Leaders look into bio-diesel

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Local officials, many who deal with high transportation costs throughout their departments, are looking into options for cheaper fuels.
City, county and state officials met this week to discuss possible fuel solutions, particularly bio-diesel.
"It's no secret that America has to wean itself of foreign oil," State Sen. Roger Bedford said.
Bedford has been working with Gov. Bob Riley and other state officials looking into the use of bio-diesel in other parts of the world. "Brazil is 20 years ahead of us in using sugar cane," Bedford told a group of county commissioners, local mayors, school leaders and representatives from the state agriculture office.
"There are a lot of things going on in the world."
Officials with Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks' office discussed the growing use of bio-diesel.
Windy Leavell, a consultant who works with the state, said some areas, such as Hoover and Montgomery, are using vegetable cooking oil as fuel.
Restaurants and residents in those towns are giving their used oil to the local municipalities. It is then turned into fuel for city vehicles.
Representatives looked at a bio-diesel processor that produces 55 gallons of fuel at a time over an eight-hour period.
If the county schools and local governments decide to begin using the process, it could save thousands of dollars, officials said.
"This is a step I think we could do here locally and help us save 20 percent on fuel costs and protect the environment," Bedford said.
He said there would be no out of pocket costs to the county and cities if they decide to use the program.
State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow said the United States should have gotten a wake up call when it faced a serious energy crisis in the 1970s.
"For some reason it didn't make an impression on us," he said.
"We have got to become self-sufficient and whatever steps we need to take, we have to do it. Let's work for solutions."