By: Green Pages 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 future.
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.
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