184. THE ISLANDS

Clearly, we have a problem here: how do we shift the islands away from oil, and shield them from the punishing effects of high oil prices (or shortages)? At first glance, it looks like dark clouds are looming, but these clouds have a silver lining: sugar. Many islands like Haiti, Cuba and Hawaii have a long history of sugar cane cultivation. As they say in Cuba “Sin azucar, no hay pais” (no sugar, no country). This dovetails nicely with the rise of Brazilian sugar cane ethanol, which is cheaper per btu than gasoline. In fact, a great deal of the poverty in island nations like Cuba and Haiti is directly attributable to low sugar prices. Sugar cane ethanol can change that.

Peak Oil Debunked