This movie is a lighter side on the dark side of the farm…

So after spending the weekend getting to know it a bit better, I am happy to announce to the world that I am the proud owner of a 1984 Mercedes 300d Turbo Diesel. Yes, that’s right. A deisel.

Why, you may ask, am I driving a 20-year old car that runs on such an odd fuel? Because it can also run on biodiesel which is a fuel made from soybeans (and other oil crops). Biodiesel has fewer particulate emissions than regular fuel (both gas and diesel), does not require digging deep into the Earth (for example, in Alaska) and has the extra added bonus of helping to employ American farmers since they have to grow the crops (oh yeah, and when was the last time you heard of anyone going to war over Soybeans?).

To run on biodiesel, all you have to do is fill up your diesel car with it (Don’t do this with just any car). There is no conversion necessary.

BUT, with a diesel engine you can also run the engine on just about any oil there is. So, for example, with a bit of modification to my new car, I can make my own fuel for free by going to a restaurant, pick up their used cooking oil, filter out the impurities and water, and then run my car on that. Why would I do such a thing? It cuts down on waste going into landfills, is very clean burning and, oh yeah, after the intial investment in the conversion and equipment for cleaning the oil, IT’S FREE GAS!

Neat huh?

Anyway, as I learn more about my car, I am going to convert it to run on Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) and will post more about it here. Wish me luck!

Thanks to Frybrid’s forums for this awesome story. It’s not the preferred way to convert your car to run on veggie oil, but in a pinch, I guess it worked!

I’m really into helping make the world a better place these days and not just talking about it. This comes from writing, as I do, for a publication that covers power resources for the energy industry. It’s a job that has made me very much aware of the many technologies that exist for generating power cleanly and efficiently and learning all the time how many power generators are trying really hard to avoid using them.

As I see it, the only way we’re ever going to get this country off its dependance on fuels is through something called Distributed Generation. Simply put, DG is a lot of small generating sites located in high-load areas (places where there is a large need for power, like a city). Now, of course, you don’t want a big, stinky coal plant in your neighborhood no matter how many IPods you need to charge (consumer electronics that need to be charged are actually a big part of our growing demand for electricity). This is why most DG sites use renewable energy or are at least very clean. Thanks to this article from Grist that Dayna sent me, I think I see a way to add my $.02 to the DG cause. If you ask me, it’s a win-win situation: If we get something like this going, I get to help the environment and invest in real estate.