Fwd from Ben Falk, previously Biofuel list-member Jack Kenworthy's colleague at the Island School in the Bahamas. Jack makes ASTM-spec biodiesel after about six months from being a novice - see: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?view=26928&list=BIOFUEL ASTM Fuel
Ben is now in Vermont, with Whole Systems Design Collective. This is a message from the solarbus.org list. FYI. >Homebrewers are, for the most part making as good or better fuel >than industrial scale producers. See >http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?view=25292&list=biofuel&related=1 for >an interesting commentary/example of this. As importantly, homebrewers have >been making fuel that is much closer to being sustainable - and that is the >whole point, isn't it...? > >There is sometimes less assurance of homebrew quality, but like with other >products, it oftentimes makes more sense to buy from a local farmer who you >know (and thus who's operation you know) than a certified organic farmer >from the other side of the country. The benefits to the whole system tend >to be greater when loops are closed and economies are dealt with on a >regional/local level: better economizing on distribution, less waste, >better connection between producer and consumer (better community), more >local control, etc. A homebrewer's fuel is almost always derived from stock >(used veggie oil) locally, and it is burned locally as well, closing the >loop from production to consumption within the same region. Homebrew is >also almost always made with locally generated USED veggie oil that needs >little shipping. It is almost always produced without encouraging the >farming of transgenic Monsanto rapeseed and RoundUp Ready soybeans that >industrial biodiesel rely upon heavily. Local fuel (like local most >anything) puts more money in the hands of grassroots innovators and >neighbors - than it does in the executive pockets of ADM, Proctor and >Gamble, Cargill, The National Soybean Board and the others who sit on the >boards of the Biodiesel regulation & certification industry. The reasons to >support a homebrewer go on. > >That said, burning biodiesel from World Energy (the largest producer of >biodiesel in the world and the company that makes Global E's fuel) is far >better than burning fossils from the Middle East or South America, to be >sure. > >But I would pose the question "Why are we finding alternatives to fossil >fuels in the first place" It seems that our answers would have everything >to do with sustainability - either economic, ecological, or social. If >making a more sustainable choice is part of what we are after, then doing >what we can to support the localization of the renewable fuel industry is >critical. Unfortunately the largest companies in the world saw the >biodiesel revolution coming before you and I did, and they achieved ASTM >standards necessary to legalize, market and sell the fuel. Through this >seemingly benevolent process they also rigged it so that they would ensure >that they (and their corporate affiliates) alone are the sole proprietors of >this fuel. Through exceedingly high fees for licensure, fees that are out >of the reach of all but very large companies, they have been able to own the >industry even before it gets massively profitable. The little guy making >his/her fuel locally and sustainably cannot get certification in the current >system. Witness the case of Tom Leuhe in western Mass and many others, no >matter how good their fuel quality is. The same companies that run the >petroleum show are setting up shop to run the renewable cartel also. > >The energy problem we face is not only of source, but of ownership and scale >as well. It is at least as important to support local fuel as it is to >support plant-based fuel. Imagine the currently dominating fossil fuel >energy system. Now, substitute plant oil production in place of drilling: >We will achieve the same export-based, one-way [take-make-waste], this time >using plants grown on the surface instead of those from a million years ago. >A massive system of millions of acres of monocultured oil crops and >centralized management (and profit) will be the inevitable result if we >simply flip-flop our energy sources. > >If anyone is looking for solid information from a non-profiting source, >check out: >http://journeytoforever.org/ >The largest biofuels information source on the web. From the bottom up. > >-Ben Note, however, that the bit about the big guys shutting out the little guys is no longer true, if it ever was. But the myth persists. Mark (Girl Mark) asked me recently to summarize the situation with small-scale producers in the US. It's here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/biofuel/message/27426 There are no barriers for small producers now other than meeting ASTM spec, which isn't a problem. A lot of would-be small producers are going right ahead. Also I don't think World Energy actually produces anything itself. They're brokers, distributors. Regards Keith ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/l.m7sD/LIdGAA/qnsNAA/9bTolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html List messages are archived at the Info-Archive at NNYTech: http://archive.nnytech.net/ Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
