The Sietch Blog

Feb 17
They’re Trying

Written by Rt

I loved this whole story. Volunteer fireman gets elected mayor then is criticized for continuing to drive his Hummer (isn’t everyone a critic once you become mayor :), so he uses the cooking oil from his restaurant (where, if I read this correctly, he cooks) to try to appease the critics.

He does it not so much to save money — although his fill-up costs have dropped from $70 to about $20 — but out of curiosity and to mute criticism of his travel in a $100,000 vehicle that averages 6 miles per gallon.

He mixes it himself late Saturdays after a week of cooking at his restaurant on West Church Street.

The only mechanical addition he had to make to the Hummer was an extra filter.

$70: Fill-up with diesel
$20: What a fill-up costs after blending grease from cookers at his restaurant with diesel
30: Gallons his fuel tank holds
20: Gallons of grease used per fill-up

This guy is more like a traditional hobbyist. He brews his own bio-diesel instead of running off of the vegetable oil. He became a diesel convert when he saw the mileage they got compared to gasoline. I presume the making of bio-diesel came later (no years are mentioned).

“This is a 50 gallon hot water heater so I can make 40 gallons of bio diesel at a time,” says Corbin.

“It costs me less than a dollar a gallon to make it,” he says.

“I’m told that there are some restaurants in Roanoke that are seeing competition among folks who want the oil,” says Cortin.

Here is a response from Brokeass to a question about purchasing a cheap hybrid vehicle. Lots of good links.

So, short of riding cows, what’s a brokeass to do?

I wish I could say that public transit is the solution to all our woes, but in most parts of the U.S., it simply doesn’t cut it.

Sharing your personal car (or other people’s cars) is another good way to cut back on environmental impacts and costs.

You could also consider buying a diesel car and running it on biodiesel. Older diesel autos probably have a better chance of falling in your price range, and though biofuels have their own problems, it’s a great option as we figure out how to go oil-free.

Finally, we have something on a much larger scale. This guy is CEO of a McDonald’s franchise (78 outlets, no small deal). He starts with his domain then moves into the political arena.

Two years ago when Tampa Bay burger boss Blake Casper heard guys were making diesel out of used cooking oil he decided he’d give it a try.

“I figured we’ve got plenty of that laying around,” said Casper…

Casper, who runs his McDonald’s fleet of company tractor-trailers on biodiesel, says he’s glad to be part of the changing energy debate. “There’s no easy fix here, but I think that the political mood is getting to the point where you have politicians who are much more bold about what they are saying about what needs to be done.”

Now Casper sits on the Florida Energy Commission, a new body tasked with advising the Legislature on a cleaner and more efficient energy policy that is less dependent on foreign oil.

Not only is the gov’t getting help from the citizenry but The Governator sent his adviser to help bring our guv up to speed. I have to laugh, using my best terminator voice to pretend the introduction - The Governator sent me, I’m here to help. I crack me up sometimes.

“Florida has got all the DNA for a great climate plan,” said Terry Tamminen, climate change adviser to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, perhaps the nation’s greenest political leader.