Comment Log Display

Dear CARB Representative,

I commend the board's actions to promote biofuel availablility
through the AB1811 grant program.  It has come to my attention
that the eleventh (out of 10) applicants for the dispensing
infrastructure program element is Biofuel Oasis in Berkeley, CA. 
I strongly recommend that you expand your offering to include them
in your grant program award to whatever extent possible.  I have
been obtaining biodiesel from Biofuel Oasis for a number of years.
 I have a total of 90,000 miles on my vehicle (VW Golf TDI) on B100
and various blends without incident.

I'm sure that one consideration on your mind is the supposed
increase NOx emissions that are present in biodiesel exhaust
relative to the diesel baseline fuel.  Please consider, however,
that even electrically-powered vehicles which obtain their fuel
from local power plants, have higher NOx emissions than
gasoline-powered vehicles with NOx-adsorbing catalytic converters.
 In the next few years diesel-powered vehicles will come on the
market with advanced catalytic converters and particulate traps. 
We need to be forward-thinking and develop the biodiesel
infrastructure NOW to be ready for these new,
cleaner-than-gasoline vehicles.  Biodiesel-powered vehicles
already have lower VOC and Carbon Monoxide emissions than gasoline
vehicles, and have 90% lower particulate emissions than baseline
diesel-powered vehicles.  Biodiesel is considered 85 percent
renewable fuel, whereas E85 ethanol from corn is arguably a mere
15% renewable content.

Furthermore, the number of vehicles that can operate of E85
(so-called flex-fuel vehicles) is quite limited, whereas the
number of diesel-powered vehicles, including trucks, is vast. 
Money spend on biodiesel infrastructure is a better allocation of
tax dollars for this and many other reasons.

The folks at Biodiesel Oasis are top-notch.  I again request that
you reconsider your list of candidates and include Biodiesel Oasis
amongst the awardees.

Sincerely,
-Chas
Charles Ehrlich
www.enrgllc.com