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Column A – Renewable EnergyPower for Life & Locomotion

Bangkok Police go Green, with Biodiesel for Patrol CarsHere is an example of putting biodiesel to work for serious public safety service. The Bangkok Post had described how several in the community are saving their used vegetable oil and donating it to the police for their patrol cars.

It's a story of generosity and challenges.

The site biodieselnow.com is a rich resource for technical and practical information on biodiesel.

Community Supported AgricultureWhat would agriculture have to do with alternative fuels and renewable energy, other than growing crops for bio-based fuels? The answer could be "plenty."

Here's how: Local production and consumption of basic agricultural products would significantly reduce the burden on national and regional transportation systems. That reduces the gallons/watts of energy needed for trucks and trains—and this would have an associated benefit of reduced cost for road and rail maintenance (wouldn't it be great if the potholes on your favorite highway were patched faster). We still could have our favorite crops that don't grow in our region shipped in, but chances are we would find that we don't need to eat those special things as often anyway.

Local production and processing also would go far in meeting employment needs in economically depressed areas, where jobs have been sent elsewhere because they are no longer profitable under current circumstances. "Local" would and should be a major component of the solution to numerous regional and national problems.

WVO & SVO—What in the world is that?A growing number of people at least talk about alternatives to fossil fuels, especially for power generation and locomotion. Unfortunately, as of August 2007 there is no combination technological-economic silver bullet for the displacement of fossil fuels from their central place in national and world economies. It doesn't require agreement with global warming theories to observe that no one is breathing easier physically as a result of the emissions malaise.

Brazil's "successful" experiment with ethanol notwithstanding, there are serious complications for other industrialized countries involving the resources required to produce ethanol that regrettably change that equation to negative gain in too many settings. With current technology, ethanol production takes corn from hungry human mouths, and the ethanol production process uses more energy than it yields (even allowing for the upcoming use of non-corn cellulosic ethanol). Technology could change, so it might yet be too early to write off moonshine as a vehicle fuel.

But consider Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) and/or Straight Vegetable Oil (SVO) as a diesel fuel. It's being used right now to power small fleets of vehicles in various parts of the world. One problem yet to be solved is that of a collection system that is quality controlled, fair, and accessible to businesses and individuals who would be willing to pass a certification inspection—if WVO/SVO fuels were used on a large scale, inspection/certification would be required for public health and safety. But even motorcycles are being built to run on WVO or SVO. There are dozens of serious references to private and business development of WVO/SVO fuels. It's a technology that deserves watching, as the current petroleum distribution infrastructure could be adapted to it with workable cost. The referenced link above is a good example of the resources that are available.

Plug in—Drive onElectric cars, on the drawing board for 100 years and still it's a struggle for them to attain acceptance. However, even in the face of the "celebrated" death of the electric car, we are invited anew to plug in and drive. The day might be arriving faster than previously thought when coulombs prove more profitable than crude, for both car maker and car driver.

Get a job—in eco-techEmployment areas include wind power and solar energy, water utilities & wastewater treatment works, solid waste management & resource recovery & municipal recycling, green building, land trusts, urban & regional planning, brownfield redevelopment, environmental consulting & engineering, and an assortment of related positions. Try some of these terms in your search strings and see what openings turn up.

Atmospheric CarbonTrackerAccording to the site: "CarbonTracker is a system that calculates carbon dioxide uptake and release at the Earth's surface over time. It estimates the carbon dioxide exchange from an 'atmospheric point of view'. " What it is used for, again according to the site: "Policy makers, industry, scientists, and the public need CarbonTracker information to make informed decisions to limit greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere." Good tool to track the game; now to improve the score … .

Ocean Wave EnergyThe concept of using the motion of tidal ocean waves has been around for several decades. It bubbles up in the news occasionally, as it has recently in Scotland. This seems like a no brainer. The ocean waves are constant 24/7, unlike wind and a sunny day. Certainly not as messy as fossil fuels in any form. Wave generators also have a reduced visual impact compared with wind propellers and solar panel arrays; much less cause for the neighbors to object on aesthetic grounds.

Straight vegetable oil as diesel fuelThis process has been around for a while, mostly in isolated instances up to now. Consider the use of used cooking oils from restaurants and institutional food facilities that is just thrown out as waste. No extra farmland taken from food production as required for ethanol. No prohibitively expensive manufacturing processes for hydrogen fuel cells and engines. Replace the gasoline engines in hybrid-electric cars with vegetable biodiesel engines and this viable alternative is possible. Today.

Living Green - cheaperHaving power to spare, and share. It might not be as expensive as you think.