To put Brazil’s decision in perspective, in spite of everything U. S. Consumers buy from China and the rest of Asia, the import of oil is over half of the U. S. trade deficit.

Americans can all hope that the push now for greater reliance on alternative fuels, including solar, wind, and even tidal power, will give the U. S. economy the same push it gave Brazil because we cannot produce enough ethanol domestically to meet our fuel needs, yet we have the greatest wind power potential.