Biofuel

Props to Ukrop's!

Molly — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:33:07 -0400

Ukrop's, a community-serving and environmentally friendly grocery chain in Virginia, has begun another sustainable program. The supermarkets, which fry their own chicken, will use the soy oil from the fryers to convert into bio fuel.

Southside Fuel, a local company, will process the used oil from the frying vats into a standard 15 percent biodiesel, the most that the current trucks can handle.

Ukrop's expects to produce around 60,000 gallons of bio fuel each year, about one fourth of its needs. This is really an incredible amount and will really cut down on their carbon emissions. read more »

U.K. Provides Grants for Usage of Biomass

Molly — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:20:10 -0400

Apparently biomass - anything from crops like corn to dead wood and straw- is getting a lot of attention these days. First, there was that whole controversy about using biofuels in place of gasoline. Now, the United Kingdom government is offering grants to farmers and business owners to produce and use biomass for heating and fuel.

The government tries to avoid the former downfalls by only selecting inedible matter, such as grass and straw. Therefore, the new program hopefully will not have much of an effect on food supplies.

Some people wonder, doesn't the burning of all that plant material still release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? How does using biofuels even help the greenhouse gas situation? read more »

Can't See The Forest For The Biofuels

Mike.Delponte — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:11:18 -0500

According to a new study, cutting down forests to grow crops for fuel causes more environmental damage than using biofuels can ever offset.

The quick moves to pass legislation to expand subsidies for crops, such as corn, that can be turned into biofuels was the first red flag. Can we stop the trend of businesses doing things that seem green, but are better for their bottom lines than for the environment? read more »