Bloom is off the biodiesel rose: Berkeley says "no" to soy biofuel

Often in the lead in progressive causes, the City of Berkeley started using biodiesel in more than 100 city vehicles six years ago. For a while, the biofuel came from recycled waste grease and everyone was happy. The source shifted to crop soybeans when not enough grease could be found but, due to new concerns about growing crops for fuel, the city has now decided that enough is enough. The City Council took delivery of its last shipment of biodiesel made from soy last month and will discuss formalizing its biodiesel policy this fall, taking land impacts around the world into account. The city had been burning biodiesel in trucks and other heavy machinery. Deputy Public Works Director Andrew Clough told Inside Bay Area that, "What seemed like a really good idea maybe isn't such a good idea as we thought because of all the considerations."

[Source: Inside Bay Area]Photo by joguldi. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.