Sep 30 2008

Nothing Sacred

In the old days, kitchen grease was a messy waste product that unscrupulous restaurant owners dumped illegally to avoid disposal fees. In today's greener age, this leftover sludge has instead become a valuable target of thieves who reportedly convert it into clean biodiesel at a cost of less than $1 per gallon. That's progress for you.

On Friday, Governor Schwarzenegger of California addressed that problem by signing into law a bill that will slash fees imposed on individuals who collect and recycle fryer grease for their personal use as a substitute for diesel fuel.

The law, sponsored by Good Earth Grease Haulers in Monrovia, aims to support biodiesel production by cutting vehicle transport fees from $400 to $75. In theory it will also discourage the stealing of oil by getting more haulers to register with the authorities.

Now if we could only lick the problem of thieves who rip off solar panels from rooftops and then resell them on eBay. Is nothing sacred?

Posted by: Jonathan Marshall | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

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Biofuels

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  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
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  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
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  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
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