MYANMAR SAYS NUTS TO ENERGY

Myanmar’s ruling junta forced the population 2 years ago to begin growing jatropha, a hardy, drought-resistant, perennial shrub indigenous to Africa and Asia and thought to have excellent potential as a source of biofuel.

Now the country is rife with jatropha. But the junta has not built promised refineries, despite the fact that it was a government-initiated jump in fuel price that sparked last August’s violent protests.

One government minister suggested the people forget about the refining process, just crush the jatropha seeds and pour the oil directly into their fuel tanks. [Warning from NewEnergyNews: That might compromise the vehicle warranty.]

Sean Turnell, Macquarie University in Australia: "How these jatropha acreages will be converted into biodiesel has not yet been determined, since Burma lacks anything like the capacity to refine physic nuts [aka jatropha seeds] into useable fuel…The whole episode is illustrative of a more profound and pervasive system of centralized and often irrational decision making…"

Irrational? Not at all. The Burmese villagers think they know exactly what’s going on. The junta generals are magically negating the spiritual power of heroic opposition leader and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi by having the Burmese name for the jatropha seeds repeated over and over. The seeds in Burmese are 'chay soo' which is supposedly a magically negating reversal of the pronounciation of Suu Kyi, 'soo chee.'

The only curse is on the junta for the way they treat her. (click to enlarge)

Could the Bush administration be using corn ethanol the same way? ol-an-eth norc? No, that doesn't reverse anything but the world grain market. Apparently the Myanmar junta has a better reason for backing jatropha than the Bush administration’s reason for backing corn ethanol.

Myanmar’s nutty scheme to solve energy crisis
Ed Cropley (w/ Michael Battye and Megan Goldin), March 12, 2008 (Reuters via Yahoo News)

WHO
State Peace and Development Council, the self-declared title for Myanmar’s ruling military junta; Kyaw Sinnt, Burmese villager; Sean Turnell, Macquarie University, Australia

Myanmar or Burma? (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Physic nuts, the seeds of jatropha plants, described as “hairy brown nuts” and called 'chay soo' in Burmese.

WHEN
- In mid-2006, the junta declared every Burmese farmer with an acre of land had to purchase from the government and plant 200 physic nut seeds around the perimeter of their farm plots.
- Now there are jatropha groves all around the country but the government does not appear to have built any refineries.

A 20-acre jatropha plantation in India that has required no cultivation or care, just harvesting, for 2 years. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
- Pyaw Gan, a bamboo hut village typical of the parched "Dry Zone" southwest of Mandalay in Myanmar (Burma)
- Jatropha is seen on deserted central plains roadsides, along deforested Chinese border hillsides, in Yangon window boxes.

WHY
- Jatropha plants are hardy, drought-resistant perennial shrubs considered to have excellent potential as a source of biofuel.
- The cost of the required 200-seed purchase from the government was equal to a farmer’s earnings for half-day’s work.
- The Myanmar junta promised Singaporean oil industry leaders a thriving 7 million acre crop ready for export from a country that imported $600 million worth of oil products in 2006.

Many consider jatropha valuable as a biofuel raw material - but it does require refining. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
- Kyaw Sinnt, Burmese villager: "I think it's a great idea. Everybody can take part and it's good for the environment…"
- Unnamed village businessman: "It's a complete waste of time…There is no processing plant, and if there was, it would cost four times as much as normal diesel. It's all for show -- just like our wonderful new irrigation channels that never have any water because they never turn the pumps on…"