4. A nation run on coconuts
Editor’s Note: Good news can be bizarre. Consider, in this case, the plight of energy-depleted island territory of Tokelau – population 1400, north of Samoa and east of Tuvalu. Their solution to hard energy times — run the economy off coconut oils, which are in plentiful supply. Voila, energy independence! Not long after, Palmyra Atoll in the North Pacific went in the same direction.
In Tokelau, the tiny island nation administered by New Zealand, will become the world’s first entirely renewable powered country. Solar power and biodiesel produced from coconut will generate 150% of the islands’ electricity demand, eliminating the $820,000 spent annually on importing fuel.
In Palmyra, Pacific Biodiesel will supply a second delivery of biodiesel in 2013 for a Nature Conservancy research team on Palmyra Atoll, located in the North Pacific, after first supplying a load of 10,000 gallons in 2011. The Nature Conservancy’s Palmyra Project strives to “conserve unique biological resources on the atoll; supporting scientific research which will enhance our understanding of coastal and marine environments and guide future management actions while maintaining an efficient research station on this remote atoll,” said Palmyra Program Director Laurie Moore.
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