by Kevin Egan

Just what do you do?

You’ve got a new job with fantastic pay and benefits, but you have to pack around large equipment, hundreds of kilograms of hardware and tools, and shelving or racks to organize it all. Need a work truck or a van?

You’ve always ridden a bike to commute, recreate, camp, even to tow the kids. Maybe you weren’t even thinking of the environmental benefits much because (1) it’s just about how good it feels to be moving and riding, and (2), it needs minimal expenditure of your hard-earned pay. Now you suddenly went from never thinking of owning such a thing as a gas card to spending many thousands a year on dino-fuel.

OK, you’ll still ride as much as you can. You’ll leave the big van at the office and bike to the office–but oops! All that hardware cost too much to be left alone. You’re a techie with a love of things mechanical–how you can make this better? Build an electric van or truck?

Hey–what about a hybrid, or a good old diesel? Diesel motors are more economical than gas motors, but diesels are not particularly common in North America, unlike the rest of the world.

So, a diesel vehicle running on recycled fuel is an affordable way to power your vehicle–perfect. You’ve decided and don’t mind getting your hands dirty–oh, I mean greasy!

Thanks to media, most people know about vegetable-oil fuels and that the diesel engine was originally intended to work with plant oils, not petroleum. Pouring cleaned waste vegetable oil (WVO), new vegetable oil and biodiesel helps your diesel ride run a lot smoother with better emissions than gas. You might want to take it a step further by building a bio-diesel reactor or converting your ride to run strictly on WVO. Read more »