Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Cuba and Venezuela Turn Against Ethanol.



By Wyatt

Cuba's Castro and Venezuela's Chavez say that ethanol production will increase global hunger and poverty. They also believe that food prices will increase because crops will be used for cars instead of people. These allies agreed with biofuel until George W. Bush made a deal with Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Do you think that it is ironic that Castro and Chavez turned against ethanol right after Brazil and the United States made an ethanol deal together? The U.S. gets most of its crude oil and natural gas from these two countries. Switching to ethanol would decrease the value of crude oil that is bought from Cuba and Venezuela. Therefore these countries wouldn’t want the U.S. to buy less of their products. Chavez says that when a car’s gas tank is filled with ethanol it uses enough food and water to feed seven people.

Critics claim that using ethanol would raise the price of crops and the price of the animals that eat these crops. Castro and Chavez backed up these arguments when president George W. Bush visited Latin America. A newly released column stated that 3 billion people would die prematurely of hunger and thirst. Chavez and Castro said that this is not an exaggerated number but a cautious one.

1 comment:

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