>County's first biodiesel station cooks up alternative to gasoline > >Berkeley venture offers vegetable oil recycled as environmentally friendly >fuel > >By Kristin Bender, STAFF WRITER > >BERKELEY -- BioFuel Oasis, the first biodiesel station in Alameda County, >doesn't have a pump or those handy packaged wet wipes for your hands like >a typical filling station. > >There's no squeegee to wash your windshield. > >And no place to buy coffee. > >What BioFuel Oasis of Berkeley sells is biodiesel and nothing but >biodiesel -- recycled vegetable oil from restaurants and potato chip >factories that's making a second appearance as an alternative fuel. > >Available in only 10 retail spots in the state, biodiesel powers any car >or truck that will run on diesel, including any Mercedes Benz, old >Volkswagens and new Volkswagen TDIs and trucks, said BioFuel Oasis >founders Jennifer Radtke, 33, of Oakland and SaraHope Smith, 37, of Berkeley. > >At $2.90 a gallon, the fuel still isn't cheaper than gas. But it's far >better for the environment, producing 50 percent fewer emissions than >standard diesel, studies show. > >"It's a little more expensive, but it runs clean and I find that it >performs in the engine. I have a little more torque," said biodiesel user >Michael Caldwell, who sells cars and drives a 2002 Volkswagen Golf Turbo >Diesel GL. Caldwell averages about 40 miles to the gallon with biodiesel, >far better than what a similar car with a gas engine gets, he said. > >In January 2003, Berkeley became the first city in the nation to convert >to biodiesel for 200 municipal cars used by firefighters, police, Health >and Human Services workers and Public Works crews. > >Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the city the >"environmental award for outstanding achievement" in efforts to protect >the environment. > >Biodiesel is generally made from domestically produced vegetable oil, >often soy oil. > >Some biodiesel users claim the fuel gives off an aroma like French fries >or donuts. Radtke said it smells "like an oil fryer." > >Studies show that burning biodiesel significantly reduces the impacts on >global warming, smog and asthma. The cleaner-burning fuel produces 80 >percent less greenhouse gasses than gasoline. > >"It's simple: You can touch it, it's non-flammable, it's really safe. It's >this totally amazing thing to use as fuel," Radtke said. "It's totally >unlike anything you think of as fuel." > >But even in the green and clean Bay Area, biodiesel isn't widely available. > >According to Radtke and Smith, both members of the Berkeley Biodiesel >Collective, and a check of ><https://shannon.permutation.net/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/010110A/http/www.biodiesel->www.biodiesel- > > > >.org, the site of the National Biodiesel Board, there are fewer than a >dozen retail fueling sites in California. Golden Gate Petroleum in >Martinez and West- > >ern States Oil in San Jose both provide biodiesel to the public. > >"We want to make biodiesel a legitimate alternative for whomever -- for >soccer moms, for business people, for anyone whose values are aligned with >ours, and who thinks it's the right thing to do," Smith said. > >"One of the factors (for supporting biodiesel) was we are going to war for >oil. That does not compute in my sense of logic," added Smith, who runs an >after-school program and does landscape gardening when she's not working >at BioFuel Oasis. > >Both women drive cars that run on biodiesel. Although the partners said >they are only "covering their rent" with the money they're making, >greenbacks can be had in sustainable fuel, said Pat O'Keefe, vice >president of Golden Gate Petroleum, a fuel distributor. > >"Compared to regular petroleum, it's a very small demand," O'Keefe said. >"But our volume seems to be doubling every year. But it still has a long >way to go. It's a small portion of our business." > >O'Keefe said there is enough demand for his company to open a second >retail outlet in Richmond this summer. > >Radtke and Smith hope to install a pump this summer and generate more >business. For now, they sell the biodiesel in 5-gallon plastic "carboys." >The women are currently working to secure city permits and raise a few >thousand dollars to upgrade the business. > >To that end, they have designed a "founding members program" to fill the >piggy bank. > >"Our founding members program is our answer to non-venture capitalism," >Smith said. A donation buys a spot in the "founding members program," the >chance to autograph a future pump, a founding members membership card and >a keepsake bottle of boutique biodiesel, possibly in a rosemary or >cilantro flavor. > >"Biodiesel and Sustainability" panel discussion 7 to 9 p.m. today at >BioFuel Oasis, 2465 Fourth St. A $5 to $15 donation is requested. For more >information on BioFuel Oasis or its hours, call 665-5509. > >Kristin Bender covers Berkeley. E-mail her at ><https://shannon.permutation.net/cgi-bin/nph-proxy.cgi/010110A/mailto:[EMAIL >PROTECTED]>[EMAIL PROTECTED] >.
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