Willie Nelson Wins EPA Award for Biodiesel Station
Willie Nelson Wins EPA Award for Biodiesel Station
Environment News Service, April 20, 2006
http://www.ens-newswire.com/
SAN FRANCISCO, California, April 20, 2006 (ENS) - Musician Willie Nelson, who opened the first California biodiesel outlet in San Diego, has been honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During the EPA's eighth annual Environmental Awards Ceremony in San Francisco, Wednesday, EPA Regional Administrator Wayne Nastri presented a plaque to Nelson and to 38 other organizations and individuals throughout the Pacific Southwest in recognition of their efforts to protect and preserve the environment in 2005. Of Nelson, the EPA said, "He is a model of the socially committed entertainer." The EPA considers Nelson committed to biodiesel, a clean and renewable form of energy that uses only natural oils and fats for production. The pollution created by diesel trucks and the potential to reinvigorate American farmers by jump-starting a massive agricultural demand for soy and canola oils were the inspiration for Nelson's project.
With four partners, Nelson started the Biodiesel Venture GP, LLC partnership in December 2004. The idea, he says, "is to do something useful towards eliminating America's dependence on foreign oil, help put the the American family farmer back to work and clean up the environment we live in." The clean burning, renewable diesel fuel replacement is made from vegetable oils or animal fats. The methyl ester of vegetable oil, it is very similar to the petrochemical based diesel fuel that it replaces, so does not require any vehicle or storage modifications. Using biodiesel reduces tailpipe emissions. On the Willie Nelson Biodiesel website the company explains that burning biodiesel reduces carbon dioxide exhaust emissions by up to 80 percent over petroleum diesel. Biodiesel produces 100 percent less sulfur dioxide than petroleum based diesel, and sulfur dioxide is the major component of acid rain. Biodiesel reduces exhaust smoke emissions by up to 75 percent so the usual black cloud associated with a diesel engine can be eliminated. Distribution Drive, distributor of Willie Nelson Biodiesel, is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Earth Biofuels, Inc., a publicly traded company.
