ICIS Blogs : brazil

Green plastic surges in Brazil

Green Chemicals — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:45:13 GMT

Several bioplastic news came out last week as reporters from ICIS (the company I work for) covered the recent BrasilPlast tradeshow. Officials from BASF and Corn Products International announced their plans to build a new plant in Sao Paulo for the production...(read more)

Vivienne Westwood's plastic shoes

ICIS Chemicals Confidential — Wed, 06 May 2009 15:10:31 GMT

Plastic shoes aren't just limited to jellies and crocs for paddling in rockpools. Now designer Vivienne Westwood has a collection of PVC shoes at very reasonable prices, produced by Brazilian shoe giant Grendene, which has " developed an ecologically...(read more)

Obama and Lula spoke about the tariff

The Big Biofuels Blog — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:14:43 GMT

Last week end Presidents Lula (Brazil) and Obama (US) met and had a conversation, According to the ICTSD, Brazil's Lula pressed Obama on Doha and on the US tariff policy for Brazilian ethanol this is ICTSD's take on the conversation The leaders...(read more)

Sugar cane ethanol and Brazil

The Big Biofuels Blog — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:37:20 GMT

There's a piece entitled Why the Promise of Biofuels is a lie by Robert Bryce . It is pretty anti biofuels, mainly ethanol, it doesn't talk about biodiesel. It is worth looking at for the way it pulls together a couple of sources on the plight...(read more)

Germany's industrial orders collapse 29%

Chemicals & The Economy — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 17:42:44 GMT

There is little justice in today's recession. Countries that saved hard, and avoided reckless lending, are seeing their economies collapse as fast as those that spent as if there was no tomorrow. Thus Germany is now following the path already trodden...(read more)

Brazil's exports fall 29%

Chemicals & The Economy — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:40:08 GMT

The emerging economies, which built their growth on exports to the West, are being badly hit by the global recession. Brazil, where poverty levels were at their lowest level for 30 years, is now seeing recent gains unwind. Its exports fell 29% in January...(read more)

Can the EU square ethics with trade, should it even try in biofuels?

The Big Biofuels Blog — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:07:32 GMT

Can the EU square its desire to import only biofuels that conform to high ethical standards with the needs of free trade? That might sound like the kind of question we'd be covering in an ethics course (which thankfully we're not). But it is possible...(read more)

Syngenta in high yeild sugar cane development

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:18:58 GMT

In a statement issued late last week, Syngenta said it is developing a new technology to dramatically improve the cost efficiency of sugar cane planting in Brazil . Syngenta´s innovation would reduce planting costs per hectare by some 15%, driven by a...(read more)

A fistful of dollars

Chemicals & The Economy — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:28:50 GMT

The US Federal Reserve used just to manage monetary policy for the 12 'districts' of the USA. But now, it is going global. First, it opened unlimited "swap lines" with other G7 countries through the European Central Bank, the Bank of...(read more)

The global stock market decline

Chemicals & The Economy — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:02:32 GMT

Alan Greenspan's comments ( below ), led the blog to investigate how the world's major stock markets had moved since their recent peaks. All, as shown in the chart, are now in bear markets. Stock markets often forecast economic developments 6...(read more)

Friends of the Earth and Brazil's sugar cane producers come to verbal blows

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:20:21 GMT

Friends of the Earth and Brazil's sugar cane producers come to verbal blows in a report on Autoblog green . FOE accuses the Brazilians of monocultre that damages the environment and the Brazilians respond. Read More......(read more)

Sao Paulo marshalls its biofuel resources

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:57:03 GMT

Over on Temas blog, my friend Keith Ripley has a piece on how the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo is getting all of its resources together to study the future of biofuels . This is big potatoes in a state which rivals the US in the volume of ethanol it produces...(read more)

Brazil's sugar cane cutters to lose their jobs

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 09:59:36 GMT

According to the Guardian online, Brazil's sugar cane plantatio ns are going to be increasingly mechanised, leading to job losses in the cane cutters. Read More......(read more)

Biofuels and food

The Big Biofuels Blog — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:49:14 GMT

It will be interesting to see if this FAO "Summit on food security", scheduled for 3 to 5 June 2008 at the FAO headquarters in Rome will get any further towards what to do about food supplies and fuel. Brazil's president Lula will be going...(read more)

Biofuels are involved in "a crime against humanity again"

The Big Biofuels Blog — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:42:22 GMT

Biofuels are involved in a crime against humanity again. Only this time it’s NOT growing biofuels that would be the crime. Confused? World opinion certainly is. This time its Brazil's president Lula who says that discarding biofuels would be the crime...(read more)