Global Warming: The Bio Fuel solution by Greenpages Global warming

The recent furore over the Kyoto protocol pertaining to global climate change,

as well as the rising prices of fossil fuels has led India and other

developing countries to look for an ecological and economically viable

alternative. Several initiatives have been taken in recent times on the

energy front such as large scale promotion of wind energy farms for power

generation, blending of ethyl alcohol with petrol and developmental efforts

towards bio fuels. Impressed by the potential of Jatropha curcas, the Government of India and

the Planning Commission have been looking at the opportunity carefully.

Several reports have been prepared and organizations such as the Indian Oil

Corporation and Indian Railways, as well as several universities and private

institutions, have initiated technology development plans. The Tamil Nadu and

Andhra Pradesh governments have introduced schemes to encourage investment in

Jatropha plantations. Enthused by the government support, several individuals

and organizations have already started cultivating Jatropha in a big way.

Progress in India has been limited so far, though a serious effort, officials

say, would cut India's import dependence by as much as 10%. Small Indian

companies are already at it. Labland Biotech, for instance, has a long-term

contract with the UK-based global firm, DI Oils, to supply one crore Jatropha

plants a year for the next 10 years, besides supplying 10,000-50,000 tonnes

of Jatropha crude oil annually over the next 15 years. Farmers in Karnataka

and neighbouring states are being roped in through the contract farming route.

Reliance Industries is reported to have earmarked 200 acres of land in

Andhra Pradesh, which will be scaled up depending on the progress of the

project. Jatropha an indigenous oilseed tree and perennial crop, has the same

characteristics as diesel, and can be used neat or mixed with conventional

diesel. Jatropha, also known as the Physic Nut, is able to tolerate arid

climates, grows rapidly, is useful for a variety of products, requires

minimal inputs and reportedly stabilises or even reverses desertification. To

top it all, this is a clean fuel option. Sounds almost too good to be true, a

sustainable answer to India's peak oil problem, but is Jatropha really all it'

s cracked up to be? One of the chief concerns the world over is that

countries will start using already scarce food producing land to grow fuel

crops, causing major shortages in global food reserves. The Indian Government

has allayed these fears by categorically stating that no existing

agricultural land will be used to grow Jatropha or any other fuel crop.

Another major international anxiety is that forests will be cut down and "

reforested" with feedstock for bio fuels, causing untold damage to fragile

ecosystems and large scale destruction of diverse species. The National

Mission on Bio-Diesel aims at bringing 4 lakh hectares of land under

plantation; sadly half of the land slated for Jatropha plantation is forested

land. "Reforesting" already forested land with Jatropha will destroy much of

India's rich ecological heritage. One of Jatropha's major claims to fame is it's resistance to draught, while

this is true in essence, the plant can survive for up to two years in the

absence of water, it does not yield except under optimal irrigation. Though

Jatropha can be grown on barren or waste land it can only produce fruit if

the soil is fertilized. Not much is known about the susceptibility of

Jatropha to pests and diseases. However its toxic nature would imply that any

pests that managed to survive on the plant would be especially virulent and

the pesticides required might cause irreparable damage to the ecology. An oft

repeated chant of bio fuel enthusiasts is large scale economic gains for

small scale rural farmers as well as vast employment opportunities which will

eventually eradicate rural poverty. However the main criticism of the

Horticulture Program and Jatropha in general is that it has

disproportionately benefited the non-poor sections of rural population.

Farmers with small holdings who do not have irrigation facilities and have

limited economic capabilities are unable to grow enough of the crop for it to

be economically viable, opening the door to exploitation by large

corporations and farmers with large holdings. The absence of adequate

facilities in India for conversion of Jatropha seed oil into bio fuel is

another issue. At the moment the largest producer of Jatropha, D1 oils ships

all the seeds to the UK, using more diesel in the process than they currently

produce. In addition the Jatropha plant grows for five years before it begins

to yield, in five years perhaps India will have met the current bio diesel

generation targets, but by then energy demands will have increased ten-fold. In light of all these rather alarming factors it has become increasingly

obvious that the government needs to rethink its bio diesel strategy in

favour of something more practical to the Indian scenario. Often the

strongest argument against doing something is that others are doing something

different. But this is not applicable to the search for new sources of energy.

Other countries are exploring other paths because they face a different set

of constraints. The West, for instance, is placing its short-term bets on

ethanol because it has a surplus of productive capacity in agriculture. It is

placing its long-term bets on hydrogen fuel cells because it knows that it

cannot grow enough biomass to meet the whole of its transport fuel needs when

the oil runs out. We, however, will not get to that point for several decades.

We also face the challenges of rural poverty and environmental degradation

that they have largely overcome. There are no quick fix solutions to India's

mounting list of energy related problems and bio fuels are not the all

inclusive solution our government seems to think it is. We need to carefully

consider all the cultural and socio-economic factors that make our country

unique and find our own path to an ecologically sound, energy efficient

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About the Author

Affecting every corner of the globe, the phenomenon of global warming is irrevocably changing our planet, and life as we know it will never be the same. The time for relying on governments to solve this immense problem has long since passed.It is now the undeniable duty of every individual to start making a difference and join the fight. At Global Warming we seek to provide information that will help people make that difference.