What I Can Do to Lessen Our Addiction to Oil?

George W. Bush urged the US to “get off our addiction to oil.”  He talked about biofuels made from switchgrass as one solution.  So, how are we doing?  OK, but we still have a ways to go.  We have replaced 10% of our transportation fuel with renewables, using ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel; and renewable jetfuel on a few commercial airline flights.  Can we do better?  You bet!

Here are a few suggestions that you can do today to help us get off our addiction to oil:

1. Learn about the fossil-fuel divestment movement; divest as an individual and get your colleges/universities, religious organizations, communities and businesses to divest their fossil fuel interests (and invest in renewable alternatives). See https://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/?s=divest&x=7&y=5
2. Look for fuel stations with installed ‘blender pumps’ in your neighborhood that give customers a choice of ethanol blended fuels and high octane benefits. Praise them online, to your local media, and let the managers know you appreciate their efforts.  https://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/category/invrastructure/infrastructure-deliver-dispense
3. Always purchase transportation fuel that includes some renewables; whatever is appropriate for your vehicle: ethanol (E10 to E85) or biodiesel (B2-B100) or renewable diesel. (Look on the driver’s side door or in your owner’s manual to find out what blends you can use)
4. If you can’t tell if there is ethanol or biodiesel in the fuel, And let the fuel station manager know that you want to buy renewable fuel.
5. Find out if your local public buses are hybrids that use biofuels. If they are not, ask the transportation agency when they will be; or what’s stopping them. Persist in advocating for that change.  https://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/san-francisco-falling-short-on-use-of-biodiesel-for-public-vehicles
6. If you fly, make a point to ask when that airline will start using biojetfuel on commercial flights. https://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/category/aviation
7. If you run a business that uses cooking oil, recycle it for use as biodiesel and/or animal feed.  https://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/tag/used-cooking-oil
8. Make sure your local schools, universities, churches and restaurants know about opportunities to recycle used cooking oil; and persist in helping them implement a waste cooking oil recycling program.
9. Make sure your local waste water treatment facilities know about opportunities to use waste grease as a biofuel feedstock; and persist in helping them implement a grease recycling program. https://advancedbiofuelsusa.info/?s=grease&x=6&y=7
10. Find the biofuels-related advocacy organization(s) in your community and participate. If there isn’t one, start one.  Advanced Biofuels USA can help.
11. Ask your local political candidates what they are doing to promote the understanding, development and use of biofuels. What effort do they make to use biofuels?
12. Check on biofuels usage by your major retailers and shipping.   Tell them you’d like to know your orders move by bio.
13. Ask your local newspaper for more coverage of biofuels events and developments
14. Check on the availability of biodiesel blends of heating oil, and biobased plastics and other products for your routine use.  http://www.biopreferred.gov/
15. Find out if your work has a telecommute program and work from home, thus saving gas.
16. Carpool to work or group activities.
17. Bicycle to work or other activities.
18. Use mass transportation.
19. Donate to Advanced Biofuels USA, a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational organization dedicated to promoting the understanding, development and use of advanced biofuels as an energy security, economic development, military flexibility, climate change mitigation and pollution control SOLUTION.

Advanced Biofuels:  No beaches closed. No wildlife destroyed. No wars fought. No lives lost. 

For a PDF handout of this list (without URL links) Click Here.