Sweet sugar is cool too

Come summer and who does not love to gulp a glass of sugarcane juice? Turns out sugarcane is not only cool for the human body but also for the planet!

Scientists from the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology have found that sugarcane has a double benefit. (In the Brazilian context where this is a crop being pursued for its fuel side) expansion of the crop in areas previously occupied by other Brazilian crops cools the local climate. It does so by reflecting sunlight back into space and by lowering the temperature of the surrounding air as the plants "exhale" cooler water.

Shifting from natural vegetation to crops or pasture results in local warming because the plants give off less beneficial water. But the bamboo-like sugarcane is more reflective and gives off more water -- much like the natural vegetation. Hence, using sugarcane to power vehicles reduces carbon emissions, while growing it lowers the local air temperature!

The scientists found that converting from natural vegetation to crop/pasture on average warmed the cerrado by 2.79 °F (1.55 °C), but that subsequent conversion to sugarcane, on average, cooled the surrounding air by 1.67 °F (0.93°C). The researchers emphasize that the beneficial effects are contingent on the fact sugarcane is grown on areas previously occupied by crops or pastureland, and not in areas converted from natural vegetation.

So Brazilians and the rest of the world can have their sugar and fuel their vehicles too!