IMO, the future is in biofuels and especially in biofuels derived from cellulose. Using feed crops to make ethanol causes unnecessary rises in the price for this crops and drives up the cost of food and, as a result, a rise in world hunger.
Hadn't heard of this until now. Fascinating. The one caveat is the possible long term impact on the soil, IMO, but we never look that far ahead anyway as a race.
I am not sure why the Wiki contributor added the line about the plant affecting soil quality. The plant grows in the crappiest of soils as it is. I found this interesting. The Cultivation of Jatropha Curcas : castor , biodiesel , glycerin , plantation , echador , glicerina , plantacin , roulette , glycrine , Furolle , Plantage , Cultivation , Cultivacin , Culture , Bearbeitung
Not silly at all. Any alternative, especially one that can be manufactured domestically is a huge boon for the US.
What gets me is that combining technologies it's possible to do this much more quickly. Some of you may remember this thread that I posted about 5 months ago. http://forums.thephins.com/science-technology/8435-new-engine-can-run-bio-fuel-fit-into-existing-designs.html