Saving California With Salad Oil
By Stuart H. Rodman <stuart@stuarthrodman.com>
elsi.org
6-13-1
You've heard about it before; rolling blackouts, bankrupt utility companies, gasoline expected to challenge the $3 per gallon barrier. No its not Uganda- this is life in the Golden State at the dawn of the 21st century. Not surprisingly though, the land that gave us the sprouts and avocado sandwich may be on the brink of a major breakthrough in commercial energy production: cheap and abundant electricity- from recycled vegetable oil!
The idea behind all this is so advanced it's simple.
California has struggled for decades to clean up the poisonous smog polluting the air from auto emissions and fossil fuels used in producing electricity. What can be done?
Just find a fuel source to run a generator that isn't subject to foreign embargo or balance of trade deficits, doesn't produce radioactive waste matter, poisonous air pollution, runaway costs, leaking supertankers or exploding pipelines. Nuclear, coal, and natural gas obviously don't fit here. And because a recent action by the California Public Utility Commission created the need for a fuel that is safe and friendly enough to be used by ordinary business operators, it must be portable enough to run even the smallest of personally owned generators.
As is the case in most other regions around the country, you probably won't have to look much farther than the fuel tanks of the petroleum based diesel generators that are already hooked up to California's hospitals, manufacturing plants, and other businesses to run thousands of backup generators.
But there is a problem.
Emissions from conventional gasoline and diesel engines are fraught with carcinogens, CO2, and toxic particulate matter. And as Jim Bell, who sits on the Mayor's Environmental Task Force and represents the Sierra Club Advisor on the Regional Energy Advisory Committee explains,
"Residents here are already fed up. We are seeing increases in asthma attacks among young children and lingering damage to our local economy from decades of air pollution. To now turn the clock back and ask them to put up with even more poison is dead on arrival, energy crisis or not."
The solution? No need to reinvent the wheel, or the portable generator for that matter. Simply switch fuels to a cleaner alternative. Enter the fuel of choice; it s the same one derived from domestic soybean oil and the waste products of deep fat fryers, and its known simply as "biodiesel".
Back to the Future
Sound crazy? It shouldn't. After all, the world's first diesel engine, designed by Rudolph Diesel in 1895 was powered by peanut oil. And in fact, biodiesel has been used for years in Europe to power diesel cars and trucks, including even the most popular consumer autos built by Volkswagen, Volvo, and others. And for good reason. Just ask the U.S, Department of Energy. They've gotten the message. In their press release of April 30, 2001 elsi.org they state:
"Vehicle fleets currently required to purchase light duty alternative fueled vehicles under the Energy Policy Act of 1992 will be now allowed to purchase biodiesel fuel as an alternative, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has approved a final rule allowing biodiesel fuel to qualify as an alternative fuel for automobile fleets under the Energy Policy Act."
"Renewable and alternative fuels are a valuable commodity for our economy," said Secretary Abraham before adding,
"The continued use of biomass products, like biodiesel in our vehicle fleets, for power generation and for other products and materials will help the environment and help diversify our energy resources."
And There's More
The U.S. National Biodiesel Board [ii]states,
"The use of biodiesel drastically cuts harmful emissions such as carbon monoxide, unburned hydrocarbons and particulate matter compared to petroleum-based diesel, and reduces air toxics by up to 90 percent. "
Studies citied by the Board show that Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have completed the Health Effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act amendments of 1990. Those test results show it is non-toxic, biodegradable, and free of sulfur.
The National Renewable Energy Lab estimates the cancer-causing potential of biodiesel exhaust is 94 percent less than that of petroleum diesel. Additional US Department of Energy lifecycle analysis shows an 80 percent reduction in CO2, the primary greenhouse gas attributed to global warming. This last fact is not being lost on President Bush, already an advocate of the fuel, but one who may now be rethinking his position on greenhouse emissions and the detrimental role played in that process by petroleum byproducts.
And recently, USDA tests corroborated other studies and confirmed that biodiesel is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as quickly as sugar. Test have also discovered that using biodiesel could result in a 100% reduction in carcinogens, a 95% reduction in ozone harmful hydrocarbons and up to a 94% reduction in particulate matter, thereby reducing cancer risks. In addition, many new laws and legislatures are being passed which mandate either partial or full use of biodiesel.
Speaking of biodiesel, David Feuerherd, VP of Programs, American Lung Association of Arizona adds, "These studies establish biodiesel as a cleaner and healthier alternative to traditional diesel fuel. The fact that it is the only alternative fuel that can be used in existing engines and fueling infrastructure means that these clearly established health benefits can be realized immediately here in Arizona, or wherever diesel fuel is currently being used."
San Diego advocate Jim Bell echoes these sentiments,
"Replacing fossil fuel diesel with biodiesel made from renewable waste kitchen grease and vegetable oils, will greatly reduce the pollution that using fossil fuel derived diesel emits."
The Situation on the Ground
The domestically produced, federally approved alternative fuel for transportation is now being called on to fight another battle. Mark Snyder, San Diego electrical contractor, farmer, alternative energy expert, and President of the newly formed West Coast People's Energy Co-op [iii] who's members are perhaps the first in the nation to be offered generators warranted for use with biodiesel, has a plan. Snyder has declared war on the state's infamous rolling blackouts,
"The specter of rolling blackouts and runaway electric power costs threaten to close the doors of our region's business, disrupt the income of families, and cast a giant shadow over the region's over all economic health and prosperity."
While many Californians feel that the state's energy woes are the result of greed driven power companies who may be intentionally withholding electricity and driving the price of power into the stratosphere, Snyder believes that whatever the current cause, without a plan for coping, it will be the families and small business that suffer the most. He says,
"People are going to be left in the dark this summer. Without an alternative, many will find themselves not only without lights, but also without a paycheck."
Snyder feels that "biodiesel" can and should be used as the fuel of choice by operators of diesel powered electric power generators when they are used to keep darkened businesses open in the face of supply disruptions predicted for the summer. He says,
"Long-term solutions must be more than just political. Independently owned solar power and community wide use of renewables are essential if we ever hope to achieve true energy independence."
And Snyder adds that the cost of biodiesel generated backup power is relatively low and the equipment needed is largely in place,
"Many promising solutions still carry relatively expensive start up costs. At any rate, for many without a safety net, these answers are not expected to impact the region in time to prevent pain and disruption this summer, when demand for electric power traditionally peaks in our region."
Snyder adds, "Biodiesel and other Biofuels may also have a place in our long term energy plans as well, not just in California but around the nation."
BIODIESEL EMISSIONS COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL DIESEL
Emission Type
B100
Pure Stock
B20
Blended
Regulated
Total Unburned Hydrocarbons
-93%
-30%
Carbon Monoxide
-50%
-20%
Particulate Matter
-30%
-22%
Nox (before timing adjustment)
+13%
+2%
Non-Regulated
Sulfates
-100%
-20%*
PAH (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons)**
-80%
-13%
nPAH (nitrated PAH s)**
-90%
-50%***
Ozone potential of speciated HC
-50%
-10%
* Estimated from B100 result
** Average reduction across all compounds measured
*** 2-nitroflourine results were within test method variability
GM Soybeans: Fast Track to Serfdom?
It is often said that when you build a better mousetrap people will beat a path to your door. The story of biodiesel bears testimony to the expression. According to industry statistics, the use of the fuel has gone from a mere 500,000 gallons in 1999 to over 10 million in less than 2 years since!
A 1996 economic study published by the USDA Office of Energy predicted that a modest, sustained annual market for biodiesel of 100 million gallons in the US would contribute approximately seven cents to the price of each bushel of soybeans produced in the US. Based on last years harvested crop, the increase could have resulted in a windfall to U.S. farmers, at the expense of OPEC, of more than $168 million directly to the use of biodiesel.
What's more, the U.S. National Biodiesel Board states, "An important factor that is not usually considered when calculating the costs and benefits of industrial feedstock materials is the macroeconomic effect associated with domestically produced, renewable energy sources. Economic benefits of a biodiesel industry in the US would include value added to the feedstock (oilseeds or animal fats), an increased number of manufacturing jobs, an increased tax base from plant operations and income taxes, investments in plant and equipment, improvement of our trade balance, and reductions in health care costs due to improved air quality and greenhouse gas mitigation."
That should come as great news to the beleaguered American family farmer who has suffered for decades as transnational corporate behemoths have usurped the sovereignty of their lands and waged bitter price wars at the expense of their descendants. But with the advent of corporate farming, terminator seed technology and genetically modified seed stock, some may well wonder if the promise will ever be fully realized. Why?
Snyder sees trouble ahead for the petrochemical giants that control not only the fuel in our cars and power plants but also the nitrogen based fertilizers used commonly around the world. Snyder says,
"Petroleum is being used faster than new sources are being found. It is not a renewable resource and the time will come soon when it is no longer economically necessary for civilization to depend on it."
In fact many experts, including even the USGS[iv] think the end of the petroleum age may actually be coming sooner and not later. Recurrent reports suggest that the days of cheap oil may be fading into history as we witness a transition from the "buyers market" of cheap and abundant petroleum products, to a new "sellers market" as production of new petrochemical products becomes more difficult and costly. With these developments the emergence of competitive energy sources become not only more attractive, but imperative.
Economics aside, thermodynamic factors may seal doom for the age of petroleum. In the industry's glory days in the 1950's it took the energy from just one barrel of crude to discover, refine, and produce twenty more. In the nineties, the ratio had fallen to one barrel for five[v]. Even with the advent of new technologies, the day when no net energy is gained from oil exploration may be only 3 or 4 years away.
So, might not the brilliant corporate minds in the boardrooms of the world's all powerful oil cartels be looking for a soft landing say somewhere in the heartland of the world's most fertile agricultural treasure trove?
Small farmer Mark Snyder concedes, "With the use of corporately owned genetically modified seed stock strains of soy could be developed which would seem to shut the small producer out of the market."
And terminator technology would mean that farmers could produce only sterile crops, rendering them mere sharecroppers, at the mercy of the new barons and the control they would have over the emerging "green gold" of America's soy crops. Maybe there's more at stake than just turning on a few lights or getting better gas mileage. Snyder says,
"The new technology might, for awhile, produce bigger profits for those who own the rights to it."
Snyder says that such developments will not be sustainable though,
"Without radical changes in fertilization, pest control, and resource management, the carrying capacity of the soil will soon become exhausted. A more productive approach long term, would be based on the permaculture, not on the genetics of seed stock"
Who do You Trust?
No doubt about it, agri-energy can play a major role in our future energy portfolio. But what about the potential consequences of sterile crops and a food supply dependent more on agri-dollars than nature to assure its biological survival?
"We have to protect our greatest resources," says Snyder. "Its about nothing less than the air we breath and the soil that bears our fruit and grain."
Snyder, worries aloud as he looks out over his 22 acres of organically grown commercial berries, tropical fruit, and produce,
"We need a successor to the petrochemical based infrastructure. But there's at least one other ingredient that will be needed to assure that the new agriculture doesn't just plant the seeds of its own destruction."
If the architects of the untested new technology are listening, he's probably referring to a force that has protected the fields for centuries and has in the past laid down life and limb to assure that there would be plenty for another day. If Snyder is right, what's needed is the family farmer.
<http://www.energy.gov/HQPress/releases01/maypr/pr01062.htmhttp://www.energy.go v/HQPress/releases01/maypr/pr01062.htm
[ii] biodiesel.org
[iii] westcoastenergyco-op.org
[iv] geopubs.wr.usgs.gov
[v] Duncan, R. C. (1993b). The realities of world energy production: A prediction based on historic data. Humanist Association of Massachusetts, Cambridge, MA.
Stuart H. Rodman is the Director of Communications for ELSI and has authored numerous reports on energy and energy related issues. Stuart currently serves also as a Board member of the West Coast People's Energy Co-op (<http://www.westcoastenergyco-op.org/www.westcoastenergyco-op.org ). Stuart's work has appeared in the print media, on TV and radio, and he has been featured on panel discussions including the White House Council on Year 2000 Conversion and the Research Program in Social and Organizational Learning at George Washington University.
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