By Russel Arbuckle

This isn't necessarily a case of intentional greenwashing but I thought about the potential of bio diesel. When evaluating the bio diesel movement there are some things to consider. First there is a definite benefit to re-using old cooking oil to power a vehicle. It keeps oil out of a landfill or improperly disposed and it’s better on the environment. What’s more is bio diesel is locally available and non-toxic. According to Greasecar.com, Bio diesel produces 26% less CO2 and 39% less particulate matter. Restaurants produce about 100 million gallons of waste oil each year and for consumers it is cheaper than diesel and gasoline. Unfortunately if all of the waste oil was converted into bio diesel it would only amount to .07 percent of the total fuel consumed in America. Individual consumers will need to spend the time to form relationships with local restaurants for their waste oil. To help solve this problem the Dept. of Energy has developed an Alternative Fueling Station Locator that helps consumers locate locally available fuel sources.

The bigger problem facing the wider use of bio diesel is that only two major car companies sell diesel-powered cars in America. Ultimately this translates into a smaller amount of cars available, both new and used, that can run bio diesel. The real benefit would occur if there were more diesels imported into the United States. Countries like Germany and Brazil subsidize bio diesel and use waste agricultural products to expand their program. There is hope; the American auto industry is taking notice. The Volkswagen Jetta Turbo Diesel was awarded the Green Car of the Year Award at the Detroit Auto Show. The VW Jetta gets an estimated 41 miles per gallon on the Highway and 30 miles per gallon in the city. What’s more encouraging is that two of the top four green cars were made by Ford and GM. The Ford Fusion Hybrid and Saturn Vue finished out the third and fourth positions respectively in Detroit.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/21/news/economy/vegetable_cars/index.htm