Biodiesel without raising food costs

Article Recap:

There are fruit pods from trees called Jatropha trees that can create clean burning diesel fuel. However, unlike corn and other edible foods it does not need prime crop lands in order to grow. Jatropha is one of a few potential non-food sources of green energy. India has dedicated roughly 100 million acres to the growth of the crop and expects 20% of its diesel fuel in the year 2011 to come from the Jatropha pod. China, Australia, Brazil, and Kenya have also embraced the plant. There has even been a successful test run of a Boeing 747 powered by a 50/50 combination of jet fuel and Jatropha diesel. There is speculation that as much as 8 times more oil may be produced if Jatropha trees are planted in climates more suited for its growth, in regions such as Florida, which is much different than Africa and India where Jatropha is currently grown in mass quantities. Recently, the cost of diesel fuel has been on a consistent upswing and a new supply provided by Jatropha will more than likely lead to a fall in prices around the world.
The plant itself is native to the Caribbean, and was taken to India by the Portugese. It emits negligble greenhouse gasses and the trees upon which the pods grow use up to four tons of CO2.

My Take:
It seems like there is very little downside to the continued production and growth of the Jatropha tree. It uses very little (if any) arable land, and looks like it can contribute to the looming energy crisis. Products like this and algae will help take the pressure off of producing corn ethanol that drives up food prices around the world. It is not a perfect solution, but looks like it will be a key cog in the upcoming ‘green machine’ of new energy.


Padgett, Tim. "The Next Big Biofuel? Jatropha seeds produce clean-burning diesel (without driving up your grocery bill)." Time Magazine. 9 Feb. 2009