Can Botanical Tweaking Turn Jatropha Into a Biofuel Wonder Plant?
Can a tough and weedy shrub solve all of our energy problems and stop runaway climate change? Don’t be ridiculous—of course it can’t. But that, briefly, was the hype surrounding Jatropha curcas, a poisonous plant that grows wild in tropical climates. Jatropha seeds are saturated with oil that can be easily processed into biofuel, and the hardy plant can grow on what’s politely called “marginal land”: wasteland that’s sandy, rocky, dry, or nutrient-poor. By embracing jatropha, optimistic environmentalists said, nations could avoid displacing agricultural crops and causing food shortages, and could also prevent forests being cleared for biofuel plantations. Over the past five years, tropical nations rushed to start jatropha programs, while Goldman Sachs reportedly cited the plant as one of the best candidates for biodiesel production. Several airlines have even begun test flights with a jatropha-derived jet fuel. Then, facts began to emerge to combat the hype. A study published in the Pr
