The past five years have provided me with a keen insight of the seemingly obvious issues affecting Jamaica's socio-economic well being. Many will suggest that five years is not enough to develop a careful study, or an understanding of the sociological context of our problems – that they may be deeply rooted in our historical and cultural background. However, we should not be bound by history or culture, especially in this state of heightened awareness of our reality>>For those of you not familiar with me, please allow me to introduce myself. Many years ago, in an attempt to develop a cohesive approach to effecting changes in Jamaica, I became associated with a several Jamaican-focused organizations within the U.S. In doing so, I had the privilege of collaborating on several philanthropic initiatives throughout rural Jamaica. To date, I maintain a correspondence with over 32,000 Jamaicans living around the globe.>>Sharing a focus of energizing Jamaica with educational and economic opportunities, many of you have made commitments and pledged to work towards this common purpose. However, the overwhelming consensus was, and still is, your repeated inquires concerning a plan of action. So in consideration of all the factors that have brought us to this point, I am now asking you to join me and all the others committed to this goal.>>In the next couple of months, I shall propose an investor-funded venture that outlines my plans for achieving this. At that time, I will once again ask for your continued support towards this initiative. The following is a synopsis of the plan which will be submitted to you in the near future.>>Jamaica ripe for bio-fuel:>>Jamaica has a dense rural geography which has traditionally been utilized for farming and rearing livestock. However over the past two decades, Jamaican's vast urban drift have crippled most of the nation's rural agricultural communities, giving rise to import-dependency and praedial larceny - an act that plagues existing Jamaican farmers, leaving them with little production capacity.>>In view of this and other local factors, I would like to focus on a bio-fuel venture, which not only re-invigorate rural farming communities, but one which emphasize the importance of agriculture as a viable component for achieving sustainable development. This venture will more than incorporate the use of agro-processing technology; it will facilitate personal development through education and training. More significantly, it will create jobs and provide a resource, vital to the overall sustainability and development of the country.>>Like many developing nations, Jamaica's energy sector has a crucial role to play towards the country's continued development. However, the increasing energy consumption patterns by import-dependent Jamaica may actually prove to be a barrier to development. The impacts of this are widespread and appear to hinder development in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction. Furthermore, Jamaica has no proven fossil fuel reserves, and is almost completely dependent on fully-imported diesel fuel for electricity production and other power applications.>>This situation has serious implications for a country like Jamaica with limited reserves of foreign currencies and no reserve supplies of fossil fuels to insulate the nation from price shocks. Consequently Jamaicans face some of the highest energy prices in the world and an insecure supply. Last year alone the country had an oil bill of US$1.6 billion.>>A bio-fuel venture and the impact of cultivating a fuel crop may offer a solution to some of these issues by providing a substitute for diesel fuel that can be manufactured locally for a lower price, and independent of the international oil price. The local production and use of bio-fuel also offers other benefits such as improved energy security, rural development opportunities and environmental benefits.>>Bio-fuel from the castor oil plant:>>Of the several fuel crops considered, the Castor oil plant (ricinus communis) appears to be a particularly suitable source of bio-fuel as it already grows commonly in Jamaica. Moreover, the Castor oil plant has been widely accepted as an agricultural solution for all subtropical and tropical locations that addresses the need for commercial crops with low impute costs and at the same time provides traditional farming with a viable income from current non productive lands:>>• Castor oil plant does not compete with food crops, can be grown on marginal lands, which are not competitive with food production lands.>>• Castor oil plant is not competing with food grade oils.>>• Its toxicity is sensed by animals and therefore not foraged on.>>• It is high yielding, when no maintenance is applied to the crop, to a high end yield where annual rainfalls happen at the right times.>>• It has a very high oil content of approximately 50%.>>• The oil seed is collected by hand, by picking the ripe pods from the plant.>>• It requires only moderate rainfall and can withstand long periods of drought, but will thrive under higher rainfall.>>• It is an uncomplicated crop that requires little attention during its growing periods.>>• Due to its low demand on soil fertility, it is ideal to replant marginal lands to prevent erosion.>>Given the similar geographical, climatic and lack of rural employment opportunities, growing a crop for renewable energy provides the answer for long term prosperity. It is generally accepted that no matter how much oil seed is produced, there will not be an over supply for many decades to come.>>In conjunction to growing the Castor oil plant, a number of additional business models will be developed to support the commercialization of the bio-fuel production. For example, a plantation model that encourages private farmers to produce the Castor oil plant on their own properties will be beneficial in respect to minimizing initial risk and maximizing community involvement and sustainable benefits.>>In this model a central refinery would be operated by the investor-owned venture that buys the castor oil seeds from the farmers. The venture may also directly lease or purchase land for establishing a plant nursery to ensure consistent supply and quality of the Castor oil seeds.>>I am confident that local production of bio-fuel from the Castor oil plant in rural Jamaica will offer good potential benefits for investors, the economy, rural communities and the environment.

>>In the meantime should you require additional information on this planned bio-fuel initiative, please contact me.

>>>Hansen von Shneir>305-218-2878>>Submitted by Jamlink “in support of the things that matter”>

Website with solar info

http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_csp.html

These days there is a lot of talk about biofuels – fuels made from plants such as corn, sugarcane and switchgrass – as one way to reduce the world’s dependence on oil and fossil fuels. After all, they are renewable – and to many that alone is reason enough to increase their role in our energy future. But as with all energy sources, decisions about how to increase their use have a significant impact on the benefits, costs and consequences to people and to the environment. Some considerations:

Biofuel can be created from several different crops, each resulting in a different net energy ratio (the amount of energy input required to create a unit of useable energy). For liquid fuels, the most common crops are corn (in the US) and sugarcane (in Brazil) for ethanol, and soy for biodiesel. Switchgrass has the potential for a higher net energy ratio than corn or sugarcane, but is not currently widely available. And cellulosic biofuel (made from materials such as wood chips and other fibrous plant material) has a higher potential than crop-based fuel, but currently faces technology challenges in its processing.

If biofuels are to have a more significant role in our energy future, a significant amount of land may be required to grow raw material. According to the US Department of Agriculture, there is an abundance of fallow and pasture land available in the US for growing feedstock. But that isn’t the case worldwide. Decisions about land use may have a substantial impact on the local and global environment. For example, converting forestland to cropland will impact biodiversity and could result in many other detrimental impacts associated with deforestation. And some even say that growing crops for fuel is a misplaced priority in a world where so many people are hungry.

Biofuels have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and local air and water pollution. The CO2 emitted during combustion of ethanol is recaptured as a nutrient to the crops that are used in its production, and ethanol biodegrades quickly in water. However, the use of fertilizers on the crops and wastes from the refining process may result in water pollution.

Government actions to promote biofuels inevitably favor certain interest groups over others. A shift to biofuels will stimulate rural economic development as growers experience an increased demand (and likely a higher price) for their crops. Should large-scale agricultural interests be the beneficiaries of such policies, or should incentives favor small landowners? Should they support growers of corn, soy, sugarcane or switchgrass? Or should policy-makers strive to establish no preference for one fuel over another, and let the markets decide?

For those countries that can grow their own biofuel crops, biofuels can diversify domestic energy resources. Brazil’s government established a robust biofuels program in the 1970’s in a desire to achieve energy independence – currently all gasoline consumed in Brazil is blended with over 20 percent of ethanol1. But not every country has the capacity to develop a substantial biofuel industry because they are limited by land availability, climate and soil fertility.

Biofuel skeptics worry that a focus on biofuels takes attention – and funding – away from a much more effective approach to the energy challenge: reducing consumption. If policy-makers and the public are convinced that biofuels are the solution, they will see less need to invest in technology and to change behaviors to reduce energy use. And that, some feel, is the only viable long-term solution.