As a CRD owner, I've only put pure dino oil in my machine 5 times. With almost 50k miles on the machine, I chalk that up as a pretty good & responsible.
However, I don't pretend that there are not any environmental consequences nor there are no government subsidies because BOTH occur.
To those that recycle veggie oil, filter it and then take the risk of pouring it into a $25k machine I salute you but will not take such a risk nor will I waste my free time trolling fast food joints searching for oil. The Bio-Diesel I use comes from commercial sources which makes it soybean oil in this part of the country.
Now, the soybean market is stabilized (subsidized) by the government. Tax credits subsidize the creation of the Bio-D. In some states, further tax credits for Bio-D goes above and beyond Fed relief.
The same machinery used to plant, fertilize, spray, harvest, dry and haul the soybean are also used for corn; consuming the same amount of energy (or slightly more for beans). While beans do not need nitrogen fertilizer which does require alot of energy to create (they produce their own via a symbotic relationship with soil bacteria), beans produce only 1/3 the bushels/acre of a harvestable crop. In this region of the corn belt, we do a little better than that but other regions cannot make that claim. Our 185-190 bu/acre corn fields will produce 65-70 bu/acres of beans the following year if managed properly. You can't plant them and walk away. You used to be able to get by with one herbecide treatment/pass after emergence but that is slowly creeping into 2. You can also plan on spraying for aphids now in the northern sections of the corn belt (another insecticide trip using more fuel) and the Southern US is treating for soybean rust (another new problem) and the whole soybean belt may eventually be impact by this new pest (to the U.S.). You can read more about this at the USDA's national monitoring site at [url]sbrusa.net[/url]
After you take your machine across three times the amount of land to harvest the same amount (bushels) of crop, you take another hit. How? You can only squeeze (literally) about 1.2-1.4 gallons/bushel of soybean oil (diesel) out of one bushel of beans. Ethanol harvests about 2.75 gallons per bushel of corn and many plants are distilling 2.8 gallons of ethanol per bushel.
In spite of knowing all of this, I still have my CRD. Why? It fits my niche. It will tow 5k lbs, get over 22 MPG, haul my family of four, fit in my garage and not cost $35k like the crew cab trucks (which won't fit in our two car garage with the Mrs. minivan). I know, I traded an '05 F-150 crew for this CRD. All of my fuel, both bio and dino (a B2-B20 blend) is domestically produced.
My wife's next vehicle will be an E85 burner. Why? Because I can and it will use a fuel than will not stain her hands and smell all day during the FEW times she has to pump it herself (one of the perks of being married to Mr. Boilermaker
)
As Americans, we have an insane tendency to slit our own throats just to say we are just. In spite of this, the rest of the world continues to hate us. Now we can't/shouldn't do something because of the environment. Well, if Americans REALLY wanted the ethanol plants to do it right, we would allow the plants being built use coal boilers with fluidized bed technology. This technology is extremely clean, green and squeezes every ounce of energy out of every ton of coal. We won't because the state regulatory commissions start to hyperventilate when you use the "C" word. I've sat in on a few of the meeting and read published accounts of others. Technology is outpacing the knowledge of those put in charge to regulate it. Not a criticism, we don't pay them enough or allow them the time to learn it, either. Global warming might be true but it is a total sham in how it is being presented and how it is enforced. This is especially true when you dig beneath the surface as to how it is to be enforced and who is exempt.
When ethanol is dissed, it is constantly ridiculed as being subsidized. In actuality, it will actually save the U.S. treasury money this year. While it is indeed subsidized, it has pulled ALL subsidized grain commodities off of the government-built market floor. Unless I was asleep, not a single Loan Deficiency Payment (support payment when the corn market dips to a certain level, which also applied to beans and wheat) for a crop will be paid this year which is absolutely amazing...saving the treasury Billions.
While it floated the grain commodities off the floor, it did so without a single shot fired, threat made or mobilized Army Division. Moreover, I can see the money being poured into my state to develop this stuff. I stand bank in amazement at the thought of this amount of money being shipped overseas to only be reinvested elsewhere by people that really, REALLY don't like us. Kinda reminds me of the pauper that becomes a Hollywood prince overnight and doesn't know what to do with all of the money so he joins a cult and underwrites PETA. I digress.
So, yes, none of these "alternative fuels" are perfect. If anyone learns how to turn sticks and leaves into liquid fuel cheaply, they will be the next Bill Gates. Ethanol can be made domestically. While we are making sure that other countries do not dump onto our market (though there are some some CAFTA/NAFTA loopholes that opponents never mention), we have actually raised the market price for grains around the globe...benefitting both the farmer in Kentucky and Kenya through increased consumption.
"Unsubisidized" petroleum requires at the moment 3 aircraft carriers, 150 thousand (even during "peaceful" times, thousands of) troups, billions in annual "make-peace" dollars (bribes-recently to Egypt and Israel) to the area of the world that provideds 40% of the world's petroleum. If we're going to talk about ethanol's subsidy, we should look closely as to how ALL of our energy sources are helped. Under that lens, the story is a little different.
Sorry so long, but there are MANY sides to this issue.
My $.03
Boiler