I have a fascination with alternative energy sources, and am a strong proponent of biodiesel in particular. And the only time I've been off this continent (and more than a few miles from my own country) was three weeks I spent in India. So naturally, this story interested me.
Jatropha is a plant that grows in warm climates, but has never been farmed or harvested on a large scale because it is inedible. It has been used primarily as a hedge or decorative plant. However, India has started growing it and turning it into biodiesel. Recent breakthroughs by The Energy and Resources Institute show that the plant could be mass-harvested by growing it with certain fungi, and that it can be grown even in "wasteland" conditions where edible crops cannot be grown (and which India has a good deal of).
Given the horrible pollution problems I saw over there, biodiesel is going to be an important resource for them.
These findings could be a real boon for many "developing nations" with warm climates.
8 months ago
6 comments:
Well it could be a great development, till some company buys the patent and buries it while we all die because we didn't listen to Al Gore, Smokey the Bear, and the wisdom of Hooty the Owl. Doomed we are.
cool....I agree with wiwille...doomed.
We aren’t doomed, look at where fossil fuels come from, lush green jungles, swamps and undergrowth, when critters got larger then an average house, plenty for all, it wasn’t until, they went extinct before anyone had to worry about it running out, and see here we are, making houses, using extinct emulsified things for fuel and um…
Well the lesson here is, all our land fills n “waste products” like raw sewage will become a fantastic fuel source for, uuh, the next critters that evolve from our, um extinction…
Wait, what was the definition of doomed again? Oh wait you said WE, for a minute there I thought you meant the earth, silly me the Earth will be fine, in a couple thousand years after, uh, we are doomed aren’t we?.. Yeesh!
Yup. Doomed.
Hey...I work in sustainable business solutions...this is very interesting to me.
How did you like India? Where did you go? I've only been south of Mumbai - well...Mumbai, Pune, Shirdi and then south. Never been north but thinking to visit Delhi and north this April - 4th visit to India. I love it!
I spent 3 weeks in Bangalore back in '03. I hated it, mostly because I can't stand Indian food, and they don't make Western food very well. I'm a big fat guy, so food is important to me. Also, I really really love beef.
I was also working 6 days a week while I was there, with co-workers I didn't like (all the co-workers I did like were on the graveyard shift, while I was on dayshift), so I didn't get to have much fun or really see the city.
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