Indonesia looks to biodiesel made from jatropha seeds
Another Asian country turns its focus to biofuels. While there are a lot of obstacles mentioned in this article from the Christian Science Monitor in the way of Indonesia quickly becoming a biodiesel-powered country, there are also a lot of reasons for it to do so, including the always-a-factor high gas prices, pollution and the high amount of palm oil available in the country. The factors holding biodiesel back include regular diesel's low price (about $1.90 a gallon, thanks to lots of government subsidies) and the high cost of producing and selling biodiesel. One place where biodiesel is likely to catch on first is at palm oil companies, where biodiesel might be used to power the factories. The government is looking into diverting money from diesel subsidies into four biodiesel production plants and possibly making biodiesel from the seed of the jatropha tree. Oil from the seeds was used in World War II to power war machines. [Source: Christian Science Monitor]
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