Many American farmers are asking why Brazil, Cuba and African nations are taking the lead in biomass technologies. In Brazil, three-quarters of new cars run on a mix of biofuel and petrol. Cuba is currently experimenting and furthering the advancement of biofuels for much of their economy. Last month in the African nation of Senegal, they formed the African Non-Petroleum Producers Association (PANPP). This organization’s primary goal is to develop alternative energy sources, namely biomass. ‘Our continent,’ said the Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade, ‘should have as its vocation to become the primary world supplier of biofuels.’ As Jatropha, a wild shrub from Mali, is being used to make biodiesel to run generators and water pumps and other African nations are experimenting with crops to produce biofuels, surely American political leaders can also play a more active role in the use of cleaner energy by using biomass. America is home to one of the greatest and richest landforms in the world that produces tremendous amounts of plant life, the Great Plains. But still the question remains, ‘Why is the funding and technical research surrounding the possibilities of biomass not a priority?’Less dependance on oil, more prosperity for the homeland, fewer terrorists, less risk of war, what’s not to like? So why isn’t it happening?Biomass And The Birth Of A New Populist MovementM. WorldNews.com, Sun 20 Aug 2006, Article by WorldNews.com Correspondent Beverly Darling.
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