Obama Baby in Cali

In Cali, on the Colombia Pacific coast, another positive reaction to Obama's ascendency to the Casa Blanca.

Natural Gas Vehicles, Part II

So at the end of my post on natural gas vehicles I asked the question, 'if there is a cheaper, cleaner source of fuel here - why all the dirty buses?' Needless to say, I've been bugging many of my Colombian friends about it as well. Well, word got round to a chemical engineer and I got some more information to share.

One specific question I had involved why Transmilenio wasn't developed with natural gas powered buses as the foundation. Her reply was that natural gas does not work as well for large vehicles for the same reasons that they use diesel instead of gasoline (that is higher energy per unit of volume, more torque, greater efficiency.)

So natural gas powered buses are not a feasible alternative and neither are expensive and short-lived exhaust filters, then what?

Apparently the easiest and most effective reform would involve eliminating low-grade diesel from Colombia's fuel inventory. Diesel fuel in Colombia contains 10 to 100 times more sulfur than the diesel used in the U.S. and Europe, known as 'Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD).' Sulfur acts as the nucleus for particulate matter, attracting other pollutants to form big gross balls of nastiness.

Wow! That seems like a straight-forward and achievable policy goal. Undoubtedly, ULSD is likely much more expensive than the dirty stuff. However, if you frame the analysis in terms of cost-savings via chronic disease prevention I would guess that it's a pretty good deal and worthy of government subsidy. Especially here, high in the Andes, particulate matter can cause all kinds of public health problems.

I'm not sure if an analysis has been done on this or not. But I'm going to find out!

People are happy here too...

Yesterday, I was on my way to sign-up for Spanish classes at the National University here. I was stopped by security on my way through the gate because they wanted to check the serial number on my laptop and give me a pass. When they asked for my name, drawing on my experience, I decided to show my ID instead of trying to pronounce my name.

"Soy un gringo," I said with pride.

"Obama!" one of the guards responded.

"Lo maximo! Estoy muy feliz," I replied (The best! I'm very happy!).

"Yo tambien," agreed another guard.

Secretary of State Clinton on Colombia

The United States' new top-diplomat discusses U.S.-Colombian relations during her confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Semana with the coverage.

Natural Gas Powered Vehicles

Why do some cabs have gas cylinders in the trunk?

Initially, I was disappointed to learn that they aren't due to some underground, Fast and Furious, nitrous-boosted taxi cab racing scene - where the stakes are high and the fares are even higher. The reality is much more pedestrian, but interesting nonetheless.

According to the numbers I've seen around the web, Colombia has between 200,000 and 250,000 vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG). These vehicles are served by just over 300 CNG filling stations around the country.

Natural gas has several advantages over gasoline as a motor vehicle fuel. While still emitting the chief global warming culprit carbon dioxide, natural gas burns much cleaner than gasoline or diesel. This characteristic is particularly attractive in higher altitude cities like Bogotá where, as I've mentioned, particulate matter can be a real public health problem.

In addition to the environmental benefits, natural gas is also less expensive per unit of energy than gasoline. In Colombia, this is largely due to the four trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves the country contains - a decent domestic supply. All of these benefits can be attained by a relatively low-cost conversion of a regular gas engine. Pretty cool.

A lot of other countries also have well developed systems to take advantage of their natural gas reserves. In South America, Argentina and Brazil have a few million CNG powered vehicles in their respective fleets - as do countries in other parts of the world, like Italy.

What I would like to know is this: if there is a cheaper, cleaner alternative to gasoline and diesel fuel, why all the dirty buses?

Wandering Gringo: The Road to Santa Marta

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While I was away from Bogotá and the blog, I had the happy opportunity to hit the road and drive from Bucaramanga to Santa Marta on the Atlantic coast on Colombia's Highway 45.

Not unlike the ride from Bogotá, the going is slow, however, this time I was able to sit back and admire the scenic Colombian country side. Heading North out of Bucaramanga, I was struck at how quickly the urban landscape gave way to pure, cattle spotted countryside. The terrain immediately outside of the city is still mountainous, providing a roller-coaster like ride zipping from vista to vista of small farms nestled in the steep valleys.

After about an hour and a half, you come down out of the cordillera onto a seemingly endless plan. The altitude change is made inescapably clear by the big jump in the temperature from about 75 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Initially, the land appeared to be mostly used for grazing cattle, however, as we proceeded further North into the department of Cesar, we entered a large oil palm plantation. I'm told there are tens of thousands of hectares of oil palm being grown in this region. Colombia is the fifth largest producer of palm oil in the world and the department of Cesar is the number two palm oil producing department in the country.

Indeed, oil palm is being touted by the government as a sustainable alternative to coca cultivation - one that could even be used to produce biofuels. However, several human rights organizations have said this economic lure has led paramilitary groups and businesses to displace and/or prevent the return of people living on potentially productive palm oil land in the Northwest section of the country (see BBC report on this issue.)

Shortly after passing through the palm plantation, I encountered another unfortunate obstacle to swift passage along the highway: el trancón or traffic jam. This particular traffic jam was caused by a group of motorcyclists who were holding up traffic as a means of protesting the recent traffic related deaths of two fellow cyclists (the police we spoke to said they were drunk at the time).

Trucks and vacationers headed to and from the coast were backed up for a dozen or more kilometers in each direction.


We were stopped for more than two hours, but luckily we had beer.


And others had hammocks.


In addition to agribusiness and moto-protests, we passed through a dozen or more small towns. Unlike the highways in the U.S. that bypass every town, Highway 45 in Colombia passes right through the middle of each town, forcing drivers to slow down with speed bumps. And at every speed bump, there is someone looking to sell you something - fried pork skin, bottled water, ice cream.

Indeed, in many of these towns the economic outlook is very bleak and the holiday traffic provides a much needed source of income. Cinder-block houses with dirt floors and thatched roofs were a common sight. A far cry from the modern shopping malls filled with luxury goods on the north side of Bogotá.

Monolingual Survival Guide

Here's the first installment of what I hope will be an ongoing collaboration with the English-speaking Colombia dweller's best friend: Colombia Reports.

Check it out.