...Research Paper HUMN 432 - Society, Culture and Technology Ethanol in Brazil Team A I. Introduction 3 II. Brazil 4 a. Short history 4 b. Brazil during the oil crisis in the 70’s 6 III. Ethanol as bio-fuel 7 a. Extraction process 7 b. Energetically self sufficient ethanol plants in Brazil 8 c. Energy from Ethanol 9 d. Flex-Fuel Vehicles 10 IV. Economic Effects of Ethanol as Bio-Fuel 10 a. Brazil not endangered by a new oil crisis 10 b. Export 12 c. Vertical industries 13 d. Environmental benefits 14 V. Ethical and Social Implications 15 a. A market not dominated by oil barons 15 b. Independent economy 16 VI. Brazil in a global economy and ethanol in the US 18 a. Future of ethanol as bio-fuel in Brazil 18 b. Ethanol in the United States 19 c. E85 21 VII. Conclusion 22 VIII. Works Cited 23 I. Introduction Fuel, at its simplest, makes us go. It is a necessity to modern day life. Even if everyone were to walk, rather than drive, there would be a need for it. This is one thing that is in common around the world. The dependence on oil based gasoline has many of the most powerful countries forking out quite a bit for their fuel. This is, of course, the case in the United States. There is no doubt that this country needs an alternative fuel, or to cut back on its use of the current fuel. However, because we are so dependent at this time on oil based gasoline and other fuels, Americans tend to be a bit hesitant...
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...successful alternative fuel to date. Unfortunately, only Brazil and its favourable weather conditions, expansive territory, and large unskilled labor can provide the ideal situation needed for the exploitation of this renewable energy. Being the second largest producer in the world and the first net exporter, bioethanol is largely used for domestic consumption in Brazil, as it has replaced 40% of gasoline consumption, which has enabled the country to significantly reduce its dependence on oil. The first major milestone in the development of this alternative energy was the ProAlcool program in 1975, where in response to the oil crisis, the Brazilian government made huge investments to produce ethanol to stop its dependence on imported oil. However, it is only in 2003 that bioethanol really took off when fuel-flex vehicles came to the market. Unfortunately production levels have been stagnating and even decreasing since the 2008 financial crisis as there have been fewer investments, adverse weather conditions and high sugar prices (Walter, 2013). As such, sugarcane bioethanol has made many achievements, but it also faces many challenges. This paper will attempt to give a comprehensive overview of the situation of sugarcane bioethanol in Brazil and consider the prospect potential of this energy in Brazil. In order to elaborate on this topic, this paper will start by reviewing the achievements that this renewable energy has made, such as fuel flex cars, bio electricity and second...
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...| Case: Leaving New York City for the Farmlands of Illinois There are a lot of things to consider before making a career changes, especially one as big as uprooting yourself from the business world in a major city to moving to rural farmland, learning a new trade from the bottom up. It is crucial to research your options before making any decisions. The advice from your colleagues in the text does bring up some really good points. If the article in The Wall Street Journal holds to be true, now would be an excellent time to get into the farming business producing corn crops if there is going to be an increased demand for corn to produce corn-based ethanol as a gasoline substitute. If there will be an increase in the demand for corn, the price of available farmland to plant corn crops (a limited resource) could potentially increase drastically. You should definitely consider your opportunity costs when deciding whether or not to make this career change. Currently, you have a job as an investment banker, working in the highly populated cities of New York and Hong Kong. You are looking to leave the city for a more relaxed environment, which is something life in Illinois as a farmer could potentially offer. The $80,000 initial investment for the 80 acres of farm land seems like a relatively good deal, and will give you a great start as you venture into your new career. You will need to consider your overall financial situation. You have enough to purchase the land, but you will...
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...------------------------------------------------- term paper Investigate patient’s rights. What are some of prevalent difficulties patients and providers encounter? Suggest some best practices solutions December 6, 2015 HSC 3661: Communication Theory and practice for health professions Fall 2015 December 6, 2015 HSC 3661: Communication Theory and practice for health professions Fall 2015 A patient is the utmost vital being in the institution. A patient is not just reflected as someone who is under medical care or treatment but, also someone who is a client of any medical service. As a patient, an individual should be considered as a partner in your hospital care. With this being said, they have personal preferences and values that a medical establishment should encourage and respect. As a patient, one has certain privileges, patient rights, of which are basic rules of conduct between patients and medical caregivers as well as the institutions and people that support them. (patient rights, n.d.). Once the entering of a medical establishment and being bombarded with a voluminous amount of documents during registration, how many of us are guilty of just signing and initialing our name at the bottom of the document without essentially reviewing it? Majority of the time, people tend to not realize their precise rights, as a patient, at the time of their care. When I asked one of my co-workers to list off their rights as a patient she barely knew anything. “To be quite...
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...Chapter 9 Ethanol Policy and Ethanol Politics David S. Bullock28 The United States is currently passing through one of the most exciting and controversial periods of its energy history. With the US military caught up in armed conflict in the Middle East, and with global warming looming in the minds of many expert scientists as the world’s greatest environmental challenge, a common belief is that it is more important than ever that the US develop sensible and far-sighted energy policy. Politicians’ claims aside, the politics of energy policy are rarely about what is best “for the country.” When government sets energy policy, some people gain, and others may lose. The politics of energy policy, then, are not simply, or even generally, about how to make the nation as a whole better off. Rather, the politics of energy policy are very much about interested political groups struggling against one another. This type of “special interest” politics is nothing new, and not unique to energy policy. Nevertheless, it is widely held among average Americans that the political activities of special interest politics are often bad for the nation as a whole. Because public information is a democracy’s best weapon against harmful special-interest politics, in this chapter we hope to accomplish three goals: 1) to present an outline of the “nuts and bolts” of U.S. ethanol policy; 2) to use economic analysis to examine the effects of ethanol policy, presenting arguments to cut through much of the...
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...Iowa State University Digital Repository @ Iowa State University Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate College 2012 Three essays on biofuel, environmental economics, and international trade Jingbo Cui Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Agricultural Economics Commons, Economics Commons, and the Natural Resource Economics Commons Recommended Citation Cui, Jingbo, "Three essays on biofuel, environmental economics, and international trade" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. Paper 12304. This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at Digital Repository @ Iowa State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Repository @ Iowa State University. For more information, please contact hinefuku@iastate.edu. Three essays on biofuel, environmental economics, and international trade by Jingbo Cui A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: Economics Program of Study Committee: Harvey Lapan, Co-major Professor GianCarlo Moschini, Co-major Professor Sebastien Pouliot John Schroeter Rajesh Singh Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2012 Copyright c Jingbo Cui, 2012. All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION ...
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...Marketing Case Project: General Motors [pic] Zach Bauer Matt Biersdorf Matt Flinn Amy Oliver Danielle Provance Marketing Strategies Professor Paul 11/08/2006 Executive Summary General Motors is one of the largest motor vehicle manufacturers in the world and has been a market leader for over 75 years. The company itself has been going through changes especially in the way that they are creating products and on an internal basis, however, there are some changes that the company still needs to overcome. One of the changes that General Motors has promoted is its’ Flexible Fuel Vehicles which do not run on solely petroleum, rather Ethanol 85. These vehicles cost only $150 more than a normal vehicle, however, the lacking of E-85 fueling stations throughout the nation are making it harder for consumers to take advantage of this “greener” technology while also saving money. The company has also decided to implement a widespread corporate restructuring initiative to help alleviate company debt as a result of rising costs of employee healthcare, benefits, and pensions. Such a plan includes the closure of over a dozen North American plants and manufacturing lines, as well as making substantial job cuts. This three-year endeavor is necessary in keeping General Motors in line with competitors. General Motors is struggling to keep up with its competition in hybrid technology. In order to become a major competitor in the automotive market GM needs to penetrate...
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...Energy 34 (2009) 1225–1235 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Energy journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy Oil palm biomass as a sustainable energy source: A Malaysian case study S.H. Shuit, K.T. Tan, K.T. Lee*, A.H. Kamaruddin School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Engineering Campus, Seri Ampangan, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Article history: Received 24 October 2008 Received in revised form 13 May 2009 Accepted 14 May 2009 Available online 13 June 2009 It has been widely accepted worldwide that global warming is by far the greatest threat and challenge in the new millennium. In order to stop global warming and to promote sustainable development, renewable energy is a perfect solution to achieve both targets. Presently million hectares of land in Malaysia is occupied with oil palm plantation generating huge quantities of biomass. In this context, biomass from oil palm industries appears to be a very promising alternative as a source of raw materials including renewable energy in Malaysia. Thus, this paper aims to present current scenario of biomass in Malaysia covering issues on availability and sustainability of feedstock as well as current and possible utilization of oil palm biomass. This paper will also discuss feasibility of some biomass conversion technologies and some ongoing projects in Malaysia related to utilization of oil palm biomass as...
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...Team Project CSX Railroad Team 24: Section 1: Company and Industry Background CSX is a rail based transportation company that carries the nation’s commodities like coal, agricultural products, merchandise, and other materials. Headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, CSX serves 23 states across the eastern United States and parts of Canada. The 21,000 mile rail network reaches more than 70 water ports throughout the region and operates nearly 4200 locomotives that carry roughly 190,000 freight cars and containers daily. CSX employees over 31,000 people and realized just over $12 billion in revenue in 2013. (Ward, 2012) The railroad industry in America is divided by the Mississippi river. Union Pacific and Burlington Northern & Santa Fe dominate the west with CXS and Norfolk Southern to the east. Union Pacific is the largest railway company in the country. It encompasses 23,000 miles of track in 23 western states. Union Pacific ended 2013 with almost $22 billion in revenue. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe is the second largest railway in the country and is owned by Berkshire Hathaway with $21 billion in revenue. CSX falls in at number three and Norfolk Southern makes the list at number four. Norfolk Southern is the only real rail competitor to CSX, sharing the eastern part of the country. Norfolk Southern’s annual revenue is similar to CSX at $11 billion with around 31,000 employees. (Henage, 2013) Starting in 1827, CSX’s history dates back to the beginning...
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...Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that comes from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Renewable energy replaces conventional fuels in four distinct areas: electricity generation, air and water heating/cooling, motor fuels, and rural energy services. Based on REN21's 2014 report, renewables contributed 19 percent to our global energy consumption and 22 percent to our electricity generation in 2012 and 2013, respectively. Both, modern renewables, such as hydro, wind, solar and biofuels, as well as traditional biomass, contributed in about equal parts to the global energy supply. Worldwide investments in renewable technologies amounted to more than US$214 billion in 2013, with countries like China and the United States heavily investing in wind, hydro, solar and biofuels. Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas, in contrast to other energy sources, which are concentrated in a limited number of countries. Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security, climate change mitigation, and economic benefits. In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power. At the national level, at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 percent of energy supply. National renewable energy markets...
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...I am a 33 year old white guy and have been working in Clinical Research for 7 years in SC. I have been an Alliance Member for a little over a year now, and it was the best money I have ever spent. A couple years ago I had been struggling with life and dosed some LSD with a friend so I could contemplate my worries from a more spiritual perspective. Heading home early the next morning, coming down from my trip and listing to Sirius radio I heard a 10 second blurb "End of America.com". I was a Democrat with zero interest or knowledge of finance with Bill Mahr as my main source of political 'information', but was captivated by the provocative website domain. I watched the video as soon as I got home and bought the Stansberry Digest immediately afterwards. I have a degree in Applied Mathematics and have always been good with numbers. I was a young American guy hypnotized by the country's pretentious sense of entitlement to live the American Dream, but I was forever changed by the insurmountable evidence of the irresponsible financial policies, corrupt political practices, and historical warnings hiding in in the daze of the average American's prideful ignorance. Porter, thank you for inspiring me to learn about such important issues and to motivate me to be part of solution. I love the Black Label shows, and definitely think that our society is overly concerned about political correctness. I have also seen many examples of fundamentalist people that are bat-shit crazy and usually...
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...DARDEN CONSULTING CASE BOOK 2012-2013 EDITION TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. The Consulting Case Interview 1. Structure of the Case Interview 2. Frameworks 3. The Math 2. Company Overviews & Interview Processes 3. Practice Cases 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Bike DVD Rental Service in NYC Dry Wall Competitive Threat Organ Donation Case Central Power Chemicals, Inc. Hospital Profitability Contact Lens Manufacturer Growth TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT’D) 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. E-commerce in the Airline Industry Big Green Biofuels New Rubber Plant Investment Asian Mobile Service Provider Radiator Lens for Defense Aircraft Capital Investment for Utility Electric Car Manufacturer Growth Miner’s Dilemma Big Truck Company Auto Spare Parts Machine Company Non-Profit Revenue Decline Gas Liquefaction 4. Acknowledgements THE CONSULTING CASE INTERVIEW STRUCTURE OF THE CASE INTERVIEW The consulting case interview typically lasts between 20-30 minutes and consists of the following parts: • • • • • Case Overview / Prompt Clarifying Questions Structure / Framework Building & Explanation Problem Solving & Analysis Recommendation The interview should be highly conversational and interactive. Depending on the firm, and depending on the round, some interviews can be more structured than others. Please see the subsequent section for more information on firm-specific preferences and formats. STRUCTURE OF THE CASE INTERVIEW Case Overview / Prompt The case interview...
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...Chapter 8: Renewable Energy Sources The Sustainability Revolution John C. Ayers "In a sense, the fossil fuels are a one-time gift that lifted us up from subsistence agriculture and should eventually lead us to a future based on renewable resources." Kenneth Deffeyes (2001) "I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don't have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that." — Thomas Edison, 1931 We cannot create or destroy energy. We can only capture it. The sun provides either directly or indirectly nearly all of the energy available to us. Plants capture solar energy directly through photosynthesis. Fossil fuels contain the energy of sunlight captured hundreds of millions of years ago. Photovoltaic (PV) cells also capture sunlight energy directly. Other energy sources capture the energy of sunlight indirectly. Heat from the sun powers the flowing air and water. We usually capture the kinetic energy of wind and water by using turbines that transfer the energy to an alternator, an electrical generator that produces alternating current. Geothermal energy is different in that it captures flowing heat energy produced by radioactive decay in the earth’s interior. In this chapter we will see that Wind, Water, and Sun (WWS) energy sources are sustainable because they are renewable, clean, safe, and nearly carbon-free. Although they have low energy densities, meaning that they require large areas of land or water to produce energy...
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...Is It Worth It? Alexander Payne - Engineering Student, University of West Florida Abstract - This report will take an objective look at the possibilities of drilling for oil in Alaska. We will take a look at all of the possible benefits and good that could come out of this, as well as all of the drawbacks and negative effects that can come from drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This report will also take a look at some possible alternatives to drilling for oil in ANWR that could possibly reap the same benefits, if not more. Index Terms – Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Porcupine Caribou, Mineral Rights, Surface Rights, Aleuts, Eskimos, Tlingits, Crude Oil, Fossil Fuels, Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Cellulosic Ethanol, oil rig, oil spill. Introduction: Oil and its uses 1 What is Oil? There many things referred to as “oil”, but in our case, oil is a liquid substance derived from petroleum that is used as a fuel source in hundreds of different applications, and it is also used as a lubricant. Oil is considered to be one of three main fossil fuels, the other two being coal and natural gas. As you probably know, fossil fuels are nonrenewable because it takes far too many years for nature to reproduce what we are taking away from it. 2 Uses Of Oil Just about anything you can think of that runs off of an engine more than likely uses oil. Just to name off some other uses, oil can also be found in asphalt,...
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...SECTION I: Introduction/Executive Summary Tesla Motors, Inc. is an American company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. Named after the scientist Nikola Tesla, Tesla Motors ($TSLA) was founded in 2003. Exactly who founded Tesla Motors can be discussed, but it was probably by a group of intrepid Silicon Valley engineers Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, and Ian Wright. Their goal was to build an electric vehicle with the same performance as a Porsche and more environmental friendly than a Toyota Prius. The problem was that the founders didn't have the money needed to realize their idea, so they contacted Elon Musk, who decided to invest in the company. Elon Musk had earlier founded the companies Zip2, PayPal, and SpaceX. The difference between Elon Musk and the founders was that Elon Musk wanted Tesla Motors to become an improved General Motors with several car models, while the original founders wanted to design only a sports car. Elon Musk became interested in electric cars because he is well aware of peak oil. The idea behind peak oil is that oil is a finite resource we will run out of. Elon Musk believes the production of oil will begin to decrease after year 2020. As the production of oil decreases, the price of oil will increase and more people will buy electric cars SECTION II: Current Situation Tesla Motors headquarters is in Palo Alto, California. Its goal is to speed up this transition from gasoline cars to...
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