Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Soybeans in your gas tank

This is an amazing story about an idea this guy came up with a few years back. I'm always interested in alternative fuels, but this article is more about the business behind the idea. I was sitting back and thinking about this process on Crewed Yacht Charters recently and wondered what exactly bio-diesal was. After reading this I know.

After ten years of flying jets for Northwest Airlines, John Plaza decided during a long, cold layover that he wanted to change the world. "I was flying cargo planes from Anchorage to Tokyo," says Plaza, 41. "I did a rough estimate and realized that the tonnage of fuel it took to fly my 747 to Tokyo could power my Nissan Maxima for about 42 years."

Inspired to launch a renewable-energy business, Plaza chose biodiesel, a clean-burning alternative to petroleum diesel that can be made from most types of vegetable oil. He cashed in his 401(k), mortgaged his home and sold his ski boat to buy a 5,000-square-foot warehouse in an industrial section of Seattle.

full story...