Coffee
It was quite a substantial breakfast at Hotel Turis this morning. The best coffee I have had so far in Brazil, too. I am surprised by coffee in Brazil. Brazil produces around a third of the world’s coffee and is by far the world’s largest producer. However, getting a decent cup of coffee has proved almost impossible. Usually you get given a tiny plastic cup and help yourself from a coffee plunger and get two mouthfuls of black, already very sweetened coffee. Yuk! I’ve been spoiled by New Zealand’s barristers and my nespresso machine.
Once out of Rondonopolis on the BR 163 the trucks weren’t quite as numerous today. The countryside continued to be devoted entirely to the production of soybeans. As far as the eye can see. Nothing but soybeans in different stages of growth. I think Brazil must hold the world record for the number of combine harvesters.
Soybeans
It appears that the growing of soybeans is a continuous process. On one side of the road it is ripe and being harvested, on the other newly planted beans are sprouting. There are other stages of growth everywhere. It appears there is no crop rotation with the new crop being planted immediately after harvesting, in the same ground.
There is no ploughing, the fields are run over with a disc type harrow. Large, specialised vehicles seem to be spraying. I’m not sure if it’s weed killer or fertiliser, but surely a lot of the latter must be used to continually grow the same crop in the same soil
Sugarcane
Later in the morning the crop changes to sugar cane. Again acres of it, as far as you can see. I don’t think it can be any exaggeration to say that there must be millions of acres devoted to soybeans and a not inconsiderable amount to sugar cane. Apparently 70% of the soybeans are used for animal feed, mostly for poultry.
Cause of Climate Change
I am going to be a bit provocative and controversial here. Maybe start a debate? I wonder if we are concentrating on the right issue as far as the destruction of our environment and climate change is concerned. Is burning fossil fuels really the main culprit, or is it the destruction of our natural environment, either due to greed or to feed an always increasing population. Is over population a bigger issue? I don’t disagree that our climate is changing, but are we addressing the right cause?
Ironically, in the more developed world, there is an insufficient birth rate to provide enough workers to pay the pensions of the elderly. In the developing world, in Africa, India, Indonesia, Brazil, for example, the birth rate is still increasing and the world’s population growing.
What do we do to remedy this. Euthanase the older population in the developed world when they reach a certain age? (We would have already reached it, no doubt.) Enforce a one child per family policy, as the Chinese did, or forcibly administer contraception.
We cannot continue as we are continually destroying the natural habitat to grow food. We see the results driving through Brazil and Africa, where the forests have been destroyed, but the same thing has happened worldwide, even in our own countries. The U.K., many years ago, was forested. New Zealand has more recently destroyed the native forest to replace it with pasture for industrial dairy farming and growing radiator pine. The pine isn’t a food crop, but is used for the construction of more houses for an increased population.
With AI coming along, the situation isn’t going to improve. Already in the “third world” much of the population is undernourished, uneducated, due to lack of money and unemployed, as there is no work. It is a very gloomy picture.
The U.K., though is hell bent on clean energy, at huge and probably unaffordable cost for what may not be the real issue. Solar panels and wind turbines are all very well, but cannot produce during times of dunkelflaute (on still, grey days when there is no sun or wind, which are not uncommon in an English winter).
Some policies are just idiotic. For example replacing gas fired central heating, which heats radiators in every room of a house, with an electric heat pump. Most UK houses are two storey with separate rooms. A heat pump cannot blow heat through walls and only heats one area. We have a heat pump in our New Zealand house, just to heat/cool our bedroom. It cannot possibly do the job of heating an entire house.
Moving on with less controversial issues, today’s activities. We stopped in the sugar cane growing area at the town of Sonora to find a supermarket. I had an issue with payment, as my card, which works everywhere else, was not accepted. I eventually paid cash, but I’m sure the cashier wasn’t programming the machine correctly.
Today’s destination – Comix
Later in the afternoon, when we reached the town of Comix, we had some other tasks to perform. Refuelling as we were very low, sorting out another tyre issue as the new 2nd hand spare is flat (it had a hole in the side wall) and doing the laundry. Fortuitously, the fuel station, tyre shop and launderette were all next to each other. I could do the laundry, while Dennis was sorting out the tyre.
The weather had been overcast all day, but still very hot. Rain had been threatening all afternoon and started while we undertaking these tasks. When the laundry was finished we drove next door to a very conveniently located hotel. It’s not the Ritz, but adequate and we’re now relaxing in a comfy air conditioned room, having cooked dinner in Poki.
Tomorrow we’ll continue south, probably as far as Campo Grande.
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