We spent a long time debating over cars. Going the Mercedes route meant a very durable engine and the cheapest possible fuel: WVO. Eventually, when we live in a house of our own, we could invest in our own filteration machine and literally be running on free fuel, paying ourselves back the cost of the investment. The downside to the Mercedes was that it’s an old car. That means things like the A/C will break down sooner, windows will stick, door handles crack, antennae won’t go down, etc. The engine might run forever, but the rest of the car will take a lot more maintanance, and the older it is, the harder parts will be to come by. On the other hand, we could find a nice, zippy Volkswagon Golf TDI and get great gas mileage, but then we will unofficially commit to biodiesel, which means we will be paying something for fuel, though it will be cheaper than at the pump. My husband already drives a VW Jetta, (which will be mine soon!), so we have a lot of faith in Volkswagon.

The Volkswagon won. We found a 2000 VW Golf TDI with only 125,000 miles on it (that is low compared to all the others we looked at) and it gets 42 street/49 hwy miles to the gallon! What’s up now Prius!?!?! We jumped on it, got it for a good deal as well, though the car buying experience was not one I relish remembering (tips on buying a car in a future post to come). We love it. It definitely drives differently, it feels almost sluggish, like you’re not using enough power, but then you check your spedometer, and you’re going 15mph over the speedlimit! It chugs more than it zips. The engine is louder too, but Jer told us as soon as we got some biodiesel in it, the engine will clean out a bit and quiet down. We weren’t sure we would be able to get biodiesel in it any time soon. Our arrangement with Jer is that we will find a couple restaurants to supply us, collect the oil ourselves and bring it to him, and then he will give us the same amount in biodiesel for the low cost of him filtering and converting it. Finding restaurants takes time though, and we still need our permit and insurance adjusted. I thought we’d be subjected to the acrid fumes of petroleum diesel for at least a month or two until we get our situation arranged. But lo and behold, Jer had some extra biodiesel on hand that he happily offered to us. He is the nicest guy, saying he knows how hard it is to get started, and whenever he has some extra, he will gladly sell it to us while we orient ourselves to this new life style.

And so. This past Sunday, May 15th, 2011, we rolled up to Jer’s house with our new VW Golf TDI, and put 8 gallons of biodiesel into the tank. And it runs. It runs great. We were walking on sunshine the rest of the day. This was impossible. And we just did it!

God answered our prayers. We found somebody. One person, in a county of over 3 million responded to my inquiries. And here is where the story turns from research fact to real experience.

I posted on a forum for WVO and heard back from Jer. After emailing back and forth, and he invited my husband and I to come over and see his car and set up. He only lives in the next town over, making this arrangement extremely convenient. He drives an 84 Mercedes Turbo Diesel, and commutes 100 miles a day in this car, all running on WVO (reused waste vegetable oil). He originally started experimenting with veggie oil for fun, but when his new job demanded he commute such a distance with such high gas prices, he decided to see just how reliable he could make his veggie oil fuel. He has a self-built oil cleaning system, he has 3 different restaurants that he picks his oil up from, and he makes clean straight vegetable oil, makes a blend fuel, and makes biodiesel using a processor. He offered to take any WVO we find and clean it for us for a very small price to use as straight vegetable oil, or to convert it to biodiesel for us for a little more. He gave us SO much information after our first meeting that I felt weak the rest of the night.

I appreciated his generosity with his expertise and advice, and what I appreciated most was that the information was practical. You can read all the facts and examples, but it is hard to picture what life actually looks like running on WVO or biodiesel. He offered us that window.

The way it works: First, you need the car. Jer recommended the 1980-84 Mercedes Bendz Turbo Diesel for straight vegetable oil, or the 1987 Mercedes Benz or 2000-2004 Volkswagon Golf or Jetta Turbo Diesels for biodiesel fuel. The Benz engines are hard core durable, and as long as you take care of them, they will run forever and can be flexible on the type of fuel. The Volkswagon is also a durable and reliable Diesel engine, and it gets fantastic gas mileage.

Before really settling on the car though, you need to consider the fuel, and the complications that arrise with that fuel. For example, it’s important to change the motor oil much more frequently when running on straight vegetable oil because the WVO can slowly coat inside the engine, and possibly clog things if it’s not taken care of. Jer runs a particular blend of gasoline and WVO in his Mercedes without a conversion just fine, but most other WVO vehicle owners install a conversion kit that heats the oil before it runs through the engine, to keep it well liquified.

Biodiesel on the other hand, is extremely clean, and can be blended at any ratio with petroleum diesel. This means you can fill half way up at the pump with petroleum diesel and fill the rest of the way at home with biodiesel, and the engine will run fine with them mixed together. The only problem is that biodiesel is so clean, that it will clean out all the gunk from the petroleum deisel as it moves through the engine, and it is important to change your fuel filter as it will catch a lot more junk than it’s used to. Once you’re running only on biodiesel, the filter can be changed less often.

For either of these fuels, you need the base: vegetable oil. It is too expensive to buy gallons of straight vegetable oil at the grocery store, so you need to find restaurants willing to give you their oil. On the one hand, restaurants usually pay to get rid of their oil, so you offering them a free service is in your favor. On the other hand, you need to prove that you are professional and reliable about this arrangement. Since they aren’t paying you, there isn’t a huge incentive for them to trust that you will be there every week to collect. Also, different restaurants offer different qualities of oil. Many fast food places have installed additional filters to their fryers that allow them to reuse the same oil over and over to the point where it is useless to anybody. Ask how often they change their oil. If it is a couple of days, take it. If it is over a week, move on. In order to legally pick up the oil, you need a “transporting hazardous materials” permit from the DMV. It’s less than $100, and involves someone simply looking at your trunk that you will transport the oil in and checking it off. Some people don’t bother with the permit at all, but it definitely helps you look legit when canvassing restaurants, and protects you if for some reason the police look into your situation. Along with this you should also adjust your insurance coverage to include transporting the oil.

Sounds like a LOT of work, doesn’t it? This adventure has absolutely been an information OVERLOAD for us. But despite our particular situation in life, we decided we could do it, and it’s worth it to try. So here we go.

Sources:

 Most of the information came from the personal experiences of our new friend Jer, and other people on the forums below. My previous post, “Part 2″, contains the published sources I have been relying upon.

http://voconversionbasics.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=1178437

http://voconversionbasics.websitetoolbox.com/post?id=2358809

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/159605551/m/347104314

http://biodiesel.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/frm/f/159605551

While on a picnic lunch at the beach, looking out over the sparkling water, I saw something I’ve never seen before. A spout of water. And this was followed by the graceful arc of a whale tail hailing the sun and slipping beneath the waves. We watched the whales travel past on their migration back to the Arctic for the summer, and it struck me how these ancient creatures know little of us. They have practiced this same migration, this same way of life, for hundreds of thousands of years. What do they care of the land, of people, of civilizations growing and falling, of all our technology and business and sociology? Our lives, our systems, are as a breath in the wind to the constancy of their existance. The same is for the great Redwoods in Northern California. In their single lifetime a thousand different men may have claimed ownership of the land, and yet each dies or fails or gives it up, while the trees still grow.

I felt affirmed by nature, by God himself, that even if I am just one person, even if it is just one car among thousands, I would do what was possible to care for these creatures. I needed to get creative, to find another fuel option. And so I have turned back to what I thought was the most radical option of all: Vegetable oil.

Step One: I re-read all I had found about Veggie vehicles and more, familiarizing myself with the details.

What I already knew: We are currently dependent on oil for all our fuel. Both gasoline and diesel are made from oil, which is not renewable. The oil reserves are being depleted, but our oil usage continues to grow exponentially. There will come a day, whether 15 years or 100 years from now, when the oil is gone. There will come a day BEFORE that, when the dwindling supply of oil will be in such high demand that the average person will not be able to afford to pay for gas. Due to our dependence on oil, we are forced to be dependent on other countries and their “positive relations” with us for that oil. We are in a conundrum.

Regarding vegetable oil, it is a renewable resource, it can be used straight as a fuel in a Diesel engine with minor conversions to keep the oil heated, or it can be turned into Biodiesel and poured into ANY Diesel engine without modifications. It can be taken from restaurants, cleaned and reused as fuel, (known as WVO). It is a lubricant instead of a corrosive, so it actually EXTENDS engine life, instead of wearing the engine down.

What I learned: The Diesel engine was originally built in 1895 to run on vegetable oil. The inventor, Dr. Rudolf Diesel, hoped since it ran on a renewable fuel source (plants!), that it would provide an alternative to the gas combustion engine . The Diesel engine is very durable, and can run successfully on many different fuel sources. It was modified later to run on the cheapest source available: petroleum diesel, made from oil. Diesel engines also get great fuel economy, which is what the new “clean Diesel” campaign is about. They run on petroleum diesel still, but the engine has been made so efficient that the fuel burns nearly as clean as gasoline, and goes twice as far.

Sold on the Diesel engine yet? Here enters Biodiesel. It is made from vegetable oil (new or reused), is carbon nuetral, meaning the carbon dioxide emitted when burned as a fuel is equal to the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants that make the same amount of fuel. Burning biodiesel or vegetable oil reduces fine particles pollution and greenhouse gases. There are differing reports on if it slightly increases or decreases nitrogen oxide emissions. Overall, it is much healthier than gasoline or petroleum diesel emissions. And a crucial fact is it can be put into nearly ANY DIESEL ENGINE. I’m betting that when oil reserves do run out, biodiesel will be the most convenient replacement option because we won’t need to change the engines, just the fuel development. Developing a biodiesel infrastructure would create jobs, stimulate the economy, and solve our oil dependency problem.

Persuasive, no? Well, I thought so anyway. But of course, the tricky thing for us is Step Two: to find a fuel source. We live in an apartment without a personal garage. We can’t filter oil ourselves, or make biodiesel out of it with a processing machine. We can’t store gallons and gallons of it in our 1 bedroom place.  We don’t have the money for a crazy set up, nor the expertise to know where to really start. With the car or the fuel supply? We need a co-op. So I am hunting on trusty Google, and searching in my county for keywords co-op, biodiesel, and WVO. We want to make this work, but it seems crazy to try.

Sources:

From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank, by Joshua Tickell

Fuel- Documentary by Joshua Tickell

 http://www.lovecraftbiofuels.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=118&Itemid=35

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/huddlergreenhome/8/eco-friendly-cars-for-the-cheapskate.html

http://www.altfuelprices.com/

Additional conditions arose. My husband drives all over the county for work and is paid a gas stipend. We decided I will get his old car, (which is still 12 years YOUNGER than mine!) and we will look for a new car for him that will get great gas mileage. Hopefully enough so that we would be getting paid more from the stipend than he is spending on actual gas.

The other condition was that we want something better for the environment. As a Christian, I have a very real responsibility to care for God’s creation, to try to make decisions that nurture the earth more often than destroy it. In other posts on this blog, I’ve researched through a lot of the most common altnerative fuel vehicles, their pros and cons. $15,000 is a lot of money; it’s a commitment. We wanted to commit to something responsible and efficient, something that means more than just materialism and comfort.

I began by going back through my research, reminding myself of the different options available to us. Many were crossed off due to the alternative fuel being unavailable in our area. The real practical option appeared to be a hybrid. It runs on regular gas, but less of the time. It’s not as significantly “green” as some other radical fuels out there, but for a young couple living in an apartment, we didn’t have the money or garage space for any “experiments”. A hybrid is a step in the right direction environmentally, and it will give us the mileage we want.

We’ve looked primarily into a Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, the two cheapest hybrids on the market. Prius is the number one selling hybrid in the country, and once we started paying attention, we saw them everywhere. We even started a car game: “How many Prius’s will we see before we get home? Whoever guesses closest wins!” It is easy to see why it’s an amazing car. Spacious, comfortable, reliable engine, and 50mpg!! It seems exactly what we are looking for. But at $22,000, a brand new one is not in the stars for us. We would need to buy used, and many of the used Prius’s we browsed have very high mileage. That isn’t surprising, the car’s selling point is its fuel economy, but we didn’t want something that was already a good portion through it’s life span. We then began looking into the Honda Insight. The fuel economy is slightly less efficient than the Prius, around 40-45mpg, and the interior is smaller than the Prius. But for around $5000 cheaper, it is a bit more feasable for us.

So here we are, poised to leap on either a Prius or an Insight at the first sign of a good deal. The more we’ve looked, however, the more we’ve discovered we are not alone. The Prius and Insight are extremely hot commodities. We slowly realized two things. First, gas prices are rising, and more and more people are getting hybrids to make their four dollars at the pump stretch farther. And second, because of the terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan, they are scaling back on next year’s hybrid production. These cars are in extremely high demand, and they will be making even less of them next year. For us, this meant we had very little negotiating power over the ticket price at the dealership. We might be able to knock a few dollars off, but not enough to make it a significant “deal” that we could actually afford to pay. This is our real environmental option, and we just can’t afford it.

I have become very discouraged. The idea of getting a regular gas powered vehicle with great fuel economy fluttered in my mind. But I can be tenacious at times, and I am with this conviction to love my world. If I am spending thousands of dollars, I want to do it in a way that cares for the earth, and does not continue to fund an entire fuel system that I don’t agree with and that will not last forever. It might not even last my lifetime. At this point it’s either suck it up and get a big loan, or get creative. We’ll see which provides an answer first.

Sources:

www.hybridcars.com

Vote for reusable containers, made of healthy materials. Because of our votes, businesses offer discounts for things like reusable coffee mugs and shopping bags now.

Vote for alternative fuel vehicles. We have been voting, and we have more options than ever because of this. The Prius is Toyota’s third best-selling car in the U.S. The electric car is back. These are big accomplishments for a country that 10 years ago voted primarily for large trucks and SUV’s.

Vote for healthy food options, local farmers, less chemicals, fair trade. If even 30% of the time everyone voted their money instead of just spending it, what amazing options might be made available to us? What changes would ensue?

Earth day and Good Friday together I feel is fitting. It is a day to ponder responsibility. We are responsible for this world, for how we treat it, for how we leave it. Good Friday celebrates the one who took all responsibility onto himself, our representative of guilt and shame while we are offered forgiveness and freedom. At least take a moment to think about responsibility. And every third purchase or so, remember to vote.

Originally, I took organic to mean basically  ”pesticide or chemical free”. Organic.org defines it as: ”Simply stated, organic produce and other ingredients are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. Animals that produce meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products do not take antibiotics or growth hormones. ” After reading this book, however, I’ve learned that avoiding harmful pesticides and chemicals is a very good reason to buy organic, but it is not the only reason by far…

Reasons to buy organic (besides lack of pesticides and chemicals):

 1. Quality: Organic growers tend to choose varieties of fruits or veggies that taste really great rather than ship well or look good on the shelf. They are not as concerned with mass production and conformity as with really great flavor.

2. Nutritious: Organic food is grown in highly nutritious soil, making the food itself more nutrient rich.

3. Fresh: Organic food tends to be fresher because it is sold near where it is grown. Fruits and veggies generally have the maximum flavor and nutrient level right when they are picked, so the shorter the timespan between picking and purchasing, the fresher it is for you to eat.

4. Friendly: Because organic food is generally grown near where you live, it is easier to contact the grower with any questions you have about the food and how it’s produced.

5. Homegrown: Organic food will display nuances of the region it’s grown in. Also, due to organic farms being generally smaller, growers will choose to raise crops according to personal preference, resulting in unique tastes and colors. Organic food ends up carrying a little more history and personality.

6. Environmental: Organic food generally ships much shorter distances, reducing packaging and transporting pollution.

The downside to shopping organic is that it is often more expensive. Personally, if it is only a little more expensive, or if I am eating it or using it on a daily basis, then I spring for organic. If it is something I eat or use less often and the price is significantly higher, I probably won’t choose organic. But how much you spend is up to your own budget. Regarding produce specifically, there is a handy list called the “Dirty Dozen”, the 12 most heavily pesticide sprayed fruits and vegetables, making it easier to place these on the organic priority list and then negotiate for others. Here is the list:

Dirty Dozen:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes (Imported)
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

Resources:

 The Organic Cook’s Bible by Jeff Cox

www.organic.org

1. Regarding real paper pages, of course it is not the same. Clicking an arrow does not hold quite the same anticipation as turning a real physical page, and I had to reorient myself to the experience. However, I become so engrossed in a story that 2 minutes into reading I have forgotten through what medium the words are coming to me, and I am lost from the real world. Also, it is incredibly comfortable to carry around a thin piece of plastic in my purse, rather than one or two heavy books I’m reading at the time. And finally, if you enjoy reading for long stretches, there is no denying that holding that thin piece of plastic is much more comfortable than wedging a fat novel between your fingers, regularly switching hands to give the fingers a break. You can even prop it up without needing to hold the pages in place, increasing the amount of ”body-gets-comfortable” positions you can wriggle into as you read.

2. I realized that although $189 (or less) is an investment, it is not such a huge number that to buy a paperback again would be irresponsible. There are only two reasons I can think of for buying a paper-book while owning an e-reader: 1. the book is not available as an e-file, which would be rare due to the amount of books available on e-readers. I would just buy the book or check the library in that case. Or 2. the book is special in some way and you want to own it physically, to which I say that is a worthy personal investment. We should definitely not forget the beauty of a printed and bound book, especially one that contains a very good story.

Overall, if you can save up for it, I highly recommend the Kindle. I considered the Kindle or Nook because of the e-ink (no back lit screen to hurt the eyes), and I chose Kindle because it has a keypad and not a touch screen like the Nook. It’s a personal preference, not necessarily functionally superior. I just have a crappy touch screen phone that performs inconsistently, which turned me off to touch screens in general (even though I know the Nook’s technology is probably far superior to my phone). I also opted for the 3g, which means I can access the internet anywhere without paying a monthly fee. It’s not super necessary if you don’t want to pay the extra $40. It’s just handy, and with the rate at which technology advances, I wanted to invest in something that would not feel obsolete any time soon. I have also had great customer service experience with Amazon, and trust they will take care of me if I have any problems. I am extremely happy with it so far, and am currently enjoying “The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingslover, an intriguing book about which I am sure to write it’s own blog post. So hurrah for Kindle!

Making these skin products was a big deal for me. Melting down cocoa butter bain-marie style made me feel like a mad hippie scientist, and got me to thinking about how my lifestyle has changed in this last year. When I was in college I loved learning, loved lectures, I was caught up in papers and histories and theories. Then I graduated, entered the “real world”, and discovered I knew so little regarding the basics of life. Hence this blog, and these posts. I’ve spent the last year + trying to learn as much as I can about the basics of life: the air I breathe, the water I drink, the food I eat, the things I drive, the environment I live in, etc. And from what I learn, I have been trying to make responsible, informed decisions about living as healthfully, or as ”well” as I can, within my means.

I think the most basic thing I’ve learned so far is to think practically and patiently about the information out there and how to use it for yourself. It’s easy to fall into the temptation to do everything at once, to try to live as “perfectly” as possible. And that can lead to a slight, almost imperceptible feeling, that after making all these healthy changes, I’ll never get sick, have the healthiest family, and live longer than anyone! But this is foolish.  A healthy lifestyle is not a golden ticket to immortality, none of us have any control over what can happen tomorrow. Making truly healthy decisions about my life means being responsible holistically, including emotional/relational needs, lifestyle preferences, and income. For example, making all my food from scratch may well be the healthiest possible way to feed myself, but cooking is a project for me, not a relaxing activity like it is for others, so I consider that as I make food choices. I also believe there is something very valuable about a good time with friends and food, and being overconcerned about what ingredient is in every meal can really ruin an experience that may be healthy emotionally or relationally. All this is to say, I’ve learned to be patient with myself, to allow for time and saving up for important changes I want to make. And I’ve learned to be practical, accepting that life will never be perfect and risk free, and as I continue to learn to live well, to enjoy the learning and the living.

I was planning to share some of my favorite quotes from the book, but because there are so many, and because you need to read the argument behind them to feel the gravity of them, instead I will say just  go read Screwtape Letters.

The room was dark and warm with a slight perfume to the air. I snuggled under warm covers on a comfortable bed, and spent the next hour with my eyes closed in a half-hypnotic state. I chose to get a facial, which came with a neck and shoulder massage anyway, because my facial skin has been dry and unhealthy, and I wanted to rejuvenate it. It was wonderful. First cooled with a cleanser, then gently exfoliated, then a mask applied, then cleansed again, then hydrated, each step divided by my favorite part: a hot, moist towel draped over my face, opening pores and relaxing my muscles and tissues. Afterward my skin felt hydrated, supple, like a child’s, and I was convinced. Yes, this may be self-indulgent, but it is also somehow incredibly healthy.

I work at a very high stress job in social services. It is full of responsibility, paperwork, and rather depressing stories, with very little tangible rewards. After my facial, I realized how little I do to counter the stress, anxiety, and sometimes hopelessness my job can bring. I know my job is important, and as a Christian, I know it is an act of service to God as well. But if I am not investing in my own rehabilitation from the stresses of my job, I am destined to become desensitized, calloused, and perform worse and worse within the job itself. Which is where “spa time” comes in. I still feel that spending a grip of money every month on all kinds of body makeovers and treatments may not be the most valuable use of resources. However, I would hazard to say that spending more money on clothes I don’t need would actually be more frivolous than a trip to the spa again, and at least I am now accepting that repairing my mental and physical state is worth spending time and money on. At least more so than I have before now. I have learned self-investment is not always self-indulgence.  This has led me to the conclusion that a facial or massage may be a lovely treat a few times a year, and that taking care of my skin is something I can invest in at home more regularly.

I have written previous posts regarding skin, how it is an absorbent organ, how we need to be careful about what we put on it so that it is healthfully cared for.  The mistake I have made the last few months is while I have cut out chemically based, preservative filled skin treatments, I’ve done little to find healthy, natural substitutes. I wash my face with pure castile soap because it is natural and healthy, but it also dries out my facial skin, leaving it parched and taut. I moisturize with coconut oil which I feel satisfied with, but I have not considered looking for something better, more rejuvenating, until now. So I have returned to my trusty book The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, and found some really delicious looking recipes to help give myself some daily luxurious spa treatment at home at a fraction of the cost. Here are a couple of recipes I’m going to get started with (I have dry skin, so if you have oily skin, you may need to look for different oils to use for your skin type):

Cocoa Butter Cleanser:

3 oz. cocoa butter

1 1/2 oz grape seed oil, warmed

1 1/2 oz spring water, warmed

Using bain-marie, melt cocoa butter, then add grape seed oil and spring water. Mix in a blender or whisk until mixture is cold. When cold add 1 drop of Rose Maroc essential oil and 1 drop of Sandalwood essential oil. Store in a jar.

Green Clay Mask:

2 oz Green Clay

3 tsp Cornflour

Mix and store in a jar. Take one tablespoon of that mixture and add:

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon Almond oil or Evening Primrose oil

2 teaspoons water

2 drops of Carrot oil

Blend into a paste, add 1 or 2 drops of an essential oil of your choice. Apply to face and leave on skin for 15 minutes, then rinse well and apply a treatment oil.

Skin Tonic (like a toner):

3 oz Rosewater

1 drop Sandalwood

1 drop Palma Rosa

Place ingredients in a bottle and shake together. Leave for 24 hours, then pass through a paper coffee filter. Rebottle and use for after cleansing. Always reshake before using to remix ingredients.