As many people are aware, gasoline is taxed in an effort to pay for the nations roadways. Here in the U.S., we enjoy the freedom of being able to travel from one end of the country to the other with relative ease, and the system of highways and roadways that makes it possible obviously costs money. It seems that there are certain people who want to use the roadways without being required to support them, however, and for these people laws exist as a punishment for evading gas taxes.

Recently, a problem has been cropping up: alternative fuel users are being lumped into the same category as those who are willfully attempting to evade the gas tax. This is an understandable problem, of course. States want to get the money that they require to repair and maintain the roadways, and by using vegetable oil or waste vegetable oil instead of petroleum based diesel fuel, the tax-man is not getting his due. The question being posed in this article, as I see it, is this: should alternative fuel users be penalized or fined for not realizing they are breaking the law?

One one hand, ignorance is not a valid excuse for breaking the law. On the other hand, in a society where states themselves are encouraging alternative fuels and the president himself is advocating their use, should it be a punishable offense to use those fuels?

[Source: The Charlotte Observer]

I am going to get this out of the way right off the bat: I do not know if soy-based 2 stroke engine oils are actually cleaner burning than synthetic 2 stroke engine oil or the racing-style castor bean 2 stroke oils that are still available today. What I will say, though, is that being soy based, they are made from a renewable resource, which can't be said about petroleum-based engine oils, whether they are for 2 strokes or the more common 4 strokes. But, something recently caught my eye on a discussion board that I frequent, which was the subject of using biodiesel as a lubricant in 2 stroke engines. I got to thinking about it, and was thinking that standard vegetable oils would probably work just as well assuming the temperature was warm enough to keep them from thickening. So, I did some searching of 'teh internets', (ZOMG!) and found that there are in fact soy based oils that are designed for 2 stroke engines. I also found that before synthetic oils were developed, castor bean oils were considered the best oils to use in 2 strokes. In fact, many people still believe that they are the best. I am not going to get into that debate, because I have no idea which is better! But, I would definitely prefer to run a bio-oil if at all possible, and after doing the research, I have found that it is.

While we are on the subject, does anybody have any information on the effect that using vegetable-based 2 stroke engine oils might have on the emissions of said engine? Have there been any studies comparing synthetic 2 stroke oils versus castor oil versus vegetable based oils? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Source: United Soybean Board]

After recently "busting the myths" surrounding biodiesel, perhaps you are interested in giving the fuel a try yourself. Go for it! If you still need more information, why don't you check out the new Youtube channel started by grassroots organization known as Project Biodiesel. Feel free to check out their website as well.

So far there are three videos on their Youtube site, the first extolling the hopeful virtues of using algae as a crop for the fuel. The video also gives some other choices for biodiesel crops, and mentions that soy-based oils are the most popular here in the U.S. at this time. I would have embedded all three of them here for you, but that seems to have been disabled. No matter, they are worth watching so click on over anyway!

(Editor's Note: Don't forget that AutoblogGreen has a YouTube channel as well)

[Source: Youtube and Project Biodiesel via Hugg]

I plan on sharing some interesting bits of information that I got from some of the men behind the soy industry in general, the United Soybean Board, while I was at the SAE Congress in Detroit soon. But, one tidbit is that I was able to personally sample some automotive interior foam products made from soybean oil. There was foam destined for your seats and also some soybean oil based sound-deadening material. The products seemed fine to me, and they must be good enough for automotive use, as Ford will be using them in some of their newest models in the near future, according to Lear, the supplier which has done the most research into the technology. Here is an older press release from Lear on the subject.

FYI - they also had a soybean oil based foam football on display. That makes me wonder what the current foam footballs are made from. How many products do we currently purchase that have petroleum content in them which could be replaced by renewables? I'm betting more than you or I think.

[Source: Unites Soybean Board and Lear Corporation]

The volatile cost of petroleum is forcing automotive suppliers to consider renewable fuels in their manufacturing processes. Should the price of oil skyrocket to $100 a barrel, then suppliers would need alternative sources of petroleum to make plastics and other materials found in today's vehicles. Johnson Controls is wrapping up pilot tests on seat cushions manufactured with a blend of 2 to 7 percent soybean oil. Once validation is completed, the cushions could be in production for up to 12 applications from four automakers by this spring.

A Johnson Controls official told AutoblogGreen that only one of the company's 29 worldwide facilities will integrate soybean oil in the beginning. The bottom seat cushions will be made with a blend of 7 percent soybean oil and 93 percent petroleum while the seat backs will vary between 2 and 5 percent. Johnson Controls is experimenting with formulas using up to 40 percent soybean oil, but the foam currently won't pass automakers' durability tests for seats at that level. The 40 percent formula may be used for headrests, however.

The primary challenge in substituting soybean oil was the smell. Once Johnson Controls solved that problem, then a series of validation tests could begin with automakers.