Socialism: But isn't there an energy shortage? (1979)

From the March 1979 issue of the Socialist Standard

" . . . The babassu palm (Orbignya marlinana) is perhaps the ideal way of converting solar energy into usable, storable fuel, in terms of yield per hectare, capital investment, running cost, and minimum research expenditure, because the basic technics are already known. This Brazilian species grows up to 70 feet high and lives about 200 years, growing on land that has so far been found unsuitable for permanent agriculture . . . If we calculate from the maximum 90 tonne a hectare nut yield [from the babassu palm] and include the charcoal, methyl alcohol and wood gas on their fuel value, this total is equivalent to 28.9 tonnes of Middle East crude oil per hectare. Multiply this by up to one thousand million hectares, roughly one sixth of the land suitable for babassu palms . . . the total is 28.9 milliard tonnes, which is ten times the world crude oil production in 1970 . . " (From a report by the Henry Doubleday Research Association called, “Green Power. A Permanent Alternative to Nuclear Energy”.)