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- Environment: Biodiesel
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As gas prices continue to soar around the country, a growing number of drivers are turning to a different kind of fuel: Biodiesel.
Made out of vegetable oil, biodiesel provides a renewable alternative to petroleum. Some practitioners add converters to their diesel cars and use veggie oil straight out of restaurants to gas up. Others join community groups that process the veggie oil into fuel, then add it directly to their VW bus, Mercedes Benz, or other diesel vehicle.
It may seem a little more hippie than hip, but several cities around the world are catching on this sustainable fuel. City truck fleets in Kyoto, Japan and Berkeley, California run exclusively on biodiesel, and other cities are interested in the fuel's cleaner burning nature.
KALW producer Frank Ling and reporter Charles Lee take a spin with some of the people who are making this alternative fuel industry grow.
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Piece Description
As gas prices continue to soar around the country, a growing number of drivers are turning to a different kind of fuel: Biodiesel. Made out of vegetable oil, biodiesel provides a renewable alternative to petroleum. Some practitioners add converters to their diesel cars and use veggie oil straight out of restaurants to gas up. Others join community groups that process the veggie oil into fuel, then add it directly to their VW bus, Mercedes Benz, or other diesel vehicle. It may seem a little more hippie than hip, but several cities around the world are catching on this sustainable fuel. City truck fleets in Kyoto, Japan and Berkeley, California run exclusively on biodiesel, and other cities are interested in the fuel's cleaner burning nature. KALW producer Frank Ling and reporter Charles Lee take a spin with some of the people who are making this alternative fuel industry grow.
Broadcast History
This story originally aired on KALW, 91.7 FM in San Francisco, on April 3, 2005.


