Biodiesel: The answer to foreign oil dependency.

ILikeDubyah said:

All of the things you mentioned (except for extinct species (survival of the fittest) and the Ozone layer, which is actually less important than it was originally made out to be) were renewable. You can always plant tree.

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MiamiFlorida said:

The Ozone layer is not important? I fail to see how a layer that absorbs 98% of the sun's ultraviolet rays and keeps us alive....is not important.

There's a difference between natural extinction and human caused extinction.
While it is true that 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct by natural process....many of them evolved into new species by the process of speciation...so in fact, all species today are descendants extinct species.

When a species becomes extinct by human intervention, there is no posterity.

When you cut down a forest, you cannot replace it by planting trees, as you suggest, because a forest is more than mere trees. It is an ecosystem where thousands of species live. The world's biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate...between 100 and 1,000 (World Conservation Union)times higher than natural rates, depending on whom you believe.

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MiamiFlorida said:

-You are comparing an individually packaged edible oil to something that will be pumped into the tank of your car (No Warehouse, no pallet, no box, no plastic container, no label, less middlemen, no FDA regulation, lower distribution cost)

Gas is warehoused, gas is transported, gas must (an I assume vegetable oil) will have to meet restrictions cooking oil will not (else no telling what we will be putting into our tanks)

-No OPEC to restrict production and raise prices.

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But farmers to decide what to grow and if the land produces more in food than vegatable oil. And restruants to compete for that oil (it is one of thier highest expenses). And if you think that it can be burned now without some kind of polution control just imagine what our cities will smell like.

I don't know where you live, but down here gas is already $2.73

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And when demand goes up for vegetable oil..............

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ILikeDubyah said:

Not to mention that the car I saw was powered by vegetable oil that had already been in the food service industry. They emptied the friers at a McDonalds into their car & drove away.

We're lucky our cars don't run on Starbucks, or we'd be paying about $40 dollars a gallon! =)

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ILikeDubyah said:

First, I said the ozone layer was found to be LESS important than they first brainwashed us to believe.
Second, as for not being able to create an eco-system, what about Bio-sphere & Bio-sphere 2? Biosphere 2 is in the middle of the desert (Down near Tucson), and they created an entire ecosystem out of nothing. It can be done. Back on topic though, I'd say that rather than looking for alternative fuels that will still be burned, they should all take a closer look at the Air Car, and see howe they can improve on it.

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