Brazil’s oil independence has received much attention lately from Sweden and the US, which have both announced plans to follow its example. In January 2006, the US President—a former oilman—made a surprising announcement to replace 75% of US oil imports with ethanol by 2025. Ethanol scientists have now attracted large funds to develop technologies to make more efficient ethanol from different crops such as wild grass, which will potentially reduce global greenhouse emissions by 60-80%.

http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/03/10/brazil.ethanol.example.ap/

Brazil is also a world leader in energy-efficient urban planning. The city of Curitiba, hailed by urban planners as the “most innovative city in the world,” has an ingenious bus transport system used by 85% of the city’s population. The fastest buses carry up to 300 people and are similar to subways. The system has resulted in a massive reduction in exhaust emissions. The city has also converted many streets to pedestrian walkways and created greenspace throughout the city, which improves air quality. The grass in the parks is cut by sheep and not machinery. 41 cities around the world now have urban plans based on Curitiba, and many more are following—notably, Beijing, in preparation for the 2008 Olympics.

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0308-05.htm

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