Mrs. Jórge just got a new set of wheels, the sweet ride pictured above, which will serve as our first foray into the world of biodiesel.

The car’s conventional diesel engine needs no modification in order to run pure biodiesel (B100), which is “fuel made from renewable resources such as vegetable oils or animal fats. It is biodegradable and non-toxic, and has significantly fewer emissions than petroleum-based diesel (petro-diesel) when burned.” It can also run on more common blends of biodiesel and petrodiesel (for example, a blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel is called B20 at the pump) which are becoming increasingly available in the U.S. as farmers, truckers, schools, and municipalities have gotten their fleets hooked on the stuff. Celebrities are also jumping on the bandwagon, adding to the headlines surrounding biodiesel, the most active of which is Willie Nelson, whose own BioWillie fuel is now available in 4 states across the U.S.

There are, of course, some obstacles in making biodiesel a viable and sustainable replacement for fossil-based fuels. In addition to the short-term compatibility concerns between traditional diesel-running engines and newer fuel alternatives, the big question to the biodiesel movement is where all this fuel is going to come from. Soybean oil is currently one of the most popular sources of commercially available biodiesel, but it’s far from the most efficient. As it stands, the United States lacks enough arable land on which to grow a sufficient amount of soy to fully transition its vehicles to biodiesel. The best alternative I’ve heard of so far is definitely different:

More recent studies using a species of algae that has oil contents of as high as 50% have concluded that as little as 28,000 km² or 0.3% of the land area of the US could be utilized to produce enough biodiesel to replace all transportation fuel the country currently utilizes. Further encouragement comes from the fact that the land that could be most effective in growing the algae is desert land with high solar irradiation, but lower economic value for other uses and that the algae could utilize farm waste and excess CO2 from factories to help speed the growth of the algae.

Sounds good, though if algae or any other biodiesel alternative becomes yet another environmentally unfriendly crop of big agribusiness, we’re still left with soil erosion, water contamination, and a host of other global consequences of large-scale farming. Like most issues facing the world today, it’s not easy to see what the clear answer is, if there is such a thing. In the meantime, I’ll try to borrow my wife’s car when I can, though I tend to agree with this author on the big picture:

There is no “quick fix” solution to the environmental problems that humans have created. Substitution of one consumer product for a different, less polluting one can be a positive first step, but these products are useless if they enable people to forget issues of inequality, over-consumption, and alienation from the natural world.

Biodiesel is not a bad idea, but it is not the answer to all of humanity’s petroleum woes. To achieve a cleaner environment and less dependency on foreign oil, Americans must, as a culture, make a commitment to drive less. We can create and use biodiesel as well as continue to explore other renewable fuel options such as solar power and hydrogen cells … but we must also walk more, ride bicycles, and use public transportation. That way everyone can live a healthier life and have a cleaner environment.

Big thanks to Slingshot and co. for pointing me in the diesel direction, I’ll have to see what kind of finder’s fee I can get you all for the VW.