Jacqi Terry
Today we went to a cachaceria—a factory where they turn numberless 6-foot stalks of sugarcane into something other than fuel. Just one simple step among many alters the chemical composition of the ethanol to become the drinkable and delectable cachaca—and just one plant can create an economic boom that causes a country to be put on the map. Its dual nature as both fuel and spirit is a hallmark of a more sinister duality: its perceived role as economic and environmental savior, and its actual role as economic and environmental destructor.