During the 22 day war with Pakistan Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan-‘Jai jawan,Jai kisan’ (Hail the soldier,Hail the farmer) and Atal Bihari Vajpayee further added to it by incorporating Jai Vigyan.And if both of these kisan and vigyan join hands ,then miracle happens.India is mainly an agricultural country ,in which the major contribution to economic growth is by agriculture only. But in spite of that farmers are facing acute poverty.This is because only 25-40% of their crops fetches money whereas the rest of 60-75% of his produce which is agriculture residues is simply junked. Obviously no industry can survive on such low productivity.Apart from the government’s low support prices ,it is wastage that has made the farming non-renumerative.India generates 600 million tonnes of agriculture residues every year. If farmers are able to earn money through this,rather than burning it as a way of waste disposal ,it will greatly boost up the prospects.Any marginal farm can produce agricultural residues even if the main crop fails.And iof these residues are are used to produce energy ,a farmer can earn an average income of Rs 2000-Rs 4000 per acre from residues alone. This income can give him benefits even in the distress sale of his crops.

Three types of energy can be produced from these residues-Liquid fuels such as ethanol or pyrolysis oil;gaseous fuels like biogas and electricity.

Ethanol, which can be used as transport fuel can be produced by lignocellulosic conversion of residues.Extensive R&D is being done the world over to optimize this technology.Afew large plants in Canada,Japan and US have already been set up with this technology.Theoretically,residues in India can produce 156 billion litres of ethanol ,which can take care of 42% of India ‘s oil demand for the year 2012.

Pyrolysis oil is produced by rapid combustion of biomass ,which is rapidly condensed so that oil is yielded which is nearly equivalent to diesel.Around 20% 0f charcoal is produced as a byproduct which can be used as cooking fuel in rural households.Nevertheless,R&Dis still neededto make this technology suitable for use in internal combustion engines.India can produce about 400 billion kg of pyrolysis oil from its agricultural residues which is equivalent to 80% of India’s total oil demandfor 2012.

Agricultural residues can also contribute in the production of 80,000 MW power all year round through biomas based power plants.The plants could be either small scale (500MW) running on producer gas fronm agricultural residues or medium scale (10-20 MW) running on direct combustion of these residues.

A part of these agricultural residues can also be used via the biodigestor route to produce fertilizer for crops and methane gas to run rural transport ,irrigation pump sets or kitchens.Energy from agricultural residues in India can generate 30 million jobs in riral areas.When farmers are forgotten,long term sustainability of the country is threatened .When farmers produce both food and fuel ,their utility becomes manifold.65% OF India’s population depends on farming for its livelihood.If energy from agriculture emerge as an area of interest ,India can emerge as a high tech farming community.

Global warming is already under way. The evidence is vast and the urgency of taking action becomes clearer with every new scientific study. Some of the most obvious signs are visible in the Arctic, where rising temperatures and melting ice are dramatically changing the region’s unique landscapes and wildlife—as well as people’s lives and livelihoods. Across the globe, other early warning signs include melting glaciers, shifting ranges of plants and animals, and the earlier onset of spring.The profound impact rising temperatures have had in the Arctic provides a window into a future we may all experience. With continued warming, we can expect more extreme heat and drought, rising sea levels, and higher-intensity tropical storms. At risk are our coastal property and resources, the livability of our cities in summer, and the productivity of our farms, forests, and fisheries.In the conference on climate change recently,delegates from 37 small island states warned about the disappearance of small islands which are the home to five percent of world's population under the rising oceans as a result of global warming.Solomon islands foriegn minister Patteson Oti remarked that the climate change is the symptom and not the disease.He said the disease is our unsustainable means of production,worsened by unsustainable patterns of consumption.
We can’t avoid all the consequences of global warming, but committing ourselves to action today can help ensure our children and grandchildren inherit a healthy world full of opportunity.

By investing in renewable energy and energyefficiency,and increasing the efficiency of the cars we drive, we can take essential steps toward reducing our dependence on oil and other fossil fuels that cause global warming. Using energy more efficiently and moving to renewable energy (wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy) would significantly reduce our emissions of heat-trapping gases. The United States currently produces 70 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and oil, but only two percent from renewable sources. Since the burning of fossil fuels releases large amounts of carbon dioxide—the leading cause of global warming—but renewable energy does not, increasing the share of our electricity generated from renewable resources is one of the most effective ways to reduce global warming emissions. Cars and trucks are another significant source (25 percent) of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. A serious effort to address global warming must therefore reduce emissions from cars and trucks. Many technologies already exist that can do this, while also creating new jobs in the U.S. automotive sector and other industries throughout the country. In addition, American consumers would save billions of dollars on gasoline, and we would reduce our dependence on foreign oil. By putting energy efficiency, renewable energy, and vehicle technology solutions in place at the federal level, we can reduce our contribution to global warming while creating a stronger, healthier, and more secure nation.