Brinks To Pay Fine For Emissions Violations

You would think a company that large would be more eco friendly and start using biodiesel fuels. Large corporations should be compelled to set an example in order to make us less dependent on fossil fuels.

Here in Tampa, all our mass transit systems use biodeisel or propane powered buses.

We as a country should follow Brazil's example. I heard it is illegal to purchase any gasoline powered vehicle there now. Brazil now uses 100 percent biodiesel and ethanol powered vehicles.

Jim Rojas

Roland Moore wrote:

I saw this really cool electric scooter the other day. Honda makes it. Apparently you can get around 100 miles on a charge, then just plug the sucker in to a standard electrical outlet overnight. Of course you're still faced with the problems every scooter and motorcyclist confronts... crazy people in cars and gas guzzling SUV's. :-)

Brazil does use lots of ethanol fuel. They make the alcohol from cane sugar, which grows in huge quantities there. However, most cars still use regular gasoline. My car can use gasoline or "gasohol" but my motorcycle uses regular gas as do virtually all bikes in Brazil.

Speaking of bikes, a few days ago as I was riding home from Pelourinho (the historical district) I heard met someone riding a Harley. They're very rare in Brazil. It was the first one I'd seen there. As we waited for a light he nodded and I asked in Portuguese where he was from.

He said, "New Jersey." :^)

I think the report said that they no longer allow the import of any gasoline only powered cars. So eventually the entire country will go green within 15-20 years.

Jim Rojas

Robert L Bass wrote:

That sounds right. Like the US, Brazil manufactures cars and also imports. I think new domestic models already accept either gasoline or ethanol. I don't recall one way or the other about imports but there's a growing concern for the environment within the government and at least some of the population. Sadly, the concern sometimes gets trumped by financial concerns, especially in states like Amazonas where trees are still being illegally clear-cut and forested land is sometimes deliberately burned to make way for development.

I originally expected that most Brazilians would opt for ethanol since it costs less than gasoline. However, gas gets better mileage so there's very little savings. The unfortunate result is that most still use gas and pollution gets worse.

I wonder if there should be a corporate program requiring the installation crews to return all of the uneaten fast food back to HQ on a daily basis. They could have a vat there used to achieve maximum grease extraction for fuel conversion. Perhaps from time to time toss in a few of the corpulent unproductive office staff or those nearing retirement. That way all the Brinks trucks would smell like stale French Fries, rotten yogurt or old depends.

I understand the environmental authorities in Dallas are investigating Brink's for excessive bullshit emissions within the city limits.

This clearly states that Brinks does not manufacturer security systems.

Jim Rojas

Roland Moore wrote:

IF YOU LOOK AT PAGE 6....IT SAYS THEY "SELL" SECURITY SYSTEMS.

Thanks. I missed that one.

Jim Rojas

Items for Sale wrote:

Brazil is only able to do that through massive government financing and the fact it is far easier to get ethanol from sugar cane than it is from corn

There isn't enough farmland to produce enough ethanol for the US much less the rest of the world

They also burn a lot of the sugar cane to make it easier to harvest, doesn't sound too green to me

That would be rather interesting since they are in Irving not Dallas

They said the same thing about desalination. The technology now exists that will provide an endless amount of fresh water cheaply.

Sugar beets is the best way to go. It basically grows just about anywhere, where as sugar cane requires more tropical temperatures. Most of the sugar made here in the USA comes from sugar beets.

They will probably make a genetic strain of sugar beets that will grow twice as big and four times faster. Just like those 1oo+lb pumpkins they grow every year just for Halloween.

Jim Rojas

Mark Leuck wrote:

But they only grow that in the south, it can't grow anywhere else in the US, they can't grow enough corn much less sugar beets

The entire ethanol push is a subsidized scam, they should push diesel instead

very doubtful

Whereas the US government gives massive monetary saupport to agri-business, much of it going to corn producers. One problem in deriving ethanol from corn is that corn prices are artificially inflated.

There is enough sugar cane in Brazil and other tropical countries to provide ethanol for the much of the US needs. It is kept out of the USA by high duty fees which agribusiness lobbiests sought to keep away competition for the US' sugar market.

The courthouse is in Dallas.

Yeesh. I need a new spell checker. :^)

True and yet they now pay to keep ethanol prices artificially low

Brazil cannot export more than a fraction of our needs, there isn't enough farmland there or here, even the producers here recognize ethanol is a stop-gap measure

Then how come California with its massive and lengthy coast line is still using in excess of their water allotment from the Colorado river while many California farms go dry?