Jatropha’s a Win-Win

By Rachel Tanis

Critics and skeptics alike are quick to put the kibosh on renewable energy sources like corn-based ethanol because they claim that growing food for energy diverts it from the starving mouths of underdeveloped countries. So, it is no surprise that amid the cries of environmental concern and the need to end our dependence on foreign oil, voices that fear change are heard louder than those who are considering what there is to be done about the problems.

Fear, after all, is a common ailment that we all empathize with, and in which resonates a tone that is audible to the youngest and oldest ears of our society. Fear is non-discriminating. Ideas, well, they are not so commonly shared. Good ones are hard to come by, and even great ones have a high rate of failure. Ideas are easily trampled and are often left to rot rather than given a second-chance.

Fear is the acid in a solution that dissolves new ideas before they are fully developed. That’s why you probably haven’t heard of many of the proposals and alternatives in the green movement: fear has gobbled them up, dissolving before they were aloud to blossom. But, here’s one proposal whose base is so good that I’m betting it gives acid like fear a run for its money.

Jatropha is a tree that grows and produces seeds rich in oil. Historically, the seeds were used to fuel long-burning oil lamps around the world. Recently, they fueled a 747 jet across New Zealand. What’s even more encouraging is that jatropha is not difficult to grow. Some even use the old euphemism, saying that it “grows like a weed.” It does not have to be re-planted year after year, and is currently being grown around the globe. Jatropha and similar non-edible bio-diesels are growing in popularity because they don’t take away from food supplies. The trees can also work to capture four tons of carbon dioxide per acre of forest.

(Padgett) An American-based company, My Dream Fuel, is currently growing the trees in Fort Meyers, Florida with incredible success. The climate there is so well-suited for the trees that My Dream Fuel’s crop may yield up to eight times as much oil as is reaped in places like India and Africa, where the harvest is already considered successful. (Padgett)In addition, poorer countries like many of those found in the Caribbean are benefiting from the goodwill spread by the trees that are donated to them from companies like My Dream Fuel.

My Dream Fuel donates trees to nations that would normally be forced to choose between growing bio-fuels or crops. Both are necessary to the struggling nation’s economies, yet both are also in short supply. Jatropha was introduced to scientists and investors at the annual National Bio-diesel Conference on February 1st, 2009 in San Francisco, California. (Padgett)

I certainly don’t pretend to have the answers or even that jatropha is a magic wand that will erase all of our energy concerns, but let’s hope that there’s a solution out there that can neutralize fear and allow us to move forward in our search for a greener tomorrow. That process begins with listening ears that are able to turn down the streaming squawk of fear in favor of intelligent ideas.



Sources for this article include:

Padgett, Tim. “The Next Big Biofuel?” Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1874835,00.html(8 Feb 2009)

Padgett, Tim. “The Next Big Biofuel?” Time Videos.
http://www.time.com/time/video/?bcpid=1485842900&bctid=9561533001 (8 Feb 2009)

Redell, Bob. “Fruity Fuel is Hit at SF Conference.” MSNBC.com. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28996863/ (8 Feb 2009)