With the continuous vertical creep of prices at the pump and fears of dependence on foreign oil growing, many Americans are looking for alternatives to petroleum-based fuels.

Environmentalists do not stand alone in the push for alternatives. President Bush acknowledged in his 2006 State of the Union address that America is “addicted to oil,” and cleaner, cheaper alternatives are needed.

One possible piece of the solution that was not directly mentioned in Bush’s address could be found sizzling at restaurants and dining halls around the nation, or even just around the SIUC campus.

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Used vegetable oil can power diesel engines with a few adjustments to the fuel system, said Erik Oberg, a coordinator for Touch of Nature Environmental Center’s Underway Outdoor Adventure program.

“There’s no byproducts,” he said. “They cruise down the street and it smells like french-fries. It’s a pretty amazing thing.”

Oberg said he is so excited about grease-powered automotives that he is hoping to convert a van for the center to use. Though he is still in the planning process, he said his dream is to see SIUC begin to convert its service vehicles in the future.

“There’s an endless supply of used vegetable oil,” he said. “We could have a whole fleet of vehicles for SIU and be vanguards.”

SIUC’s Department of Automotive Technology has already converted two vehicles of its own, associate professor Rod Collard said.

“It’s definitely an important goal to try to minimize and be more efficient with our petroleum products,” he said.

The grease-powered system is different than commercially produced biodiesel, which has been formulated to work in normal diesel engines and can be found at many gas stations.

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“I want to make it clear that I realize that this is not the end-all solution. It’s just a small step,” Collard said. “There are other things out there that are going to be more practical.”

The U.S. Department of Energy lists biodiesel, ethanol, electricity, natural gas, propane and hydrogen as other possible alternatives to petroleum-based fuels. Of these alternatives, biodiesel and ethanol are the most readily available to consumers.

Biodiesel made from soybeans is more promising than ethanol, which comes from corn, said Barb McKasson, chair of the Shawnee Group of the Sierra Club.

“Sometimes you just break even or maybe lose energy by using corn,” she said. “Growing corn is very energy intensive, and then there’s the process of converting it into ethanol so it can be used in cars.”

Some experts fear that using biodiesel or ethanol as a major alternative to gasoline may exacerbate food shortages in developing countries, according to the Energy Justice Network Web site.

The site says increased demand for corn and soybeans used in these fuels could make it more profitable for farmers in those regions to grow food for fuel production than for human consumption.

The site said electric cars would be the most comprehensive solution to America’s fuel problems, along with scaling back on overall consumption.

Collard said electric cars are an option, but many people have reservations about the battery technology that exists.

One electric car currently on the market, the Tessla Roadster, can reach 250 miles between charges and its “tail-pipe” emissions are zero.

McKasson said other options to make transportation less oil intensive did not directly involve alternative fuel sources.

She said one of the most important things that can be done to reduce America’s oil dependence is to raise the fuel efficiency standards imposed on car manufacturers.

“We could do so much better,” she said. “There’s no reason why Congress can’t raise the standards. That could save millions of gallons of oil a day.”

McKasson said another option could be to put more money into a more efficient rail system and renewable energy technologies.

“All these technologies are just on the brink of being cheap enough,” she said. “They just need that extra push to make them inexpensive enough for people to afford.”

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