First Week of School

The following is an example of my language homework (around 500 words). School has been going well, and I've made some friends. The kids are amazing at soccer; that's the only sport they ever play. I have to take second and third language classes. I'm taking German for second and Hindi for third. I have German 4 times a week and Hindi once. That's about it for now.

Jatropha Oil

Currently there is a shortage of affordable and renewable fuel sources. The cost of crude oil is now 100 USD per barrel (4,000 rupees), and expected to reach 150 USD (6,000 rupees) in 2 years. There is a great need for alternative energy sources. A plant called Jatropha, developed in India, has the potential to provide alternative energy. The individual seeds from the Jatropha plant contain oil that can be harvested for fuel. Jatropha oil should be an alternative fuel source because it is a vegetable oil that is harvested twice a year. Jatropha grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years. This means that there could be a large supply of the oil from the seeds. Jatropha can provide four times the amount of fuel as a hectare of soybeans, and ten times the amount of corn. Also Jatropha can grow in bad or rich soil. It prefers bad soil and is drought resistant. It can grow in sandy, salty, or gravelly soil. Therefore it can be grown on cheep soil and does not need to replace other crops that are being grown currently. The seeds are inexpensive and each seed has a high quantity of fuel in it. It is an easy process to get the oil. All you have to do is open the seeds, squeeze the oil, and then refine it a bit. Jatropha can provide high quality biodiesel that can be used in diesel cars. The residue from processing can be used to power electric power plants. Goldman Sachs believes that Jatropha is one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production. Daimler Chrysler Research concluded that Jatropha biodiesel has not yet reached optimal quality, but it already meets European Union norm for biodiesel quality.The only down side to Jatropha is that the farmers will have to negotiate the payment for fuel for the first two years until they know how much the seeds are worth. Also, the long term impact on the soil quality and environment from Jatropha is unknown. Jatropha is good for India because it will help break poverty because it is cheap and affordable. Jatropha is not a food crop so it will not be wasting any food for the food shortage in India. It could provide more jobs for farmers and help create new industries and technologies. India has conducted extensive testing and is planning on planting 40 million hectares with Jatropha. There is currently over 1 metric ton of Jatropha seed oil which could provide an alternative fuel. In conclusion, I feel that Jatropha has excellent potential of becoming a significant biofuel in the future. India should take advantage of this plant in helping to find an alternative energy source for the country.