Opening paragraph: Research paper for World Economic Geography

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

     Ethanol has been making waves in the world of alternative energy in recent years, gathering support from venture capitalists and automotive companies all the way to United States President George W. Bush.  Brazil, however, caught onto the ethanol bandwagon nearly 30 years before the bandwagon started, when petroleum prices tripled and sugar prices rapidly fell.  The United States seems to be catching on as many people and organizations begin to show support for the emissions-friendly alternative fuel, yet there are problems with the current methods of production of ethanol and with the attitudes many have towards ethanol.  In spite of this, there are many things the United States could learn from Brazil when it comes to energy independence and the use of ethanol as a major source of alternative fuel.  The rise of companies in the United States aimed towards producing ethanol and the growing support from the automotive industry are definite good signs, yet Brazil's contribution to the world's ethanol market, especially as an automotive fuel, and their proof that ethanol is a viable and sustainable alternative fuel, are quickly beginning to foreshadow the future of ethanol as the automotive alternative fuel in the United States.