Biodiesel

When Rudolph Diesel invented his engine in the late nineteenth century, he envisioned a device that could run anywhere on a wide range of local fuels. A century later, Greg Pahl recalls that vision and shows us it is possible with Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy.

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 No. 2 oil for home heating, usually without any retrofits required.

As the politics of energy grow bleak, visionary entrepreneurs in the biofuels industry may very well become society's next great hope-heroes to today's energy insecurity the way astronauts were to the Cold War's space race. In Biodiesel, Greg Pahl delves into the history of the biofuels industry. He assesses its recent successes and current shortcomings, and stands well prepared to estimate its future. If the political, environmental, or financial woes of our current fuel industry have you concerned, it's time to take another look at biodiesel!

"Pahl is a visionary, but a visionary with his feet firmly planted in the soil. May his vision flower, and soon!"
—William McKibben

About the Author

Greg Pahl

Greg Pahl is a 1967 graduate of the University of Vermont and a former Military Intelligence officer in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. A full-time freelance journalist for many years, he has written feature articles for numerous publications, including Vermont Magazine, the Vermont Times, Mother Earth News, The Champlain Business Journal, and many others.

In addition, Greg is the author of Biodiesel: Growing a New Energy Economy (2005, Chelsea Green), Natural Home Heating: The Complete Guild to Renewable Energy Options (2003, Chelsea Green), The Complete Idiot's Guide to Saving the Environment (2001, Macmillan/Alpha Books), and The Unofficial ...

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