An estimated 10 to 15 million gallons of biodiesel were consumed in the country last year, according to the National Biodiesel Board. Ninety percent of that total came from wholesale suppliers who derive the fuel from soybean oil, not restaurant grease.

Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Teton are among the national parks that use the fuel. Some 300 fleets of government vehicles, including public school districts, utility companies, and federal and state agencies do so for environmental, health and political reasons. Most of the fleets use a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel, called B20. B20's selling point is that no change needs to be made to a diesel car to use B20 as fuel.

"In France when you buy diesel at the pump you're buying 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent diesel fuel," Tickell, driver of the Veggie Van and author of "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank: The Complete Guide to Using Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel." "And most drivers don't even know it."

Diesel vehicles are much more prevalent in Europe, making up some 35 percent of cars and trucks on the road, according to Forrester's Bunger, so it's unsurprising that the Europeans are ahead of the U.S. on the biodiesel front.

Blending biodiesel into diesel also offsets the greater costs of the more expensive vegetable-made fuel. Moreover, B20 can fulfill many legislated mandates for government entities to use alternative fuels, since the use of it alone reduces the carcinogenic risks of diesel by some 27 percent, according to the National Renewable Energy Lab.

Using B100, as Berkeley, Calif., is experimenting with, is more of a challenge. Some cars and trucks built before 1993 have rubber hoses that can be eroded by the fuel. In colder climates, the fuel can thicken when the temperature drops.

Martin Stenflo, president and founder of Boulder Biodiesel, a cooperative, drives his 1983 Mercedes on B50 during the winter. "When it gets cold, biodiesel gels up. Once it drops below freezing, you need to mix some diesel fuel into your biodiesel or have heating elements installed in your car."

Stenflo made his first biodiesel in "blender-size" batches. "It kind of makes your margaritas taste funny," he says.

Today, Stenflo is working on a project with the University of Colorado at Boulder to run the university bus on waste oil produced in the school's cafeteria.

But he sees cost as the biggest barrier. "At this point 100 percent biodiesel is about $1 more a gallon. If you try to convince a school or a company to use it, who are they going to fire, whose salary are they going to cut to make up that cost? Cost is a big issue."

Anyway you mix it, biodiesel is just more expensive. In Ukiah, Calif., where Yokayo Biofuels sells biodiesel for $2.65 a gallon, the price for petroleum ranges between $1.89 and $2.09 a gallon, says Kumar Plocher, the company founder.

Biodiesel advocates love to point out that petroleum diesel wouldn't be so cheap in the U.S. if the oil and gas industry weren't so heavily subsidized. And try adding in the cost of war in the Middle East if you want to get a truly fair price, they argue. In March 2003, two bills were introduced in Congress seeking to provide tax subsidies for biodiesel fuel.

But maybe paying a higher price for cleaner fuel is the right thing to do. Baker, from the B.I.O. Tour, points out that some people are willing to pay more for organic food, and that some of them will be willing to pay more for fuel that they can feel socially and politically good about.

Still, even biodiesel's biggest supporters acknowledge that it has far to go. "A realistic goal for the industry would be to provide 10 percent of the diesel market in 10 years," says Jenna Higgins, a spokesperson for the National Biodiesel Board.

Not every environmentalist is jumping on the biodiesel bandwagon, however. Some major environmental groups don't buy the argument that biodiesel is the right way to make cars cleaner. "Our concerns with biodiesel are the same as our concerns with regular diesel. It's got a lot more toxic pollutants in it than regular gasoline," says Brendan Bell, a spokesperson for the Sierra Club, which advocates increasing overall fuel-economy standards and converting to hybrids. "It's not a fair tradeoff to sacrifice kids' health to fight global warming, because we can do both." He stresses that biodiesel isn't a mainstream alternative in the U.S., where fewer and fewer passenger cars are diesel, as opposed to Europe, where an increasing number are.

Biodiesel advocates see this attitude as waiting too long for a clean-car future that's always just around the corner. "With all due respect to the Sierra Club, they've spent 20 years working on CAFE [Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards], and here we are in 2003 and fuel efficiency is worse than ever," says Baker.

Viable alternative fuel or fringe green dream, at least it smells better.

In Miottel's biodiesel revolution, he imagines creating a fanciful line of specialty fuels for the individual driver's taste and mood: "You could actually do designer flavors for people, like perfume -- espresso roast for the yuppies, patchouli for all the hippie buses, maybe a little lavender if you're having a stressful day."

Recent Stories