Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Back to Opinion

Jatropha to the Rescue

In mankind’s struggle to head off the use of fossil fuels, the U.S., as well as other countries, have turned to the use of energy derived from plants. In the U.S., we have turned to ethanol, a corn derivative. Needless to say, the supply lags far behind the demand.

But now there is a new plant that may go a long way toward meeting mankind’s need for non-fossil fuels. Its name is Jatropha. It grows wild in India. It is an ugly plant. About the size of a golf ball, its seeds contain a yellowish liquid that can be converted into biodiesel.

O.P. Singh, a horticulturist for India’s ministry of railways, bubbles over with enthusiasm. The Wall Street Journal quotes him as saying, “This plant will save humanity. I tell you. Someday every house will have Jatropha.”

If and when the miracle happens, it will be another milestone in man’s progress on earth. Of all the creatures on earth, homo sapiens are the only creatures that know how to make tools to enable them to develop civilizations that thrive in the icy Arctic zones and in the deserts of Arabia.

In a wrestling match with a bear, I would put my money on the bear. But when a man is equipped with a tool called a gun he is the sure winner.

The Romans used to refer to man as homo sapiens — the human with a brain.

We do best when we use the brain as, in this instance — when we cultivate jatropha.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.