Yesterday when I was about to leave work, probably because of a talk about new fuels and gas prices, I remembered that my first car was ethanol-powered (how could I not remember that?) -- it was the first generation of alcohol-powered vehicles in Brazil, in the 1980's, and I was certainly one of the “test monkeys” of the era: the car was so bad, it had to be towed from my garage at least three times (at least it was a new car and the warranty covered everything…)

Several generations later, alcohol engines there are as good as the gasoline ones, and lately the buzz has been on natural gas-powered vehicles (including public transportation), but they were counting on Bolivia for the gas and that country’s new president simply took ownership of the refinaries that were built there under contract, and millions of dollars in investment to build those seem to be lost. But interestingly enough, Brazil has just discovered Jupiter, which could place Brazil ahead of the U.S. in oil and gas reserves, and the rule of the game changed.

But enough of memories and history, I'm more interested in the future and where I live now, and that's why I began this blog anyway. I see the current energy crisis as a unique opportunity to have new alternative fuels become the replacement for fossil fuels, and I want to explain why.