Art-ology

We know that we are all creatures of habit and if we can opt to take the easy route, we do. It’s not that we don’t care about issues that we’re not sure we can do anything about, or might affect our heirs and generations in future, but we just don’t focus unless the chips are really down. This can lead to apathy and inaction, yet through education we can come to terms with the fact that we really should be proactive and make changes for the greater good.

What is in it for me to switch over to the use of biodiesel fuel? Today, there are numerous reasons for doing so and over the last few years these answers have gained additional credibility. There are now a number of ecological and economical benefits associated with biodiesel, which did not necessarily mean as much to us a number of years back.

Principally, carbon emissions are now known to be very dangerous and unwanted. Today, it is very politically correct to be green. We may see government action to force a reduction in the use of conventional fuels, adding a premium to gasoline, for example. The government has also mandated stricter fuel economies and greenhouse gas emissions may well become hazardous pollutants. Biodiesel helps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions associated with traditional fuels, by a factor of almost 80%.

At present, homemade biodiesel fuels can be created from such waste products as cooking oils and thus help to cut down on recycling costs or other issues associated with disposal of wastes. We can help the agricultural communities by noting that biodiesel can be made from vegetable products such as soy. Turning to this fuel for our transportation means could provide a fantastic shot in the arm to these communities and farmers, as the crops could be used to full advantage.

If we could rely on alternative fuel methods such as biodiesel for more and more of our vehicle transportation, we would not lay ourselves open as much to the peaks and troughs associated with oil production, often in far off overseas lands. How times have changed, in the US we would never have dreamed about four dollar per gallon gasoline five years or so ago. Biodiesel can be made from domestically available sources and can help promote our energy security in no uncertain way.

The US automotive industry is changing significantly and we can expect to see an introduction of smaller and more economically viable cars there, similar to those seen in Europe for the last decade. On that continent, more than half of the vehicles actually run on diesel and can readily accept biodiesel fuels. We can fully expect the trend within the United States to be toward this type of vehicle and as such will see a growing trend toward making biodiesel widely available. When the next decade ends, biodiesel fuel will be a staple part of all our economies.