*Do they check oil and wash windshields?
News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
http://gas2.org/2009/07/30/biofuel-oasis-empowering-alternative-fuel-use/
Biofuel Oasis: Empowering Alternative Fuel Use
Written by Steve Schaefer
Published on July 30th, 2009
Running your car on biodiesel fuel is a great way to reduce your carbon
footprint. BioFuel Oasis, a women’s collective/owned business in
Berkeley, offers not only fuel, but a level of expertise and service you
haven’t experienced in a fuel transaction in years.
Biodiesel is made from vegetable oil, normally from soybeans. You can
grow the beans to produce the oil, but the most environmentally
conscious way is to use recycled oil from restaurants. Because diesel
engines have much higher compression than gas engines, they can burn a
range of fuels, including the stuff they use to cook French fries.
Vision of a better way.
In 2003, Jennifer Radtke and a partner had a vision of creating a place
where customers could obtain pure, 100 percent biodiesel (B100) in a
healthy environment. By the end of the year, they had secured a
1,000-foot warehouse space in a light industrial zone in West Berkeley.
They began dispensing fuel in five-gallon portable containers (carboys),
and after nearly a year of building permit negotiations, opened their
first pump.
Originally a partnership, the business became a worker-owned cooperative
when three more women joined in 2005. Worker-owners spend about 80 hours
a month at the station and have hands-on experience with everything to
do with running a vehicle on biodiesel.
With success from their hard work, the business outgrew its location.
So, this spring, it moved to a prime location on Ashby Avenue at the
corner of Sacramento. The worker/owners assembled a team and totally
remodeled the classic 1933 fuel station that was there, poured new
concrete, and installed two fine new pumps. Above them are gorgeous
trellises, made from recycled wood, that hold solar panels to provide
electricity for the pumps.
Unlike today’s faceless corporate gas stations, where bored clerks sit
amidst the air fresheners, cigarettes and junk food while you pump your
own gas, the BioFuel Oasis is oriented towards healthful living. You can
learn about not only biodiesel but also urban gardening, chicken
ranching and alternative ways of travel, including bicycling and walking.
When I visited, I saw beekeeping supplies, a salt lick, (((yum))) racks of books
and information, T-shirts, and much more. Moe Beitiks, who was working
the shift that afternoon, handed me a copy of Not a Gas Station, a book
by cofounder Radtke about the founding of the business. A good read, it
also includes helpful information on establishing and running your own
biodiesel station.
Moving from petroleum Diesel to biodiesel.
Although converting your Diesel car or truck to biodiesel requires no
special equipment, there are a few things to watch out for. In
particular, biodiesel is an excellent solvent and it cleans out the
sludge in your engine and fuel tank very effectively.
This can clog your fuel filter. As part of their all-encompassing
customer service, BioFuel Oasis offers classes in how to change your own
fuel filter, and recommends that you do so a few months after switching
over to maintain good performance. BioFuel Oasis’s owners believe it is
empowering to take responsibility for maintaining your biodiesel-burning
vehicle.
BioFuel Oasis doesn’t produce the fuel it sells, although some owners
enjoy homebrewing their own. They sell high quality commercial biodiesel
that meets the standards of the ASTM, the international standards
organization. Every effort is made to get vegetable oil from local
restaurants, which is then refined by trusted companies and delivered to
BioFuel Oasis’s storage tanks.
Biodiesel can run in any diesel vehicle, although, because of new
combustion methods, late model 2007 – 2010 models may not be compatible
with it. If you want to use biodiesel in your late model vehicle, check
with your dealer and the manufacturer, or ask someone at the BioFuel Oasis.
Advantages of biodiesel.
Biodiesel offers numerous advantages:
* It’s nontoxic and biodegradable
* It’s nonflammable. You can store a five-gallon container in your
garage or car safely.
* It produces lower emissions. Greenhouse gases, particulates and
carcinogens are greatly reduced.
* It’s sustainable. A 2001 study found that biodiesel yields 3.2 units
of fuel product energy for every 1 unit of fossil energy consumed in its
lifecycle. It takes 1.2 units of fossil energy to produce just 1 unit of
diesel fuel.
“My purpose in starting the Oasis was not to sell the most biodiesel
possible and get rich,” says Radtke in Not a Gas Station. “It was to
give people a real possibility of using a cleaner, renewable fuel. It
was about the bigger picture—what’s going to make our whole community
the most successful and sustainable for many generations to come.”
Editor’s Note: Here is some supplementary information about Biofuel
Oasis for those in the area or anyone who wants to visit:
BioFuel Oasis
1441 Ashby Avenue (corner of Sacramento)
Berkeley, California 94702
Phone: 510-665-5509
Contact: [email protected]
Regular Station Hours:
Monday thru Saturday: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. (staffed)
Closed Sunday
Additional Hours with Fueling Freedom Card (unstaffed):
Monday thru Saturday: 7 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Sundays: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
