UPCOMING EVENTS
* March 7th: "Biodiesel Mixin' Mixer," a demonstration where
biodiesel will be made. Path to Freedom in Pasaden.
* March 18 is the birthday of biodiesel pioneer Rudolph
Diesel. Various events are being planned, but nothing concrete has
been established. Look for announcements at biodieselcouncil.org.
* Many other events are being planned. Information on them can also
be found at biodieselcouncil.org.
BIODIESEL SITES
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Participants of the California Biodiesel Consumers' Conference
came from all over California, Colorado, and the east coast. On
the first day, attendees were brought up to speed on issues
concerning biodiesel (i.e., 100% biodiesel), and ideas were
brainstormed. On day two, the focus was on concrete steps to
create an infrastructure and community base for widespread
biodiesel use. It was generally agreed that there should be
an association of biodiesel producers and users, to be called
the
Biodiesel Council of California (see www.biodieselcouncil.org),
but that excess structure and organization should be avoided.
The ideal scenario, it was said, would be for the public to
pull up to pumps and have a choice between biodiesel and
"dinodiesel." The conference participants also want biodiesel
used in city utilities.
The many short-term goals that were discussed included lobbying the
National Biodiesel Board, which currently discriminates against
small biodiesel producers; working with the Sierra Club, the
Green Party, and Greenpeace; facilitating and encouraging school
buses to be run on biodiesel (to this end, involvement with
Parents, Teachers, and Students Associations would be helpful);
and in the more immediate term, children can be educated with
presentations. One participant, who has given such presentations,
noted that even rowdy kids become transfixed when biodiesel is
discussed.
"I thought it was exhilarating and positive to see the work
that's been going on," remarked Nicole Cousino of Chula Vista, a
participant who co-produced the 1994 film Fat
of the Land. "There's a lot of smart people that are
actively engaged in trying to ensure the viability of small-scale
biodiesel use, production, and distribution. Those that are
really committed to this are really well-read and familiar with
quality issues, emissions, EPA [Environmental Protection Agency]
regulations, and so forth."
She continued: "A lot of the debate was: 'Is it better to work
alone, or is it better to work as a group? In my own opinion, it
seems like it would be important to have some kind of association
[with] members that were working on trying to ensure access to
better quality control testing, that were developing
relationships with the EPA, and that I could participate within
that as a small-scale producer without having to do all of that
work on my own."
Devin O'Keane, a biodiesel producer, consumer, and advocate from
Chico, California, remarked: "I thought it was really exciting
that we got to meet people from around the country who are doing
the same kinds of things that we're doing here. It was an
excellent networking session, where everyone got to place the
names with the faces. We had been communicating with each other
for some time, but we never met. . . . I thought it was a really
solid introduction to the movement. We're starting to see the
formation of a legitimate organization."
"I learned quite a bit more about the emissions," said Ian
Miller of San Diego, who runs the
Socal
Biodiesel Group
(see http://auto.groups.yahoo.com/group/socalbiodiesel or search
"socalbiodiesel" at Yahoo Groups), "especially as it
compares to some of the other so-called alternative fuels like
natural gas. I learned a lot about the EPA guidelines and a lot
of the certifications."
Members of the media were present, but Nicole Cousino is
concerned that too much attention could be placed on one project,
a biodiesel Hummer. "To me [the biodiesel Hummer] suggests:
'We can have our cake and eat it, too. We can still be these
gross consumers, but kind of calm our guilt by using biodiesel.'
How much friggin' biodiesel is it going to take to run one of
those things, and why the hell are people driving them anyway?
How much labor and energy goes into producing one of those
things? This is just what I think personally."
She added: "Ninety-nine percent of the people [who were] at the
conference are really about doing local production because
[they're] using resources from their local community; because
they're not paying for a lot of transportation fees or use of
energy to transport fuel, it stays local; and they have a close
connection with their customer base: their community. So it
really works in this more holistic fashion, which is great.
[Biodiesel activists] really are backing up what it means to do
sustainable energy."
During the conference, an inaugural meeting for newly-formed
council was planned for Northern California on March 14. Albeit,
the community's attention has since shifted to a new regulation that
will severely restrict biodiesel use in California. "There's an
organization called ASTM (American Society of Testing and
Measurement)," said Kalib Kersh, a biodiesel educator. "It's
largely made up of scientists and engineers who decide what the
specifications for different things are, including what is diesel
and what is biodiesel. When ASTM made the specification for
biodiesel as fuel, for whatever reasons, they called it a 'blend
stock.' Now, California Weights and Measures, heeding the
recommendations of Chevron and the Western States Petroleum
Association, and ignoring comments of the National Biodiesel
Board and many, many users of 100% biodiesel in their vehicles,
are saying that the engine manufacturers and Chevron don't agree
that 100% biodiesel should be used as a fuel because they claim
the engines aren't designed for it, which is simply untrue.
There's tons of evidence that shows that biodiesel is a better
fuel, too. It's lower in all categories of emissions except for
NOx. That makes it a much greener, healthier fuel in terms of
emissions, even relative to a so-called 'green' fuel like CNG
(Compressed Natural Gas). As far as lubricity, biodiesel is much
better than diesel for engines."
At the time of this writing, there was no clear consensus for
what the public can do to help this situation. However, the
subject is being discussed at:
BioDieselNow Forums
(forums.biodieselnow.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2110(. Also, please
watch this site for future announcements.
It looks like bio-diesel is better than diesel, but I get disturbed when I see people investing so much effort in making driving possible. What's wrong with getting onto your bike in beautiful sunny SoCal?
Don't get me wrong: if you're going to drive then I'd rather you drove something less polluting, but I worry that this initiative will allow people to kid themselves that they're doing something environmental when they drive their bio-diesel powered van.
When you drive you're not just spewing out particulates and CO2 and bits of Cadmium, Lead and Chromium and other heavy metals (from the engine and tires), you're also creating a hostile environment for cyclists and pedestrians and creating a situation in which there is no public pressure for public transport improvements.
I have no doubt that there are people with good motives behind this, but given that there aren't enough people agitating for improved cycling conditions and improved public transport I'd argue that it would be better to put the effort into getting cars and vans _off_ the road instead of finding another way of powering them.
Harry's got a good point. Within LA, the bicycle needs more rights, because traffic around Downtown is a mess. It's faster getting around on a bicycle. It's a bit tougher in the burbs, where the commutes are longer, but even there, new urban densities are forming at a good clip. There's almost a critical mass of shopping destinations to where people west of La Puente can ride a bike to shop.
Out here, the big issue, I think, will be zoning higher density residential areas. If they don't densify some areas, we'll end up with an awful situation like Van Nuys, where families started living two and three to a house, causing severe overcrowding.
Just set up a way to keep building new moderate income apartments and condos, and rents will stay pretty reasonable.
pROBLEM IS BIODIESEL WONT MAKE A DENT IN THE CURRENT NEEDS FOR OIL/GAS CONSUMPTION IN THE us.
I don't think that cyclists necessarily need more rights to get around LA: we just need enforcement of the current laws that clearly state that a bicycle is a vehicle under the law. There's a huge amount of ignorance on the part of motorists as to what the legal and safe method of cycling is and there tends to be an assumption that we're not supposed to be on the road, but instead on the sidewalk.
Of course a large number of cyclists reinforce this misconception and ride on the sidewalk (which is actually more dangerous than riding on the road!)
I agree with what you're saying about density affecting the viability of cycling in the outer suburbs, but in those situations I'd rather see more buses (in utopia they'd be diesel powered and IIRC the video about the biodiesel mentioned above references some city's trial programs to do this) and light rail instead of fleets of biodiesel powered SUVs
Again, sorry if I come off sounding negative but the conversion of private automobiles to biodiesel is something that I have mixed feelings about.