This BioDiesel thing of late seems to have generated an emailed "Hey have you seen this?"
And This being: The NOAA Lake Michigan fleet. When they switched over in 2000 World Energy was the big supplier and the only Fuel Oil Distributor in Michigan with the BioD was the GE Wacker company. And it was about that time that we started pushing from the end user side on the TDIs. It grew to a partnership between the local TDIclub and Wacker oil. They showed up at TDIFest in michigan and pumped b100 and b20 non-stop for about 6 hours. And then they pumped even more the next day. Pretty impressive. And this was really amazing fuel. When there were just a few places doing it and control was extremely tight.
There are lots of tour boats and sightseeing boats that have switched over to BioDiesel because that allows the captain to ignore the wind direction and the exhaust relative to the passengers. A few companies in Hawaii were first, I know of a couple in Maine to have made the switch and passenger comfort is unbelievable. The Washington State Ferry system has incorporated a % of BioD in the fuel oil they use on the boats.
Every school bus company that has switched to a B20 or even a B5 blend has seen a dramatic decrease in maintenace costs. fewer fuel pumps need to be replaced and the oils stay cleaner, engine wear is down and everything just works better. And the environmental benefits are significant. In the older diesel systems they aren't great at reducing particulates (the newer ones are) and biodiesel can eliminate the particulate problem. Although even big black diesel soot tends to wash out of the air unlike gasoline pollutants that you cannot see.
phew... i had no intentions of starting the day with a BioD sermon. i was gonna be materialistic and sad about my ancient old M-frames breaking. and how its strange riding around without the gold iridum hiding my eyes... i can't do the booty tracking as easily or undetectably. At least i THINK the frames were covered with a lifetime warranty. I guess i just add them to the list of shit to do.
Ah what the hell Earth Day is tomorrow and what better way to Celebrate the earth than to burn clean Fuel. Okay, I have a better idea. RIDE THE G-D BIKE> Yeah a bike. most efficient form of transportation EVER invented by man. EVER.
but that said - some more google alert tidbits.
Earth Week: Biodiesel: A present from our past to fuel us into the ...
Seattle University - Seattle,WA,USA
Biodiesel is a cleaner fuel you can safely drink, has a pleasant smell, biodegrades faster than sugar and produces nearly as much power as petrodiesel.
How about that.
and this?
Reactor converts vegetable oil into biodiesel
Seattle Times - United States
PORTLAND — A tiny chemical reactor that can convert vegetable oil directly into biodiesel could help farmers turn some of their crops into homegrown fuel to ...
Just a smattering of the stories on that fuel, the rest are here. But again the bicycle is the most efficient.
Ya hear that alot. how do you quantify it for non-cyclists? well A few others have done it. And check this out.
Science of Cycling, Human Power
or another one...
go by bicycle
A comparison of the energy cost of various forms of transportation shows that the bicycle is most energy-efficient.
graphics are great aren't they?
gotta give props to a logo that combines Science and Cycling... nice work over there folks! And no - i'm not gonna fact check and do the peer review thing. If yall wanna check their facts and let me know if they are on base or not? Go for it.
Here - getting political... i always loved this fact (from go by bike):
11. In 2001, more than 3,000 Americans died of terrorism on our own home soil. In 2001, more than 43,000 Americans died in car crashes on our own home soil, and about 2,200,000 suffered disabling injuries. The American death toll of the Vietnam War, which lasted several years, is about 50,000.
And more and more distracted drivers are nailing others. Like the gal that nailed my car. freakin hell. Pay attention out there people. And i love riding in the city. Parking is never a problem. Even following traffic signs I can almost always get where i'm going faster than a car.
Breaking email alert:
kentsbike.blogspot.com/
yes... another link... a long read about buying a commuter bike. It is a damn funny one too. Although i understand his use of the L.A. mystique... it still is annoying. The audience probably can relate to it better... but it still is a thorne that he's the only face of US cycling, even in retirement. Oh well. Could be worse, we could be Lance-less.
okay - time to move on... the duration of distractions is coming to an end... the bits and fits of the morning routine is over... Time to settle down and polish the Workshop i'm giving. Which i thought was like weeks and weeks away... well it ain't Its freaking less than two weeks away!!! Ah well...
that and now i have a certain guy sayin i really really should think about getting some racing miles in before the cross season starts... well... we'll see... gotta do that club thing so i'm not 'unattached' but that means i gotta buy clothes and pay dues... so the motivation ain't really there... maybe i'll just make my own team, race in messenger knickers so if the weather gets really shitty and cold i won't be one of the frozen many in lycra... or not... gotta wonder what people would think if some tall freak like me lined up wearing pants... not bibshorts...
something to think about... catchyall later... oh, Anyone wanna go for a ride this weekend?
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