Kalam for focus on rural enterprises, agriculture

Kalam for focus on rural enterprises, agricultureBy Indo-Asian News Service New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Saturday called for more focus on better use of land and rural resources to usher in development and create employment opportunities.

Kalam called for better use of wastelands in the country in view of the shrinking land holdings of farmers.

"If the land is not good for intensive crop production, the same can be used for establishing fruit orchards or tree plantations of economic importance," said Kalam inaugurating a three-day symposium on 'Uncommon opportunities: a roadmap for employment, food and global security' organised by the United Nations World Food Programme.

"Further, degraded land can be redeveloped with biomass plantation, which can help in promoting soil and water conservation and improve the ecosystem while providing fuel and fodder for our villagers," said Kalam.
The president called on scientists to rise to the challenge to boost agriculture by ensuring development of good quality seeds "that would ensure good yield even under constraints of water and land with ecologically balanced farming."

Pointing to the big rural market of 700 million people living in 600,000 villages of the country, Kalam said there was need for creating enterprises to service this market and generate large-scale employment.

"The total eligible aspiring youth at any time in the country are 400 million. Estimated unemployment reported in the year 2004 is about 36 million, which is nine percent of eligible employable population," the president said.

He suggested that Jatropha plantation for extraction and processing of non-edible oil for blending in auto fuels, dryland farming, herbal cultivation and social forestry, lighting through non-conventional energy, tourism and water missions are some areas that could create millions of job opportunities.

Delivering the keynote address, External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh called for a new blueprint on governance based on partnership between the government, private sector, international organisations, civil society stakeholders and mass media.

"It will be a great thing if national and international bodies can focus on hunger and malnutrition issues rather than just political problems," said Singh pointing to the fact that hunger and malnutrition are claiming one life every five seconds.

"In a globalised world, globalisation of poverty and hunger poses major challenges for peace and stability," said Pedro Medrano, country director of World Food Programme.

Great Day for Biofuels! Russia Ratifies Kyoto Protocol TreatyThursday November 11, 9:30 am ET
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2004--American Biofuels (ABF), which is 35% owned by Green Star Products, Inc. (OTC:
GSPI - News), made the following announcement:

After six years of international negotiations the Kyoto Treaty finally received enough signatures from participating countries to make that treaty binding on all signatures. Russia was the last to sign giving the treaty its required 55% of the nations that contribute to global warming gases.
This is a major victory for alternative fuels like biodiesel and ethanol, which reduce CO2 emissions.

On Nov. 5, 2004 Reuters released the following information:
"President Vladimir Putin gave his seal of approval for Russia's crucial backing of the Kyoto Protocol, clearing the way for the U.N. environment pact aimed at curbing global warming to come into force early next year."
"The Kremlin said Putin signed a parliament bill late on Thursday confirming Russia's ratification of the protocol. Both chambers of Russia's parliament approved ratification of the pact last month after Putin pointed the way."

The Wall Street Journal on October 22, 2004, in an article also stated, "The treaty is meant to slow the rapidly accelerating release into the atmosphere of so-called greenhouse gases, chiefly carbon dioxide. CO2, produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and coal, forms an atmospheric layer that reflects the sun's heat back toward Earth, heating the planet in a process known as the greenhouse effect, or global warming."

Joseph LaStella, president on GSPI, stated, "The use of biodiesel reduces CO2 emissions by 78% and that a study done by the National Biodiesel Board indicates that biodiesel is the lowest cost alternative to reduce exhaust emissions from diesel engines, which includes global warming gases."

These past few weeks have been great news for the planet Earth, the Kyoto Treaty was ratified and President Bush signed HR 4520 in law, which provides both biodiesel and ethanol an excise tax refund. Both these events will greatly increase biodiesel and ethanol production in the US and worldwide.

An article printed in Biodiesel Magazine (Oct.-Nov. 2004) states: "India wants to launch a major biodiesel effort, but they have not been able to lock in on a consistent source."

The article further states, "The only real hope (for India) today lies is non-edible tree oils, such as jatropha and pogomia. These oil trees are hardy plants that require minimum water and can grow in nearly all soil types...Plants like jatropha, which produce non-edible oil seeds, can grow very well in varied regions of India." These oil trees have only one hitch; it takes three to five years to produce full yields.

Joseph LaStella stated, "India is only one part of a huge market in a world that suddenly realizes that they may have to import alternative fuels while gearing up their own production of alternative fuels through technology transfers."

The Biodiesel Magazine article also states, "California-based American Biofuels...recently announced that it had shipped a container load of U.S.-produced biodiesel to Asia. The shipment is believed to be the largest order of biodiesel ever shipped from the United States to Asia. The company shipped approximately 6,000 gallons of biodiesel packaged in over 100 barrels. The company called the shipment - 'a major step in opening Asian markets to U.S.- produced biodiesel and biodiesel technology.'"

Presently, almost every country is scrambling to increase their production of biofuels to wean off the high cost and instability of crude oil and become more energy independent.

American Biofuels is not only planning its expansion in the US but also its exports abroad and to construct plants on a joint venture basis in several foreign countries, which have contacted American Biofuels.

Green Star Products, Inc. is an environmentally friendly company dedicated to creating innovative cost-effective products to improve the quality of life and clean up the environment. GSPI is involved in the production of renewable clean-burning biodiesel and other products including lubricants, additives and devices that reduce emissions and improve fuel economy in vehicles, machinery and power plants. For more information, see GSPI's Web site at http://www.GreenStarUSA.com or call Investor Relations at 619-864-4010, or fax 619-789-4743, or email info@GreenStarUSA.com. Information about trading prices and volume can be obtained at several Internet sites including http://www.bloomberg.com and http://www.bigcharts.com under the ticker symbol "GSPI."

Forward-looking statements in the release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, continued acceptance of the company's products, increased levels of competition for the company, new products and technological changes, the company's dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.