the fleet of "flex" cars and light commercial vehicles had reached 5 million new vehicles sold,[12] which represents around 10% of Brazil's motor vehicle fleet and 15.6% of all light vehicles.[13] The success of "flex" vehicles, as they are popularly known, together with the mandatory use of E25 blend of gasoline throughout the country, allowed Brazil in 2006 to achieve more than 40% of fuel consumption from sugar cane-based ethanol for the light vehicle fleet,[14][2] and represents almost 20% of total fuel consumption in the road transport sector when trucks and other diesel-powered vehicles are considered.[15]
Since the second half of the 70's, and as a result of the 1973 oil crisis, the Brazil government has been promoting ethanol as a fuel. By 1978 the first gasohol automobile was developed. The Brazilian government provided three important initial drivers for the ethanol industry: guaranteed purchases by the state-owned oil company Petrobras, low-interest loans for agro-industrial ethanol firms, and fixed gasoline and ethanol prices where hydrous ethanol sold for 59% of the government-set gasoline price at the pump. These pump-primers have made ethanol production competitive yet unsubsidized.[9] In recent years, the Brazilian untaxed retail price of hydrous ethanol has been lower than that of gasoline per gallon.[9] Approximately US$50 million has recently been allocated for research and projects focused on advancing the obtention of ethanol from sugarcane in São Paulo.[18]
The Pró-Álcool or Programa Nacional do Álcool (National Alcohol Program) was a nation-wide program financed by the government to phase out all automobile fuels derived from fossil fuels (such as gasoline) in favour of ethanol. It began with the anhydrous alcohol to blend with the gasoline. This mixture has been used since then and is now done with 24% of alcohol and 76% gasoline (commonly known as gasohol). The program successfully reduced by 10 million the number of cars running on gasoline in Brazil, thereby reducing the country's dependence on oil imports. The decision to produce ethanol from fermented sugarcane was based on the low cost of sugar at the time. Other sources of fermentable carbohydrates were tested such as the manioc. Sales of alcohol-only cars tumbled after an alcohol shortage coupled with low gas prices in the late 1980s to early 1990s. [19]
In May 2003 Volkswagen built for the first time a production flexible fuel car, the Gol 1.6 Total Flex. Chevrolet followed two months later with the Corsa 1.8 Flexpower, using an engine developed by a joint-venture with Fiat called PowerTrain. That year production of full flex-fuel reached 39.853 automobiles and 9.411 light commercial vehicles. By 2005, popular manufacturers that build flexible fuel vehicles are Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Peugeot, Renault ,Volkswagen, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Citröen.[20] Flexible fuel cars were 15,2% of the car sales in 2004, 38,6% in 2005, 59,7% for 2006 and 71.9% for 2007.[16][17] By March 2008, the fleet of dual-fuel vehicles, including autos and light commercial vehicles, had reached 5 million.[12]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brazil is the world's second largest producer of ethanol and the world's largest exporter, and it is considered to have the world's first sustainable biofuels economy and the biofuel industry leader.[1][2][3] Together, Brazil and the United States lead the industrial world in global ethanol production, accounting together for 70% of the world's production[4] and nearly 90% of ethanol used for fuel. [5] In 2006 Brazil produced 16.3 billion liters (4.3 billion U.S. liquid gallons),[6] which represents 33.3% of the world's total ethanol production and 42% of the world's ethanol used as fuel.[5] Total production is predicted to reach at least 26.4 billion litres (6.97 billion U.S. liquid gallons) for 2008.[7] Brazil’s 30-year-old ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used for process heat and power, which results in a very competitive price and also in a high energy balance (output energy/input energy), which varies from 8.3 for average conditions to 10.2 for best practice production.[8]The Brazilian ethanol program provided nearly 700,000 jobs in 2003, and cut 1975–2002 oil imports by a cumulative undiscounted total of US$50 billion.[9] The production of ethanol is concentrated in the Center and Southeast regions of the country, which includes the main producer, São Paulo State. These two regions were responsible for almost 90% of Brazil's ethanol production in 2004.[8]
There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. Since 1977 the government made mandatory to blend 20% of ethanol (E20) with gasoline (gasohol), requiring just a minor adjustment on regular gasoline motors. Today the mandatory blend is allowed to vary nationwide between 20% to 25% ethanol (E25) and it is used by all regular gasoline vehicles, plus three million cars running on 100% anhydrous ethanol, and five million dual or flexible-fuel vehicles. The Brazilian car manufacturing industry developed flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on any proportion of gasoline and ethanol.[10] Introduced in the market in 2003, these vehicles became a commercial success,[11] and by March 2008, the fleet of "flex" cars and light commercial vehicles had reached 5 million new vehicles sold,[12] which represents around 10% of Brazil's motor vehicle fleet and 15.6% of all light vehicles.[13] The success of "flex" vehicles, as they are popularly known, together with the mandatory use of E25 blend of gasoline throughout the country, allowed Brazil in 2006 to achieve more than 40% of fuel consumption from sugar cane-based ethanol for the light vehicle fleet,[14][2] and represents almost 20% of total fuel consumption in the road transport sector when trucks and other diesel-powered vehicles are considered.[15]
Since the second half of the 70's, and as a result of the 1973 oil crisis, the Brazil government has been promoting ethanol as a fuel. By 1978 the first gasohol automobile was developed. The Brazilian government provided three important initial drivers for the ethanol industry: guaranteed purchases by the state-owned oil company Petrobras, low-interest loans for agro-industrial ethanol firms, and fixed gasoline and ethanol prices where hydrous ethanol sold for 59% of the government-set gasoline price at the pump. These pump-primers have made ethanol production competitive yet unsubsidized.[9] In recent years, the Brazilian untaxed retail price of hydrous ethanol has been lower than that of gasoline per gallon.[9] Approximately US$50 million has recently been allocated for research and projects focused on advancing the obtention of ethanol from sugarcane in São Paulo.[18]
The Pró-Álcool or Programa Nacional do Álcool (National Alcohol Program) was a nation-wide program financed by the government to phase out all automobile fuels derived from fossil fuels (such as gasoline) in favour of ethanol. It began with the anhydrous alcohol to blend with the gasoline. This mixture has been used since then and is now done with 24% of alcohol and 76% gasoline (commonly known as gasohol). The program successfully reduced by 10 million the number of cars running on gasoline in Brazil, thereby reducing the country's dependence on oil imports. The decision to produce ethanol from fermented sugarcane was based on the low cost of sugar at the time. Other sources of fermentable carbohydrates were tested such as the manioc. Sales of alcohol-only cars tumbled after an alcohol shortage coupled with low gas prices in the late 1980s to early 1990s. [19]
In May 2003 Volkswagen built for the first time a production flexible fuel car, the Gol 1.6 Total Flex. Chevrolet followed two months later with the Corsa 1.8 Flexpower, using an engine developed by a joint-venture with Fiat called PowerTrain. That year production of full flex-fuel reached 39.853 automobiles and 9.411 light commercial vehicles. By 2005, popular manufacturers that build flexible fuel vehicles are Chevrolet, Fiat, Ford, Peugeot, Renault ,Volkswagen, Honda, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Citröen.[20] Flexible fuel cars were 15,2% of the car sales in 2004, 38,6% in 2005, 59,7% for 2006 and 71.9% for 2007.[16][17] By March 2008, the fleet of dual-fuel vehicles, including autos and light commercial vehicles, had reached 5 million.[12]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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