More About Biodiesel...
Information courtesy of Blue Sky Clean Air Shipping

Contents:
1. The Need: Why Blue Sky Clean Air Shipping?
2. Biodiesel is Renewable
3. Biodiesel is Efficient
4. Biodiesel is Better for our Bodies
5. Biodiesel is Better for the Planet
6. Biodiesel is Economical
7. Notes

Why Blue Sky Clean Air Shipping?

The diesel and gasoline fuel industries are in severe turmoil. Americans are spending $3.00 - $5.00 per gallon, while the government is spending billions of tax dollars in subsidies. The problem will only continue to escalate because fossil fuels are in finite supply. We are becoming increasingly more dependent on unstable, anti-American nations in the Middle East to secure oil now that our own domestic resources are severely depleted. The price at the pump will continue to rise until fossil fuel is only available to the wealthy. It is impossible to predict when exactly the world will run out of oil, but we are beginning to see and feel the effects of this problem in our wallets and in our nation’s foreign policy efforts.

Our addiction to fossil fuels needs to change for many reasons. Specifically, fossil fuels are:
· A non-renewable resource
· An inefficient use of energy
· Linked to countless health issues, acid rain, global warming, etcetera
· Requiring of enormous financial and military investment

Our nation has flourished on finding superior solutions to existing problems. From steamships to automobiles to airplanes, Americans have integrated new technologies to quench industrial demands. We are now faced with a different kind of challenge - shifting our energy demands toward a renewable, environmentally friendly, domestically produced source. Biodiesel, made from 100% recycled vegetable oil, is a solution that meets these demands without costly, technological modifications. The vegetable oil is taken straight from local restaurants, minimally processed, and put straight into the fuel tank. It is an extremely convenient, efficient solution to offset our country’s addiction to diesel.

By fueling our trucks with 100% Biodiesel, Blue Sky answers clients’ shipping and distribution demands with excellent service, while recognizing our impact on the nation and local communities at large. The benefits of Blue Sky’s environmental, sustainable business approach are numerous:


Biodiesel is Renewable
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Renewable energy is in endless supply. All the energy our country needs is available to us within our borders; above ground. Drilling deep into the earth to extract a finite substance and then shipping its hazardous content around the world is completely unnecessary. The sacrifices we make in terms of economics, environment, and human sacrifice via war can be avoided by understanding the nature of sustainable, renewable energy. Resources such as sun, rain, wind, plants, and animals exist in natural balance within our ecosystem, always recycling used and unused energy. By recognizing this balance, we can cultivate enough energy to support our burgeoning population.

Through sustainable use of renewable resources, we agree to work within the earth’s established equilibrium and natural recycling program. We agree to not introduce mass quantities of toxic pollution from non-renewable fuel sources. However, by choosing non-renewable fossil fuels, the earth must contend with mass quantities of pollution that drastically disrupt the natural balance. For instance every gallon of gasoline burned in a car, 22 pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. There isn’t sufficient flora on earth to absorb this abundance of CO2. Oxygen levels in the atmosphere are rapidly decreasing and the levels of CO2 are higher today than they have been in 160,000 years and global temperatures at their highest in at least 1,200 years. Climatologists determined that these human activities have ended the period of relative stability in the atmosphere that has endured over 10,000 years. Planet Earth is getting hotter as a result, strongly influencing countless environmental problems which include but are not limited to:
· rising sea levels and reduced coastal areas
· an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events
· a greater incidence and range of infectious diseases
· an overall reduction in the productivity of agriculture and forest systems and in freshwater availability
· forced redistribution and loss of temperature-sensitive species
· a warming planet signaled by retreating ice shelves, receding glaciers, dying coral reefs, migrating and disappearing plants and animals.

All told, weather-related disasters in 1998 alone resulted in $92 billion in economic losses, 53 percent more than the previous record of $60 billion in 1996 and more than the losses of the entire decade of the 1980s. These events also took at least 41,000 lives and resulted in the displacement of an estimated 300 million people, more than the entire population of the United States.

Alternatively, oil-producing crops used for Biodiesel absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than is emitted by burning the fuel. A recent European life-cycle analysis of Biodiesel made from rapeseed oil studied every aspect of manufacturing biodiesel, from planting the seed to transporting the fuel to a service station. The researchers found that “for each kilogram of Biodiesel fuel burned in a diesel engine, up to three kilograms of carbon dioxide are consumed, not produced, during the life-cycle of Biodiesel fuel.

Blue Sky uses Biodiesel because it is a renewable energy source that is in endless supply. By fueling with Biodiesel, Blue Sky works to help stabilize our CO2 dense atmosphere, reducing global warming and its accompanying environmental effects. We are working within earth’s natural balance.

Biodiesel is Efficient
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When we consider cultivating an ideal energy source to burn in our vehicles, we must recognize the amount of energy used to accumulate the fuel source in the first place. In May of 1998, the US Department of Energy and US Department of Agriculture published the results of a 3.5 year study evaluating the fossil energy efficiency of diesel fuel versus Biodiesel. Because Biodiesel utilizes solar (renewable) energy instead of fossil (non-renewable) energy, it is four times as efficient as regular diesel fuel in utilizing fossil energy.

A commonly asked question is whether Biodiesel renders the same mileage per gallon and power as its petroleum-based counterpart. Numerous studies, including the data we’ve accumulated using our own trucks show that torque, power, and fuel efficiency isn’t noticeably influenced by using Biodiesel instead of regular diesel.
Lastly, all diesel engines rely on diesel fuel to act as a lubricant between moving parts – mainly within fuel pumps and injectors. In the past, diesel fuel was lubricated primarily with sulfur. When fuel containing sulfur is burned, it produces sulfur dioxide (SO2), the primary component of acid rain. To meet increased EPA standards, the petroleum industry has begun to reduce sulfur in its fuel, but the consequence has been a reduction in the lubricity and therefore greater wear and scarring to the engine. Diesel engines won’t last as long on fuel that lacks a sufficient lubricant. Contrary to diesel fuel, Biodiesel inherently contains enough lubricant to reduce engine wear and scarring by more than 50% when compared to typical diesel fuels sold on the market today.
Since Biodiesel offers greater engine longevity, no decrease in performance, and utilizes less of earth’s energy; the decision is simple – Biodiesel is better.

Biodiesel is Better for our Bodies
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Diesel fuel is toxic to our individual health. Diesel engines emit huge quantities of fine particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and dozens of toxic chemicals that harm human health and the environment.
The National Resources Defense Council gathered information on more than 30 epidemiological and other health studies from around the world to confirm the health consequences of diesel emissions. The research showed that particulate matter (PM) from diesel engines has been linked to a wide range of health impacts, including increased asthma attacks and emergencies, cancer, endocrine disruption, numerous cardiopulmonary ailments, and premature death. Virtually all diesel particulate matter is less than one micron in diameter, which means that it is small enough to evade our respiratory defense mechanisms and lodge in the deepest recesses of our lungs.
Moreover, diesel exhaust typically contains more than 40 different chemical compounds (either in gaseous form or attached to the particles) that cause cancer, reproductive harm or other toxic impacts. Because of these toxic chemicals, diesel exhaust has been found to be either a likely, known or other form of carcinogen by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. National Toxicology Program, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Germany's environmental protection agency and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), as well as other leading public health agencies around the world. CARB estimates that 71 percent of the airborne cancer risk in Southern California is due to the 2 percent of vehicles that are diesel-fueled.
With over 3.3 million commercial trucks and buses huffing around on diesel, the health threat is significant. To more completely understand these health and environmental effects, we must remind ourselves what diesel emissions consist of and how they compare to Blue Sky Shipping emissions:
Sulfur - This substance leaves our tailpipes and combines in the atmosphere to make sulfur dioxide and acid rain. About 99% of the sulfur dioxide in our atmosphere comes from human sources. Sulfur dioxide affects your health when you breathe it in. It irritates the nose, throat, and airways to cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, or a tight feeling around the chest. Acid rain causes acidification of lakes and streams and contributes to damage of trees at high and many sensitive forest soils. In addition, acid rain accelerates the decay of building materials and paints, including irreplaceable buildings, statues, and sculptures that are part of our nation's cultural heritage. Prior to falling to the earth, SO2 and NOx gases and their particulate matter derivatives, sulfates and nitrates, contribute to visibility degradation and harm public health.

Blue Sky Shipping’s trucks reduce sulfur emissions 100%.
Carbon Monoxide - The major concerns associated with this gas include its effects on health because it attaches itself to our red blood cells preventing the up-take of oxygen when we breathe. At high concentrations carbon monoxide can cause asphyxiation. Carbon monoxide also contributes to the formation of low-level ozone and indirectly to an enhancement of global warming through reactions with other gases in the lower atmosphere.

Blue Sky Shipping’s trucks reduce carbon monoxide emissions 48%.
Particulate Matter – A serious health concern because very fine particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs. Health effects include asthma, difficult or painful breathing, and chronic bronchitis, especially in children and the elderly. Fine particulate matter associated with diesel exhaust is also thought to cause lung cancer and is therefore listed as a mobile source air toxic. Fine particulate matter can travel long distances on air currents and is also a major cause of haze, which reduces visibility, affecting cities and scenic areas throughout the United States.

Blue Sky Shipping’s trucks reduce particulate matter emissions 47%.
Hydrocarbons - A precursor to ground-level ozone and a serious air pollutant in cities across the United States. Ground-level ozone causes health problems such as difficulty breathing, lung damage, and reduced cardiovascular functioning. A number of hydrocarbons are also considered toxic, meaning they can cause cancer or other health problems.

Blue Sky Shipping’s trucks reduce hydrocarbons (unburned, polycyclic, nitrated) 67 – 90%. Ozone potential is reduced by 50%.

Biodiesel is Better for the Planet
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Discussions about the ramifications of burning fossil fuels (see above) must also include the consequences of transporting petroleum around the world. This is of special importance since a large percentage of our oil is shipped from the Middle East and Alaska to the U.S. mainland. Relying on shipping poses serious threats to fresh water and marine environments. It affects surface resources and a wide range of subsurface organisms that are linked in a complex food chain that includes human food resources. Spilled oil can harm the environment in several ways, including the physical damages that directly impact wildlife and their habitats (such as coating birds or mammals with a layer of oil), and the toxicity of the oil itself, which can poison exposed organisms. We must look no further than the Exxon Valdez oil spill (above) to understand the threat of transporting fossil fuels.

Because it is low in toxicity and easily biodegradable, Biodiesel is not a major environmental threat when being transported. It is as biodegradable as sugar and less toxic than table salt. Production of biodiesel also creates approximately 95% less hazardous waste than petroleum diesel production. We must also keep in mind that since 100% of Biodiesel is produced domestically, there is no need for massive oil tankers circumnavigating the world.

Biodiesel is Economical
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Since 1970, the United States has spent more than a trillion dollars buying foreign oil. Today, around 58 percent of the oil we use is imported, predominantly from the Middle East. Forbes magazine projects that in 2004 we’ll lose $170 billion to foreign oil imports. Sending U.S. dollars overseas has a profoundly negative impact on our economy. The annual trade deficit has grown to a record $590 billion (19% more than last year’s record). Hard economic times over these last 4 years have not only resulted in an exorbitant deficit, but also a loss of more than 2.7 million manufacturing jobs.
As the trade deficit grows, our country will continue to lose jobs. The US Department of Energy estimates that for every $1 billion reduction in the trade deficit, the US can gain 27,000 jobs back. By producing 100% of our fuel domestically, the US could decrease the annual deficit by upwards of $170 billion and create over 4.5 million domestic jobs. That would certainly change the economy in a significant way.
The war in Iraq is costing US tax payers over $150 billion with no end in sight. A significant portion of this cost has gone to seizing and protecting the oil infrastructure, while attempting to secure national security. Similarly, the US spent approximately $70 billion in taxpayer money protecting oil interests in the Persian Gulf War. These taxpayer fees act as a sort of governmental subsidy for our fuel. Between 1918 and 1978, the US government gave over $100 billion in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. If we rolled the cost of military defense, tax incentives, subsidies, and environmental/health costs of the fossil fuel industry into the actual cost of gas and diesel fuel at the pump, we might pay several dollars per gallon.

Pre-Iraq War annual costs of fossil fuel dependency is staggering –

By using biodiesel fuel, Blue Sky supports domestic industries, lowers fossil fuel reliance, decreases toxic emissions, and avoids sending US dollars to the Middle East. As our nation use of biodiesel increases, the following local economies benefit:
· US based growers of soybean, canola, sunflower, peanut, and safflower. Each year approximately 60 million acres of US cropland are left fallow. This land could easily be used to produce significant amounts of biodiesel. Domestic farmers will receive the US dollars that are now going overseas
· Jobs – manufacturing, processing, shipping, selling, etc… As the domestic Biodiesel industry grows, jobs return back to the United States. 100% domestic fuel production could equal 4.5 million more domestic jobs.
· An increased tax base from plant operations and income taxes, investments in plant and equipment, improvement of our trade balance, and reductions in health care costs due to improved air quality and greenhouse gas mitigation.
· If the US government decided to subsidize alternative energy at the same level it subsidizes the fossil fuel industry, Biodiesel would be significantly cheaper than gasoline and diesel. Consumers would save money, help the environment, protect domestic jobs, and avoid economic-based wars. Sounds like a good solution.

REFERENCES & NOTES
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Rolling Smokestacks. Union of Concerned Scientists website. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/nucleus.cfm?publicationID=182
2002 Economic Census. Bureau of Transportation website. http://www.bts.gov/publications/commodity_flow_survey/2002/united_states_preliminary/pdf/entire.pdf
Simonson, K. “Triple Threat; Trucking Industry’s forecasts and Trends.” In Fleet Owner Magazine. March 1, 2004.
Rolling Smokestacks. Union of Concerned Scientists website. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/nucleus.cfm?publicationID=182
American Lung Association, Clean Air Trust Unveil Radio Spots Urging Diesel Truck Cleanup. On US Newswire. May 5, 2000.
Rolling Smokestacks. Union of Concerned Scientists website. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/nucleus.cfm?publicationID=182
Clean Vehicles. Union of Concerned Scientists website. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/trucks_and_buses/page.cfm?pageID=1501
Rolling Smokestacks. Union of Concerned Scientists website. http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/nucleus.cfm?publicationID=182
Gordon, Deborah. (1991). Steering a New Course: Transportation, Energy, and the Environment. Island Press: Washington D.C.
Meadows, Donella, Meadows, Dennis & Randers, Jorgen. (1992). Beyond the Limits. Chelsea Green Publishing Co: White River Junction, VT.
Flavin, C. & Dunn, S. “A New Energy Paradigm for the 21st Century.” In Journal of International Affairs, Fall 1999 v53 i1 p167.
Horne, Brian. (1996). Power Plants: Biofuels Made Simple. The Centre for Alternative Technology: Machynlleth, Wales.
Tickell, J. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. Bookmasters: Ashland, OH.
Peterson, C.L., Reece, D.L., Hammond, B.L., Thompson, J., & Beck, S.M. “Processing, Characterization, and Performance of Eight Fuels from Lipids.” University of Idaho Department of Agricultural Engineering, December, 1994.
Tickell, J. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. Bookmasters: Ashland, OH.
Lubricity Benefits. National Biodiesel Board website. http://www.biodiesel.org
Sulfur Fact Sheet. Australian Government: Department of Environment and Heritable website. http://www. deh.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/sulfurdioxide.html
Effects of Acid Rain. Environmental Protection Agency website. http://www.epa.gov/airmarkets/acidrain/effects/index.html
Carbon Monoxide. UK Environment Agency website. http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/444255/446867/255244/255281/259778/529949/?lang=_e
Particulate Matter. The Environmental Protection Agency website. http://www.epa.gov/otaq/invntory/overview/pollutants/pm.htm
Walker, Kerr. “Biodiesel from Rapeseed.” In Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, Volume 155, 1994, p. 43-44.
Clean Vehicles. Union of Concerned Scientists website. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/trucks_and_buses/page.cfm?pageID=1415#Does_using_biodiesel_in_place_of_conventional_diesel_help_combat_global_climate_change
America's Quarter-Trillion-Dollar Oil Bill. Forbes.com website. http://www.forbes.com/energy/2004/09/27/cx_da_0927topnews.html.
Oil Imports Boos Trade Deficit to Record Levels. Houston Chronicle website. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2847290
Tickell, J. From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank. Bookmasters: Ashland, OH.
Clark, Ramsey. (1998). Challenge to Genocide: Let Iraq Live. International Action Center: New York, NY.
Berger, John. Charging Ahead. University of California Press: Berkeley, CA.
Peterson, C.L. & Auld, D.L. “Technical Overview of Vegetable Oil as a Transportation Fuel.” In FACT, Vol. 12, p. 45-54. Paper number 9135 of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station.