Noisy Balloonist Blog is the apprentice

Off-Ramp is a mildly gonzo exploration of L.A.’s artistic and cultural odds and ends, broadcast every weekend on KPCC public radio. On the May 5th edition host John Rabe talked up his new veggie Benz, a 1980 Mercedes modified to run on vegetable oil. This prompted a frothy letter from me, which John was gracious enough to excerpt on last Saturday’s (May 12) show. You can stream it from the Off-Ramp homepage or subscribe via iTunes. I’d like to think the letter serves as a decent—if, wait for it… pleonastic (!)—primer on plant fuel fundamentals. It follows:

Hello Mr. Rabe and Off-Ramp staff,

My name is Ben Calderwood. As an avid KPCC listener, longtime member, and Off-Ramp fan, I was excited to hear about your veggie oil adventures on the May 5th broadcast. I wanted to comment and was debating how nit-picky my concerns were (I realize the program has a cultural—rather than hard news—bent), but then I noticed I kind of already had. Coincidentally, I was interviewed for the Marketplace Money episode you link to on the Off-Ramp homepage [see ~89 megahertz legend ] and my remarks appear in the transcript. I figure this must be a sign, so permit me to offer some thoughts.

Straight, or virgin, vegetable oil (SVO) and waste vegetable oil (WVO) are not biodiesel (BD). While you were fairly judicious about referring to your fuel as “vegetable oil” on air, the Off-Ramp site repeatedly uses the term “biodiesel.” Biodiesel is plant-based oil (or very rarely, animal fat) that has undergone trans-esterification, a reaction designed primarily to remove glycerin and dramatically decrease* the fuel’s viscosity. The resulting product can be run in any diesel engine with no modifications whatsoever, quite unlike SVO and WVO. There are occasional exceptions like a fuel filter change (BD, like VO, will flush petro-diesel deposits from your engine) or replacing natural rubber fuel lines in older cars such as your Mercedes. In essence VO users convert the car, while BD users convert the fuel.

This nomenclature mix-up is a ubiquitous thorn in the side of alternative fuel advocates. While it may seem like mere semantics, the terms SVO/WVO and biodiesel are not interchangeable, and the distinction between them is important. First, simply because plant-based fuels are an exploding industry, and for obvious reasons incredibly topical. In this city, the world’s greatest temple to the car culture, accurate information is of paramount importance and, unfortunately, difficult to come by in virtually all media. As gas prices skyrocket and more drivers seriously consider plant-based fuels—it’s worth noting that the last time I filled up on biodiesel (May 2nd) the price was less than even 87 unleaded, no doubt generating consternation and curiosity among the SUVers—the responsibility to deliver explicitly accurate info grows.

The second reason engages a broader discussion about the long-term viability of VO and BD as genuine, mass-market alternatives to fossil fuels. SVO/WVO—and Lovecraft Biofuels in particular, who have a reputation for attracting press—have somewhat monopolized public discourse about fuel alternatives in Los Angeles. The counter-culture aesthetic, do-it-yourself approach, and relatively low up-front investment of veggie oil autos make good media stories, as does the illusory promise of “free” fuel, scavenged from your neighborhood Chinese restaurant or Mickey Ds. In fact, properly transporting, filtering, and storing waste oil requires significant time and effort, and should foreign matter or water wind up in your engine, you may wind up calling a tow truck. If WVO were ever adopted en masse, the demand for oil would promptly exceed supply. This supply-demand issue applies to virgin oil as well, further complicated by our conflicting needs for the source plants as food and fuel.

My intention is not to “debunk” SVO or WVO. Any effort to relinquish our dependence on fossil fuels is a step in the right direction, both philosophically and pragmatically, and I support the do-it-yourselfers and home-brewers. Rather, I want to help ensure that the discussion is sufficiently accurate and inclusive. I believe that when the facts above are considered, BD is the superior long-term alternative. Los Angelenos, married to their cars and notoriously loathe to change their behavior or inconvenience themselves, need a plant-based fuel as readily accessible and thought-free as gasoline. No modifications, no hauling fuel, no mess, no worry; just pay at the pump and go. This is absolutely essential for mass-market adoption. As more automakers deliver CARB-compliant diesel cars to California beginning in the 2008 model year, biodiesel is that fuel. In fact, biodiesel is already available at the pump at five Southern California locations: Brentwood, Pacific Palisades, Marina Del Rey, Ventura, and Santa Barbara. I drive a 2003 diesel Jetta exclusively on BD; never had a single problem. To be fair, as consumption increases and the multinational petro giants jump on the green fuels bandwagon, biodiesel will face supply-demand and feedstock conflicts as well. Nevertheless, ease of use and extant infrastructure that can easily accommodate BD make it the best currently available fossil fuel alternative.

Perhaps in the future you might consider taking a biodiesel car for a spin on Off-Ramp. There are numerous resources in L.A. to investigate. Kent Bullard established the Southern California Biodiesel Users Group, set up a BD co-op (originally in Marina Del Rey, now in Downtown and Torrance), and was instrumental in convincing the USA Gasoline stations mentioned above to sell biodiesel at the pump.

I have also CCed my very good friend Kumar Plocher on this email. Kumar founded and runs, along with his wife Sunny, Yokayo Biofuels in Ukiah, California, in Mendocino County. Kumar [blogging at Fueled for Thought] is a biodiesel pioneer, part of a nationwide community of activists/businesspeople committed to pursuing ecological, sustainable, responsible fossil fuel alternatives and reshaping the economics of fuel manufacture and consumption. He recently gave an interview to the Center For American Progress.

Thank you John Rabe and KPCC for your time. You are an essential part of my day and an invaluable Southern California resource. Keep up the good work.

*Thanks to Kumar for, you know, actual accuracy.

Tuesday morning I taped an interview on the economics of biodiesel for the nationally broadcast public radio program Marketplace.

Angelenos can tune in this Sunday April 30 at 2pm on 89.3 FM KPCC. Check here for a list of local stations, or stream the show directly from the Marketplace Money page, where it may be available a few days early. You can also order take-out via iTunes.

I have no idea how much of my comments will make it to air. The reporter was beating a hasty retreat from my apartment to power-brunch with biofuel VIP Josh Tickell. Josh has undeniably earned his biodiesel stripes; however, he has succumbed somewhat to his own cult of personality, if such a thing can exist in the staunchly grassroots realm of alternative fuels. Witness his eponymously named site. Like fallen idol Emeril “BAM, bitches!” Lagasse before him, when the shtick eclipses the meal it’s time to get your grub elsewhere.

I tried to kick it up a notch and remind the reporter that the motivation to support biofuels goes well beyond out-of-pocket economics, and the true cost of burning petroleum has little to do with the numbers at the pump. That was not the angle. Indeed, as gasoline prices skyrocket, the short-term economics of retail B100 easily outpace that of petro.

Enjoy the segment!

That very sustainable double-entendre is the invention of Kumar and Sunny of Yokayo Biofuels.

I just fueled up on B99.9 made from pure walnut oil. Today my Jetta TDi is a man. That’s 99.9% biodiesel with a scant .1% of petro for flavor. Actually, the .1 results from some half-baked regulatory voodoo regarding running “experimental” fuels in California, of which biodiesel is one, like, oh… I dunno, bear prostate or angel feathers. But that’s not the point.

**EDIT** Let me get my facts straight here. The .1 is required in order for the seller to secure a federal tax credit. Sorry, I’ve been hitting the bear prostate a little hard. Pray, continue:

The point is I just bought 30 gallons of renewable, locally sourced, locally produced, minimally polluting, no-net-CO2-producing, non-toxic, and fundamentally common sense plant-based fuel at the pump in Los Angeles! This feels good. Kent Bullard of Sustainable Options and Biodiesel Co-op fame, with colleagues, opened a public pump at the USA Gasoline Palisades Gas and Wash just off Sunset Blvd (behind the Ralphs) in Pacific Palisades. Find it right here. This is a remarkable achievement, the first B100 at a readily accessible public pump in all of LA, slipped in among the nozzles of dino where it will quietly upset the status quo—we hope—forever.

Strikes me as an astute bit of eco-political social engineering, opening a bio pump at a place like Palisades Gas and Wash. It’s one of those high-end hand car wash joints that dot the LA landscape and cater to the car culture. On any given weekend afternoon, you have to navigate the flock of soccer moms having their Escalades preened just to secure a spot at the pump. They squint at you through their Donna Karans and inquire as to why you’re filling up 3 grimy 5-gallon carboys with fuel. Then, grinning triumphantly, you get to tell them. Every education is a victory for the planet and the life we are duty-bound to help it sustain.

The staff up there is courteous to a fault. They gently refused to let me pump my own fuel. When I asked the gentleman who was helping me to please use the vent trick to top off he replied, placidly, that he’d been working there for 25 years and of course he was going to vent the tank, thank you very much. Another attendant ferried my credit card inside for processing and returned with a receipt and a pen, lest I be forced to hike the 12 feet under my own power. I almost expected him to give me a backrub and a mint.

Thank you so much Kent and friends and Palisades Gas and Wash for fueling revolution!