Stuff related to Brazil that I am currently working on:

So I decided I would keep the blog up, under its original name, but mostly maintain it with things that I am doing with respect to Brazil. This may be research I'm working on, parties I go to with the other Brazilians here at WSSU, UNC-Charlotte and USC-Columbia, maybe a nice dinner at a Brazilian restaurant where I got to use some Portuguese, and hopefully when I get into the main section of Brazilian immigrants once in Miami.
Anyway, I am working on two research projects that have their broad topic in Brazil. The first one is for my class in World Economic Geography:

Brazil and Ethanol: Foreshadowing the Alternative Energy Future of the United States

In this research paper, I will examine and review the growing development and sustainability of ethanol production as an alternative fuel in Brazil and how these trends are shaping the future of ethanol as an alternative source of energy for consumers and industry in the United States.

I will research this topic by analyzing the trends and facts of Brazil’s production of ethanol and synthesize my findings with the growing use, production, and demand for ethanol as an alternative energy in the United States.

To achieve this goal, I will look at the latest developments in the production of ethanol in both Brazil and the United States, as well as examine the use and demand, and the reasoning behind each, in each country. I will also attempt to tie in the latest political developments in the relations between Brazil and the US, what the US aims to learn from Brazil’s leading edge in this highly marketable and sustainable industry, and how this will advance the economy of each.

In my research I expect to find that the ethanol market and technological advancements are guiding the United States’ future towards ethanol as a fuel in several industrial arenas, but most especially the automotive industry.

Using the latest scholarly articles from sources such as JStor, Project Muse and CQ Researcher, industry releases from companies such as Petrobras in Brazil and General Motors in the US, and the latest books on the development and advantages of ethanol as a clean alternative fuel, I will show how Brazil’s technological advancements in ethanol are foreshadowing the alternative energy future of the United States.

Works Cited

Berinstein, Paula. Alternative energy: facts, statistics, and issues. Westport, CT: Oryx Press, 2001.

Billman, Lynn L., and Stanley R. Bull. “Renewable Energy: Ready to Meet its Promise?” The Washington Quarterly 23, no. 2 (2005): 229-244. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/washington_quarterly/v023/23.1bull.html (accessed September 10, 2006)

Cothran, Helen, ed. Energy Alternatives: opposing viewpoints. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 2002.

Lackner, Klaus S., and Jeffrey D. Sachs. “A Robust Strategy for Sustainable Energy.” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity no. 2 (2005): 215-269. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/brookings_papers_on_economic_activity/v2005/2005.2lackner.pdf (accessed September 10, 2006)

Wilson, Carroll L. Energy: global prospects, 1985-2000: report of the Workshop on Alternative Energy Strategies (WAES). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977.


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I have a few other sources right now I just didn't include them in the proposal. I am working on a paper for my Latin American history class, but I will post information about that one later.
Thanks to anyone who continues coming to my blog. I'll try to update it every now and then with useful information and nice pictures and things of that nature.