Today in Biofuels Opinion: “We are also puzzled as to why USDA…was in no way included in the (ILUC) peer review process.
National Corn Growers Association President Bob Dickey: “We are also puzzled as to why USDA, which has extensive knowledge related to this issue, was in no way included in the (ILUC) peer review process.”
From the New York Times: “Some proposed biofuel crops already are invasive species. One of the most alarming examples is giant reed, or Arundo donax…The grass grows in dense clumps up to 20 feet tall and is classified a noxious weed in California and in Texas, as well as other areas of the South…Proposed energy crops like miscanthus and reed canary grass also are already invasive species in some areas of the world, he said. And jatropha and algae, crops that could one day supplant jet fuels used in aviation, also pose high invasion risk, according to the Global Invasive Species Programme.”
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Joelle Brink | Aug 14, 2009 | Reply
Research has shown that Jatropha is not invasive. It has to be planted. It spread worldwide after New World colonization because it was a medicinal plant and was commonly grown in family back yards. Naturalized Jatropha has been found on abandoned sites where it was formerly grown and was misclassified as invasive.
As for grasses, here in Tennessee we are growing native wild species only such as switchgrass. Most wild species are vigorous and will spread if they can, but that is not the same thing as invasiveness, which means the spread of a non-native plant.
Jatropha curcas is native to Florida and the Caribbean, areas where it is being grown again today.