While in Brazil, I hired an English-speaking driver to take me on a tour of the city. He arrived in a clean, comfortable, jet-black, new-model Chevrolet, and we took off for Ibirapuera Park. The little car’s ride was smooth, and during the few opportunities we had to accelerate in the horrible Sao Paulo traffic, the Chevy had good pickup.

“We are running on alcool,” the driver answered. During my years as a journalist covering the energy industry, I frequently heard about this Brazilian version of ethanol, distilled from sugarcane, but this was my first opportunity to see it in action.

“Is it hard to find alcool?” I asked. He pointed out that nearly all filling stations in the country offer both alcool and petrol; alcool is nearly always cheaper. Like more than 80 percent of the vehicles now sold in Brazil, the Chevy was a flexible fuel vehicle. With the flip of a switch, it could use either alcool or petrol.

As I understand it, the history of the alcool product went something like this. During the energy crisis of the early 1970s, Brazil, in the early stages of an economic boom, realized that its future would be at risk as long as it was dependent on others for energy. So, the government launched a program called “Pro-alcool” to promote and subsidize a replacement fuel.