Dr Vadke, The use of biofuel is not the sole major reason behind price increase of cooking oil, a lot of factors - rise in global needs (The world population is now over 6.7 billion), decrease in agricultural land, inflation, etc have caused a demand-supply gap, thus giving distributors a chance to cash-in on the opportunity. Regarding village energy needs, in my opinion the villages have been the most basic and still self sufficient units in all terms specifically social, economic and also energy efficiency. Though with time, coupled with an explosive growth in population and increased pressure on land resources, the equation changed. Economics forced villagers into use of fertilizers of non organic origin (thus requiring additional source of energy). Economics also dictated needed to move crops to cold storages that again need additional sources. Health considerations favored gas stoves over traditional ones. In conclusion, a lot of resources had to be brought in an otherwise self sufficient cycle to sustain the population we are today and help us grow. There may not be a straight solution, but when we can we should try to control which affects the climate most. R R Tyagi
