8.  Energy (for Brazil)
(this information is all new as of 13 Nov 2002 and comes from Source 29)

-Characterization
            -Largest energy consumer in South America, 9.1 quadrillion Btu of commerical energy in 2000
            -Third largest energy consumer in Western Hemisphere, behind US and Canada
            -Per capita energy consumption comparable to average per capita energy consumption for all of Central and South America
            -Largest emiter of carbon dioxide in region, releasing 951 million metric tons of carbon into atomosphere in 2000
            -Carbon intensity, amount of carbon emitted per dollar of GDP, is relatively low

-Brazilian Energy Sector
            -Deregulation to increase private investment
            -Process to lay groundwork for private investment stalled in wake of 1999 Brazilian currency devaluation, as well as electricity crisis
            -Strong political opposition to privitization
            -80% of Brazilian electric generation remains in public hands
        -Eletrobrás
                Federal utility
                Controls about half of country's installed capactiy and most of the large transmission lines
                Coordinates and supervised expansion and operation of generation, transmission and distribution systems

-Oil:
            -Second largest oil reserves in South America (after Venezuela) at 8.4 billion barrels
            -Production of almost 1.6 million barrels per day in 2001
            -Oil consumption almost 2.2 million barrels per day in 2001
            -Imports from mostly Venezuela and Argentina
        -National Petroleum Agency (ANP)
                -Petroleum Investment Law
                        -ANP overseeing process of opening up Brazil's petroleum industry to other domestic and foreign players
                                ==>hopefully lead to oil self-sufficiency for Brazil
                        -Petrobrás
                                -had monopoly over rights to explore, produce, refine and distribute oil in Brazil
                                -Prices for oil were fixed
                                -In 1998, ANP announced that more than 92% of nation's sedimentary basins were to be put up for bidding by other oil companies

-Natural Gas
        -Production and consumption rose steadily throughout the 1990's
        -Imports beginning in 1999
        -Natural gas reserves as of January 2002 at 7.8 trillion cubic feet
                -fifth largest in South America behind Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru
        -Natural gas consumption expected to rise in coming decade as country works to become self-supporting in oil sector and lessen dependence on hydropower


-Coal
        -Brazil's recoverable coal reserves are estimated approximately 13.2 billion short tons of lignite and sub-bituminous coal, largest coal reserves in Latin America
        -Due to high ash and sulfur content and low caloric value of domestic coal, Brazil imports a significant amount of cal
        -~6.8 million short tons produced in 2000
        -Consumption about 23.5 million short tons
        -Steel industry largest coal consumer


-Nuclear Power
        -2 operational nuclear plants, Angra-1 and Angra-2
        -Nuclear Program came under Ministry of Defense rather than Ministry of Mines and Energy
                -Decrease in military funding meant delays in nuclear power plant construction
                -Eletronuclear
                        -Government company, to assume responsiblity for the plants
        -1 under construction, Angra-3
                -On hold, however electricity crisis may restart it, estimated 5 years to become operational

-Ethanol and other biomass
        Sugar Cane Industry:
        -Generates more than 4,000 gigawatt hours annually to run its own refineries and distilleries
        -Has excess capacity of 200 MW
        -Produces between 3.4 and 3.7 billion gallons of ethanol for automobiles per year
                -Came as result of oil shock of 1973
        -1975:  Brazilian National Alcohol Program to regulate ethanol market and encourage production and use of fuel ethanol

-Electricity
        -Installed electric capactiy of 68.8 million kilowatts, 87% hydropower (2000)
        -342.3 billion killowatthours generated in 2000, in 2000: 89% hydropower; in 1999: 91% hydropower
        -One of world's top hydropower producers
        -Brazil and Paraguay maintain world's largest operation hydroelectric complex, the Itaipu facility on the Paraná River, with capactiy of 12,600 megawatts
        -Remaining electricity generation capactiy from coal and increasingly from natural gas
        -Brazil's small northern and larger southern elctrical grids joined in January 1999 into one grid that serves 98% of the country


-Energy Shortage of 2001
        -Insufficient rainfall for several years left reservoirs 70% depleted
        -Electricity demand grew rapidly in 1990's, with 2000 consumption about 58%higher than 1990 consumption
        -Installed generation capacity grew about 32% in 1990's
        -Brazil slow to follow thru on plans to build hydrocarbon-fired power plants

        -Power rationing program
                    -effective June 2001 through March 2002
                    -Restrictions tightest in heavily populated southeast and central-west regions
                    -Prevented rolling blackouts

   



 
 

 
 
 


 

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology                               Contact:  lacooney@mit.edu

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Research Bibliography
***Note:  I will update these web-sites as correct bibliographical entries soon.

1.      Palaeoceanography  Environmental Change Research Centre

2.      Land Surface Hydrology and Water Chemistry The Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA)

3.     The source of the Amazon River was just recently discovered. Why did it take so long?  National Geographic Society

4.     Tropical Deforestation Fact Sheet   NASA Earth Observatory

5.     Effects of Deforestation

6.     Amazonia - Resiliency and Dynamism of the Land and its People  Nigel J.H. Smith, Emanuel Adilson S. Serrão, Paulo T. Alvim, and Italo C. Falesi,  United Nations University

7.    Solving the Amazon?s climate riddle  By Ginger Pinholster, SCIENCE

8.    Fish in the Trees   by Rachel Hauser, NASA Earth Observatory

9.    River Seasons  by Laura Cheshire, NASA Earth Observatory

10.  http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/educ/science/2001/01-04-01.htm

11.  Amazon Deconstruction:  Cause and Effect    camille, charlie, hsing hsing, maya, pete, University of Washington

12.  "Applications of Hillslope Process Hydrology in Forest Land Management Issues:  The Tropical North-East Australian Experience", Mike Bonell

13.  Dictionary of Geography, Oxford University Press

14.  "WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT FOR ENERGY GENERATION PURPOSES IN STREAMS PRESENTING STRONG SEASONAL FLOW VARIATIONS - PLANNING ASPECTS",
                    Bela Petry & Doron Grull
15.  "Analysis of the Streamflow Record Extension for the Xingu River at Babaquara  Maria Elvira Pineiro Maceira and Jorge Machado Damazio  

16.  Seasonal Variations in the evapotranspiration of a transitional tropical forest of Mato Grosso, Brazil  George Vourlitis, Nicolau Priante Filho, Mauro Hayashi, Jose de S. Nogueira, Fernando Caseiro, Jose Holanda Campelo 

17.  Towards improving natural resources use in Eastern Amazonia through a modified sequential agroforestry system  Sa, T.D. de A.; Vielhauer, K.; Kanashiro, M.; Denich, M. and Vlek, P.L.G.

18.  Cloud condensation nuclei in the Amazon Basin:  "Marine" conditions over a continent?  Gregory C. Roberts and Meinrat O. Andreae; Jingchuan Zhou; Paulo Artaxo

19.  Rates and Processes of Amazon Deforestation  Michael Glantz, Tandy Brook, Patricia Parisi

20.  Acid Rain   Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

21.  Effects of Acid Rain:  Lakes and Streams   EPA

22.  Sea surface temperatures impact weather in Amazon basin  Environmental News Network, By Robinson Shaw

23.  Giant spy eye opens on world's biggest rainforest, Environmental News Network, by Katherine Baldwin

24.  Aluminum Companies Urged to Scrap Plans for Amazon Dams  Glenn Switkes                              

25.   SIVAM

26.  Chapter 1:  Acidification and Regional air Pollution in the Tropics by H. Rodhe, E. Cowling, I.E. Galbally, J. N. Galloway and R. Herrera
        Edited by Henning Rodhe and Rafael Herrera, Acidification in Tropical Countries, John Wiley & Sons, 1988

27.  Chapter 8:  Acidification in Southeastern Brazil by L. M. Moreira-Nordemann, M. C. Forti, V. L. Di Lascio, C. M. do Espirito Santo and O. M. Danelon
        Edited by Henning Rodhe and Rafael Herrera, Acidification in Tropical Countries, John Wiley & Sons, 1988
28.  Tucurui Hydropower Complex Brazil, Final Report November 2000, Prepared for the World Commision on Dams

29.  Brazil Country Analysis Brief  Energy Information Administration
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/brazil.html

30.  Brazil:  Environmental Issues  Energy Information Administration



The Massachusetts Institute of Technology                               Contact:  lacooney@mit.edu