Click on the title above to see the latest GM ad campaign promoting E85 and its corn ethanol guzzling flexfuel vehicles.
There's a targeted Internet media blitz placing this ad on many eco websites like EcoWorld where it appears (can you believe it) FOUR times on the page of the terra preta post. Does this mean that EcoWorld isn't aware that corn ethanol is an incredibly inefficient and controversial approach based primarily on huge subsidies and protective tariffs?
(Yes, there's more)
The corn ethanol emphasis in the GM ad was obviously chosen for the US market. And so is the clever "live green go yellow" slogan.
But the colors are also a great pitch for Brazil. Green and yellow are the dominant Brazilian national colors. The 4-door GM model shown is pick-up style most favored across across Brazil.
GM wants to compete with the likes of this non-flexfuel Mitsubishi pickup (a "candidate wagon" from the last election).
The overwhelming emphasis so far is agri-business as usual, but with cleaner and greener energy and fuel. Almost nothing is mentioned in the mainstream media about the new agrichar technologies which would also renew soils and grow more food. There's hope in the form of Ken Salazar's bill that was recently introduced in the US Senate.
We really need to spread the word about terra preta and biochar.
Here's a clever little start from GREENJACKS...
2 comments:
Lou: You are welcome to visit and comment any time at EcoWorld. You have a great site and I'll be back. But EcoWorld's position on biofuel is pretty clear - it makes some sense in developed nations where there isn't food scarcity and where it is grown on land that gets ample summer rain, such as Iowa. It also makes sense as a low yield fuel crop that can fight desertification where nothing else will grow (think Jatropha in Rajasthan). But it is a disaster when it destroys tropical rainforest or displaces farming in areas of food scarcity. Our position on this is well documented - read http://www.ecoworld.com/blog/2007/08/17/reforesting-vs-biofuel/
Hi Ed,
Good to meet you here in the blogosphere. I recently discovered your site and I'm reading through what seems like a great collection of posts. Thanks for the good work.
I think we are wrestling with a gnarly issue here -- a complicated one indeed. I'm hoping that a good discussion between us might clarify the issues.
I have made a separate post of my response here.
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