Saturday, April 25, 2009

Myths about Biofuel

The biofuel I am talking about is fuel for vehicles that is made mostly from kitchen grease (i.e. vegetable oil etc. There are a few myths surrounding this kind of fuel that I hear mentioned quite often.

1. Biofuel comes from a free resource.

False.
Kitchen grease from restaurants and other businesses is not free. Rendering plants pay many of the customers for this grease.

2. Biofuel comes from an over-abundant resource.

False.
Kitchen grease is picked up by the rendering plants and rendered to be used in products such as moisturizers, conditioners, and industrial lubricants.

3. Biofuel is a cheap alternative to gasoline and diesel.

False.
It cost money to process biofuel. It must at least be screened to remove impurities (i.e. foreign materials). Rendering plants make more money selling to companies that produce the products listed above.

4. Biofuel is available for the taking. Just pick up a grease barrel from your local restaurant.

False.
Taking this grease is stealing and is illegal. It is not the same as taking someone's trash. The restaurant is under contract with a rendering facility to remove their grease. There are also laws in many communities that regulate the way the grease is stored, removed and disposed of.

5. Biofuel is cheaper than gasoline.

False.
The transport, processing and storage of biofuel would make it about the same price as gasoline.

Saturday, April 04, 2009

Poem: Chooser of the Slain


Valkyrie!
Thou dost call me,
Odin, at thy side.
Sword and wing
All night to sing,
Calling as we ride


"Choose the slain!"
The battlefield
Of life is just begun.
A dance of death
Dost honor bring
To heroes and unsung?


Sword to sword,
And blood to blood
Has brother brought to fight.
In one fell swoop
The line of old
Dies with him tonight.


What folly brings the mortal
To fight upon the field?
A quest for untold glory?
A seat in Odin's hall?
Whatever be the outcome,
To carl, thrall or thane,
In the end they heed the call
Of the Chooser of the Slain.


by Andrea E. Feeser