Media still peddling the bio-diesel myth

SHOOT: The choice is, do you want food for your car, or food for your stomach? Because as soon as you grow food for your car on a large scale, food prices go up. As they are. Investments into bio-diesel take us down a road to a place called Delusion. Same can be said for Hydrogen. The net energy involved in the complete equation is close to zero.

If you're recycling old, used vegetable oil, that's different, but you can't argue that these tiny amounts [run off from restaurants] are going to offset demand (for oil) in a meaningful way.

clipped from www.sowetan.co.za SOUTH African motorists could in the near future drive vehicles that run on cooking oil and peculiarly “smell of fried chips”. This will be made possible by the use of biofuel, particularly biodiesel, say enthusiasts. Biofuel is a form of fuel derived from “recently living” organisms, replacing fossil fuels such as those derived from coal. It is usually produced using crops such as mielies, sugar beet and sunflower seeds, though the recycling of used cooking oil is the favoured option. Escalating petrol prices and electricity tariffs have put the spotlight firmly on alternative energy, emphasising not only cheaper forms of energy but those that are more environmentally sound.