VOA常速英语2007年-Haiti's Hopes for Biofuels Rest on Jatropha Pla

By Brian Wagner
Miami
02 November 2007

Haiti is looking to a small shrub¹ called jatropha to fuel an alternative energy boom that may help cut the impoverished² country's reliance on oil and charcoal³. VOA's Brian Wagner reports the efforts already are drawing the support of Brazil and the United States in developing clean and renewable fuel supplies.

The rising cost of foreign oil has governments and researchers around the world searching for cheaper and more sustainable forms of energy. In Haiti, the hope is centered on a native plant called jatropha curcas, which bears oily seeds that can be crushed and processed to produce diesel⁴ fuel for generators⁵ or vehicles.

The hardy⁶ shrub grows in a variety of climates, and already has helped launch biodiesel programs in India, Mali, Indonesia and other regions.

Kathleen Robbins, who has been promoting non-profit development programs in Haiti, says jatropha could work in the Caribbean nation, where two thirds of the population relies on farming.

"It [jatropha] has the potential, because it can be grown virtually anywhere, of creating a really positive economic impact in rural Haiti," said Robbins.

Robbins says jatropha could provide a cheap source of fuel for rural areas that are cut off from the nation's electricity grid⁷. And she says, with a hectare of jatropha seeds selling for about $600, it could become an important new cash crop.

"Six hundred dollars a hectare could make a huge difference on a country where a lot of people are living on a dollar or less a day," said Robbins.

Jatropha also provides a unique opportunity for Haiti, where soaring demand for charcoal from timber has lead to deforestation of much of the nation's hilly terrain⁸. Advocates of jatropha say it can thrive in the denuded⁹ land, and its small branches cannot be used for charcoal.

The challenge now is convincing farmers of the promise of jatropha, when planting the seed oil crop could mean displacing traditional food crops that are the main source of cash for many peasants.

Georges Valme, a Haitian-born American, thinks farmers should not have to make that choice. With a small personal investment, Valme has been helping¹⁰ to build nurseries in Haiti to produce thousands of jatropha seedlings¹¹ as well as avocado, tomato and other food crops. Valme says farmers will need to plant both in their fields, because jatropha seedlings will not mature for at least three years.

"While I am waiting for that jatropha to start giving seeds, I will start making money," said Valme. "I will have a structure, I will have people that are trained, they will know what to do."

The promise of jatropha in Haiti is drawing the attention of Brazil, which has emerged as a world leader in biofuels thanks to its sugar-based ethanol program for automobiles¹³. Last week, a representative of Brazilian jatropha growers met Haitian businessmen in Port-au-Prince and agreed to fund a pilot jatropha program near the capital.

Johanna Mendelson Forman, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, says Brazil's expertise¹⁴ in biofuels is crucial to the future of the Haitian program.

"What's exciting about the relationship with Brazil is that we go beyond just appropriate technology to more sophisticated production standards," said Forman. "And the Brazilians are already moving toward standards for automobile¹² and diesel engine use."

Forman says the jatropha partnership¹⁵ is one of the first programs to take shape under an agreement that Brazil and the United States signed in March to promote alternative energy efforts in the Caribbean and Central America. President Bush has said the deal aims to help partner nations reduce their dependence¹⁶ on foreign oil and develop domestic sources of energy.

For Haiti, the quest for domestic sources of renewable fuel already is part of the nation's history. But Georges Valme says Haitians must learn with jatropha not to make the same mistakes they did with charcoal, which led to deforestation.

"Haiti has been living on renewable energy for the past 500 years," said Valme. "This is nothing new. It is just they don't know how to hold [control] it."

Valme says jatropha alone may not reverse decades of damage to Haiti's land, but he is confident that it can bring economic and environmental benefits to thousands of residents.

1 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

2 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

4 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

5 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

7 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

8 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

9 denuded   

adj.[医]变光的，裸露的v.使赤裸( denude的过去式和过去分词 )；剥光覆盖物

参考例句：

• hillsides denuded of trees 光秃秃没有树的山坡
• In such areas we see villages denuded of young people. 在这些地区，我们在村子里根本看不到年轻人。 来自辞典例句

10 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

11 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

13 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

14 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

15 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

16 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。