Posts Tagged: Climate Change News

In this day and age, it seems that every one of us is turning into an environmentalist. It wasn’t that long ago when a certain element of scorn, if that’s not too harsh a word, was attributed to those who vociferously extolled the virtues of sustainability. Some of them were called “tree huggers,” and as we had little to worry about back then and a somewhat devil may care attitude, we disregarded climate change issues almost entirely. Over the last five years or so, times have certainly changed. These days climate change news is everywhere and the subject is the darling of the mainstream press, with climate protection issues likely to result in stringent legislation before long.

Now it is more than just fashionable to be green, as we realise that we must reduce our reliance on traditional fuels, the oil, coal and gas that produce greenhouse gases and raise the temperature of the earth. Virtually everything that we do relies on a form of energy and we live such a complicated existence while still being largely unaware of our individual carbon footprints.

Our methods of transportation are primary emitters of carbon and we are fully reliant on individual and public forms of transportation on a daily basis. Gasoline and conventional diesel fuel are very expensive commodities and as we mostly rely on foreign sources for these fuels, external influences can directly affect availability, pricing and our very economic security.

It seems that change will be slow to come. We have got to learn how to change our habits and to wean ourselves off our reliance on these fossil fuels, even though our very infrastructure relies so heavily on the sourcing, generation and distribution of these fuels. It’s fair to say that the oil industry in particular has a very strong political lobbying support and newer, alternative options face an uphill battle to get their message out to a largely uneducated public.

Biodiesel fuel as an alternative is, at face value, very attractive. A relatively simple process derives fuel through a process of separation, by mixing vegetable oil or animal fats with methanol. In the United States, biodiesel fuel can be derived from soybean products, with plentiful availability.

As biodiesel is carbon neutral and emits extremely low sulphur rates, it is much better than its alternatives. It can be used in conventional diesel engines without any issues at all and can be mixed in various solutions with petro diesel if required. Such an alternative is not available on a widespread basis at this time, as the infrastructure is simply not in place and distribution solutions undeveloped. As our collective psyche moves more toward the idea of hybrid vehicles, however, more and more interest is being generated in biodiesel as an option.

You may be able to consider homemade biodiesel within your household as it is within the reach of most. For some, making biodiesel is more than a labour of love and thousands of people consider it their contribution in the war against carbon emissions. Although making biodiesel can be very rewarding, personally and financially, keep in mind that if you do decide to try making it for yourself, always carefully review what the experts call, “essential safety advice,” before you begin!