Drilled

With the sustainable aviation fuel industry set to explode, carbon capture has thrown the corn ethanol industry a lifeline...but what does another corn ethanol boom mean for everyone else?
This season is a collaboration with the Intercept Brasil. You can get the show in Portuguese on their feed as well, and companion stories at: https://www.intercept.com.br/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Industrial agriculture has wrapped itself in a green cloak in Mato Grosso, promising jobs, money and endless opportunities, all in the name of "sustainability." But the good times are only happening for a select few. Local residents are dealing with extreme weather, lack of access to fresh food, and a pesticide overload that has increased the risk of birth defects and lowered lifespans. Meanwhile, Bruce and the guys have now ventured into new territory: the Amazon.

This season is a collaboration with the Intercept Brasil. You can get the show in Portuguese on their feed as well, and companion stories at: https://www.intercept.com.br/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bruce's Brazilian business partners run the state of Mato Grosso and the town the company is headquartered in. So while he fights endless pushback to his pipeline project in Iowa, business in Brazil is booming. This season is a collaboration with the Intercept Brasil.
You can get the show in Portuguese on their feed as well, and companion stories at: https://www.intercept.com.br/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bruce's venture in Brazil isn't the first time he tried to go global. What an earlier attempt tells us about him, his business, and what's ahead for both Iowa and "the Brazilian Midwest."

This season is a collaboration with the Intercept Brasil. You can get the show in Portuguese on their feed as well, and companion stories at: https://www.intercept.com.br/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As his American company Summit Carbon Solutions struggles with backlash to a carbon capture pipeline linking corn ethanol plants across the Midwest, Bruce Rastetter is not slowing down. Instead, he’s celebrating some big wins for his Brazilian company, FS Fueling Sustainability, from new ethanol-friendly climate policy to government funding for their carbon capture project.

Pushkin+ subscribers can hear episodes early and ad-free. Find Pushkin+ on the Drilled show page on Apple Podcasts or at pushkin.fm/plus.

Additional resources:
The link between corn ethanol and deforestation
Peer-reviewed research on the climate problems associated with corn ethanol
An explainer on BECCS (bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration)
Reading list on enhanced oil recovery (EOR)
Read more about the Summit Pipeline project
Carbon Herald on the push to connect Midwest ethanol plants to carbon capture
Brazilian government document on technical mission to US midwest
Travel schedule of Brazilian government officials while in the Midwest

Read more about the explosion of corn ethanol in Brazil: https://drilled.media/news/ethanol-story1
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.