GOP Iowa Debate Notes, BioDiesel HotRod, GREEN Hummer?(yes), and I buy a Green Co. Stock

Steve Verhey, the chief executive of Central Washington Biodiesel says that running a conventional diesel engine on biodiesel (presumably B99 or something close to B100) produces about half the carbon monoxide that petrodiesel does. That was a key factor, according to Verhey, that the construction company erecting a new building for Microsoft has switched (at least for that project) almost entirely to biodiesel. The story goes that having poured the foundation footing for the new structure they built the walls and ceiling of the place creating a virtually closed space. Now then wanted to pour the cement floors but the diesel engined cement trucks, they feared, would create a health hazard for the workers, so cutting the carbon monoxide by half was a big step in the right direction. Added to that, of course, since we know that one of the advantages of biodiesel (as with most biofuels) is reduced carbon dioxide emissions into the environment. Verhey is quoted in the computer-oriented magazine/website InfoWorld article as saying that a gallon (3.87 liters) of biodiesel also produces, “just 1.5 pounds (0.68 kilograms) of carbon dioxide, compared to 22 pounds per gallon for regular petrodiesel,” thus is much more environmentally friendly. The new building, in Quincy, Washington state is also near a new data center being built for Yahoo. Ironically, already on site before the construction company switched to biodiesel for their equipment and cement trucks, two 33,000 gallon tanks had already been filled with regular petrodiesel, ready to power the backup diesel generators that provide power to the data center in case of interruption of electrical service from the grid.

A practical hint, in fact more than a hint, a whole lesson is available from the Cincinnati VW TDI club in the form of a video that shows exactly (well, in some considerable detail at least) how to change a fuel filter on a VW diesel engine (a 1.9 l. A4 it says). It is interesting to note that in the process of changing the filter, the demonstrator shows that the filter has accumulated about a pint of water. In the video he says that you need to change the filter about every 10,000 miles (16,000 km.) and says that this assumes the fuel is from a reputable dealer. At this time, so much of the biodiesel is still, in effect “homemade”, so this precaution is even more important to anyone using backyard, or even “community” sourced biodiesel, whatever the percentage blend.

In “old news” (from April) (but it’s news because it’s new to me, so maybe you will not have heard about this aspect either),Imperium Renewables CEO Martin Tobias reportedly funded an experiment that was an episode of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride”. Jonathan Goodwin modified a 1965 Chevy Impala by changing to a diesel engine. It was a DuraMax diesel, and by the time he was finished with it, it was a monster. The Chevy ended up with 800 Hp. and acceleration of 3 seconds for 0 to 60 MPH. And that was on top of 25 MPG for Highway mileage. Not bad for an old car.

However, under Jonathan Goodwin’s capable hands, Hummers are turning GREEN and not just with envy. Goodwin gives them roughly the same kind of makeover such that they then go from 10 MPG gas guzzlers to 22 MPG diesel sippers. In fact in a project co-sponsored by GM, they added a whole mess of “green” features to a Hummer, including non-petroleum based tires, soy-foam seating, and the biodiesel for fuel. It is not exactly a “consumer option” for the behemoths, yet. The cost is about US $25,000, to do the conversion but Goodwin claims he can get a 0 to 60 acceleration in just 5 seconds, which is nothing to sneer at in a biodiesel fueled SUV that size. Goodwin’s next project (after he finishes converting a Cadillac Escalade for Governor Schwartzenegger) is to do a biodiesel-electric HYBRID HUMMER based on an Isuzu diesel.

It annoys me greatly that the term “pimp” has been twisted into a term for something positive, but that’s just me being an old codger. It is at least part of the responsibility of young people as they develop the rebellious side of the contribution to culture to also challenge language so that it will evolve with the changing times and social climate. All of which is mostly to say that in spite of making programs with what I think of as “offensive” (albeit only mildly) titles like “Pimp My Ride”, and misogynistic videos, and rap videos that advocate violence and disrespect for authority (mistrust of authority, yes, challenge authority, question authority, yes, but disrespect, please, no) yet on the whole I count MTV as a force for good. I think it played a very positive role in bringing an end to the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, for anyone too young to recognize the long form of the now historical name). In particular these days, I am impressed that the MTV folks continue to take very seriously their responsibility to be good corporate citizens and to promote understanding, and positive social changes. Right now their web site has a section called “ThinkMTV” that is promulgating a lot of great suggestions for ideas and actions to take to “Break the Addiction” to fossil based energy.

I am going to try to keep it short this week so I will turn quickly to a political comment or two. I enjoyed This Week with George Stephanopolous episode today which took the extended 90 minute form of a GOP Presidential Candidates Debate in Iowa. Out of 38,000 votes received on the ABC News web site poll, 18,000+ claimed that Ron Paul won the debate again. I don’t know if that is true among actual Republicans who were watching the debate, but obviously Ron Paul has a very strong following on the Internet. An election factor that has not been taken seriously, thus far, is that the effect of a small committed contingent swayed the outcome of the 2000 election and the 2004 election, the religious and social conservatives who backed President Bush’s campaign. Is it possible that the same could happen with the influence of these obviously devoted Ron Paul supporters? I honestly don’t know, but I wouldn’t rule it out. The only other candidate who looks electable at this time, to me, seems to be Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani because he is the only one not offending women and liberals with an carved-in-stone “anti-choice” stance. Maybe my strong feelings about women’s rights clouds my vision on this subject, but the “silent majority” still supports a woman’s right to choose and abhors the violence against family planning centers and medical personnel that the twisted logic of anti-abortion fanatics seem to think is a legitimate strategy to promote their cause. On the other hand one of the GOP candidates promised that if he becomes president, he will appoint the next Supreme Court Justice with the specific objective to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Governor Mitt Romney was in fine form. He railed about Senator Barack Obama’s recent statements as going, “from Jane Fonda to Doctor Stangelove” in one week. That claim was nonsense, because leading candidates, Romney and Giuliani admitted that they would cheerfully take the same road as they were criticizing Obama for enunciating, that is, they would (if no other avenue had proven successful) ignore the sovereignty of Pakistan and bomb the al-Qaida leaders where they slept. Actually Mayor Giuliani tried to duck the issue claiming he said, “take nothing off the table” (a politician’s favorite phrase to avoid being called a waffler later on), while George Stephanopolous forced Mayor Giuliani to acknowledge that he had said he would “take that option” yesterday. Governor Romney’s criticism really came down to, of course we (the US) will do whatever we please, but Senator Obama shouldn’t admit that out loud.

Honestly, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Candidate Obama was laying the groundwork for a tougher policy in the event he might be elected to the Presidency. The United States has not been reluctant to attack (whether by bombers, fighters, missiles or other means) pretty much any nation (including Libya, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama, Iraq to name just a few) that did not please us in the last couple of hundred years. What better way of creating a more “open” government than to have Senator Obama be willing to state his intentions flat out, months in advance. (I don’t think I would want to play poker with Senator Obama.)

Mayor Giuliani made another slip of the tongue, calling Islamist extremists who resort to violence and call upon others to a “jihad” against the infidels, “Islamic terrorists” instead. The distinction may be small in American perception but not so tiny in terms of the Moslem world’s interpretation. Governor Romney did hardly better calling the “war on terror” a “war on jihad”, but he at least qualified his characterization of the other side as “extreme Islamic terrorists”. The war of words is fought every day in Middle East media. One of the most damaging weapons in that war is the subtle (and more often, not even slightly subtle) mis-translation of statements from one language to another. These will no doubt be seen as lobbing insults and untruths against all Moslems everywhere. Senator Obama may be guilty of excessive openness, but Governor Romney and Mayor Giuliani are guilty of sloppy thinking that has resulted in lazy language that will be translated in varying ways, according to the slant of the reporter, but the words count too, and we don’t need them adding fuel to the fires.

My positive note to end on this week is that I saw a design for cultivation of alga for biodiesel production that was so close to one that I was working on myself recently that I put in an order for my broker to buy some (a tiny amount) of the company’s stock. I’ll tell you what company next week.

Love,

Stafford “Doc” Williamson