Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #237882 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-10
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 282 pages

Synopsis
Today, 95 percent of global oil is consumed for transportation, and other alternatives are distant possibilities at best. We need a solution now, one that will pave the way to a saner, more sustainable energy future without massive reinvestments in infrastructure and technology transfer. We need biodiesel. A crop-derived liquid fuel, biodiesel can be made from a wide range of renewable, locally grown plant sources - even from recycled cooking oils or animal fats. The technology is simple and available today, and the benefits of biodiesel are enormous, as both a cleaner-burning vehicle fuel and a source for residential or commercial heating. Greg Pahl's new book explores the history and technology of biodiesel, its current use around the world, and its exciting potential in the United States and beyond. While biodiesel is not the answer to all our energy problems, it is an important step in the long overdue process of weaning ourselves from fossil fuels. Biodiesel is now coming onstream in Britain: a new plant being built in Scotland this Spring will boost output of the green fuel by up to 35,000 tonnes a year.

Biodiesel is: More biodegradable than sugar and less toxic than table salt Produced from domestic feedstocks, reducing the need for foreign oil while boosting the local economy and supporting the agricultural community. Biodiesel can: Reduce net CO2 emissions by 78 percent compared with petroleum diesel fuel, cutting greenhouse gases that lead to global warming Be mixed with petroleum diesel at any level to produce a cleaner-burning biodiesel blend Be blended with oil for home heating, usually without any retrofits required.

From the Inside Flap
"This book excited me enormously. I can imagine the day when the schoolbuses on the rural rounds in my county run on the oilseed crops that their passengers can see out the window; when the ferries across Lake Champlain give off that slight French-fry whiff as they ply the waters; when the dairy farmers who are going broke raising milk have something else to grow… Pahl is a visionary, but a visionary with his feet firmly planted in the soil. May his vision flower, and soon!" - Bill McKibben, from the Forewood. Biodiesel has powered tour buses for Neil Young, Bonnie Raitt, and Willie Nelson. Daryl Hannah's private vehicle runs on it, while Republican and Democratic politicians alike are backing its development. It's more biodegradable than sugar and less toxic than table salt, and the production process can take place on a massive industrial scale or gallon by gallon in your garage. In this essential new book, Greg Pahl shares the history of biodiesel, explains the technology in straightforward terms, and explores its exciting potential in the United States and beyond, including resources you can use to buy or make your own biodiesel. Biodiesel is: endorsed by politicians of all parties, environmentally conscious celebrities, and energy experts in America and worldwide; produced from domestic feedstocks, reducing the need for foreign oil while boosting the local economy and supporting the agricultural community. Biodiesel can: reduce net CO2 emissions by 78 percent compared with petroleum diesel fuel, cutting greenhouse gases that lead to global warming; be mixed with petroleum diesel to produce a cleaner-burning biodiesel blend; be blended with No.2 oil for home heating, usually without any retrofits required.

About the Author
Greg Pahl has been involved with renewable energy issues for more than twenty years. He is a founding member and codirector of the Vermont Biofuels Association. He is also the author of Natural Home Heating