Earthpalz

With gas prices exploding in an ever upward spiral and our dependence on fossil fuels getting stronger, there has never been a better time to explore our natural fuel alternatives for your automobile and for your home. Now alternative fuels are becoming just as cost efficient as oil products and they are so much more environmentally friendly. Just what are bio-fuels you ask? It is a solid, liquid or gas derived from biomass, otherwise known as recently living organisms or organism byproducts. The most common crops used for use as bio-fuels are corn, soybeans, flaxseed, sugar cane and palm oil. Which one you use will ultimately depend on what you will use it for. Besides would you rather smell the sulfur by-product of oil based diesel or how about a touch of fresh French fries instead from bio-diesel.

One environmentally friendly bio-fuel is grass. It might sound a bit weird, but Europe has been using it for decades with huge success. Grass pellets could be one answer to our fueling cost problems. With today’s rising energy costs, many consumers have made a conscious effort to change that way that they heat their homes. Alternative heating methods have become very appealing; they are efficient and earth-friendly as well. In fact, burning grass pellets emits up to 90% less greenhouse gases than oil, coal or natural gas. They could easily be grown and pelleted by farmers and then burned in the new modified wood burning stoves that also burn corn. Not only is it the most economical of all fuel alternatives, but it could have a huge impact on rural communities since it would be locally grown, processed and consumed.

Another alternative that has been in the news a lot is corn based fuel. Nowadays, you can get corn pellet stoves that can heat entire households for pennies on the dollar. They may seem expensive to some people at first, but it could prove to be an investment that will save you hundreds of dollar each year. It is much safer for your home environment and heats just as well. You can also purchase a conversion kit that will convert your traditional fireplace into a pellet stove. And more recently, alfalfa stems have been being studied as a potential economical and environmentally friendly bio-fuel for wood pellet stoves. I am certain we will hear more about that in the near future.

As far as your automobile goes, a safe bio-diesel is made from a combination of different oils such as palm oil, vegetable oil and soybean oil. In fact, not only are they environmentally friendly, but they have also been shown to get just as good of gas mileage as petroleum based fuels. The hope among some law makers is that it will eventually totally replace petroleum fuels, but that remains to be seen. In some parts of the country, ethanol fuel is becoming available, at selected gas stations, that is. Ethanol is made from corn, is less polluting than diesel and oil based fuels, and gets better gas mileage than many of the alternatives.

However, being that the government is yet to approve many of the bio-fuels for wide-scale usage, you can opt to make some of your own. For example, you can make your own bio-diesel that will work in any diesel motor. There are many sites on the web that will show you exactly how to do it for free. It is a relatively simple process and can be made in your home kitchen and stored for up to six months.

No matter where you come from or what part of the world you live in, the truth is no secret, we need safe and affordable alternatives to the mass produced fossil fuels we rely on today. Alternative fuels have come a long way in the recent years, within the next decade we may very well be driving cars run by the fuel of the future.