Comment Log Display

I am writing to express the importantance to me and to the people
of California that you fund the BioFuel Oasis biodiesel fueling
station in Berkeley.

I have been using B99 or B100 biodiesel in my vehicle for the past
2 years or 30K miles, and have been very happy with the resultant
vehicle performance and reduction in atmosphereic pollution this
has afforded-- in spite of the inconvenience of higher cost and
poorer availability that biodiesel users currently suffer in our
state, conditions that will persist until adequate infrastructure
is developed.

The only public pump in the entire SF bay area for the past 3
years has been the BioFuel Oasis in Berkeley, and I've gone out of
my way to fuel up there during their limited hours. Their new
location will make biodiesel much more accessible, not only to the
Bay Area, but to travelers on the busy I-80 corridor. BioFuel Oasis
is a small, locally-owned and women-owned business with the money
staying in the state and local community. They strive to get
biodiesel made as locally as possible from recycled vegetable oil.
 For the past year, all the biodiesel they've sold has been made in
California from recycled vegetable oil, eliminating the extra
pollution created by transporting fuel via petroleum diesel
burning trucks, trains and ships.

As you should know, the use of biodiesel translates into lower
carbon dioxide/greenhouse gas emissions and lower particulates,
which means cleaner air and less global warming. The only category
of pollution not dramatically reduced via the use of biodiesel are
nitrogen oxides, and they could easily  be removed from emissions
by a catalytic converter, whose catalyst is not destroied by
either low-sulfer diesel or biodiesel. I would happily and
immediately instal one on my vehicle were one available. Like any
alternative fuel, biodiesel is not perfect, but it does present an
elegant solution for the millions of diesel trucks, busses, trains,
ships, passenger vehicles, generators, etc. that currently run on
petroleum diesel-- and could be running on biodiesel with very
minimal modification and expense, right now.

It has been frustrating for me to find this nearly perfect
alternative fuel for my and many others' application, and watch
for the past few years how it has been neglected and marginalized
in the alternative fuel discussions. I understand how it isn't in
the immediate interest of the petroleum industry or the auto
manufacturers to switch to an immediately available alternative
fuel such as biodiesel (they'd make more profit by having us
continue polluting the atmosphere with petroleum emmissions while
other alternatives are researched and developed). And I understand
the CARB's negative feelings about particulate emissions from
petroleum diesel combustion-- I share those feelings as well. But
what I fail to understand is how an immediate and simple solution
such as using biodiesel has been obstructed not only by the
corporations that profit from petroeum use, not only by the
industry-leaning federal government bureauocracies, but also by
groups such as the CARB whose mission is to protect our air
quality. 

Please, do the right thing here, and fund the Biofuel Oasis
station in Berkeley. Biodiesel should be promoted at least as much
as ethanol, as the best immediately available alternative fuels.
More availability for biodiesel means better health for
Californians, and a more sustainable transportation system and
economy for our state. We should be talking about HOW MANY
biodiesel stations are around, not that there's at least ONE in
the bay area. Like we should be talking about how many and what
type of biodiesel designated passenger diesels are sold in
California, not waiting around for the CARB to lift its ban on ANY
diesel passenger vehicles being sold new in the state. So, please,
do the right thing here for the people-- rather than continuing to
follow the line of the petroleum industry obstuctionists.