Yassky Floats Biodiesel Plan
Tomorrow the Environmental Protection Committee of the City Council will have a hearing on a bill introduced by Councilmember David Yassky that would gradually phase in the use of biodiesel in New York’s heating oil system. Yassky’s bill, the Bioheat Act, would require that heating oil retailers start selling oil that is 5 percent biodiesel…
Tomorrow the Environmental Protection Committee of the City Council will have a hearing on a bill introduced by Councilmember David Yassky that would gradually phase in the use of biodiesel in New York’s heating oil system. Yassky’s bill, the Bioheat Act, would require that heating oil retailers start selling oil that is 5 percent biodiesel by June 2011, 10 percent biodiesel by June 2013, and 20 percent biodiesel (or B20 biodiesel) thereafter. The use of a biodiesel blend would go a long way toward reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, and oil mixes containing up to 20 percent biodiesel don’t require users to change their oil or fuel systems. Sound like a plan?
Photo by lucky_dog.
To 7:06: Smart comment… we insulated our cockloft and see a tremendous difference – stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer. Silver paint on roof and ventilation in cockloft helped reduce heat load too. And both of the latter improve roofing life. Not very expensive either, all considered.
Yasky should be working to get Brooklyn homes INSULATED. We need “real” money to do this, not just some questionable biofuel requirement which, frankly, has A LOT of problems: on the regulatory side, the logistics, the real pollution/economic impacts (e.g. more land being cleared in the tropics for soy production).
If we could see some real hand-holding and dough for property/home owners to revamp windows, insulation, high efficiency heating systems, solar domestic hot water for roof tops, green roofs, etc., AND education, then maybe I could say Yassky was making some real impact. But for now…NO.
Whether or not global warming exists, oil itself is a finite resource, and getting more expensive by the day. That in itself is an argument for adoption of biodiesel (and an argument for the market eventually doing the right thing).
WRONG – Biodiesel is NOW produced from waste oil (WVO) – BUT if we are going to replace 10% of our home/building heating oil with it – then there isn’t nearly enough “recycled” oil available locally and it will have to be produced (rapeseed or soy) or imported ($$$$) with all of the negative consequences mentioned at 10:03
FSRG
10;38 you are a sheep. The earth goes through natural cyclical changes that take generations to unfold.
to further 10:38’s comments, biodiesel is also created locally and therefore does not require long range truck transportation. There is a new facility in Red Hook that collects waste oil from local restaurants and turns it into biodiesel. I believe there is at least one other company in the city doing this as well.
So the other benefit of this plan is to support new local businesses and the creation of local jobs. Oh yeah, and a slightly reduced dependence on foreign oil.
it’s a good thing commenters here stick to real estate issue and not energy independence ones.
Biodiesel is perfect for home heating use, blended with conventional heating oil.
It is generally made from WASTE oil, not new oil. It is not the same thing as ethanol, which is a stupid “solution”.
Waste oil that would now be dumped would be recycled into biodiesel (you can actually do this in your basement with a pretty simple setup). So the greenhouse gas argument is moot (the stuff’s already been made, and we’re reusing it).
And for the fool who doesn’t “believe” in global warming, I’ll buy you a ticket to the creationist museum, and you can figure it out for yourself whether you really want to associate with global warming deniers.
Global warming is the biggest myth. Don’t believe the hype. You are being deceived and herded like a bunch sheep by the sheperd.
Biodesiel is not clean burning fuel (less then #4 diesel but not clean at all) and causes pollution and environmental damage due to farming (water and land uses) and in long range truck transportation. Better off encouraging natural gas heating if you want to reduce greenhouse emmissions.
Perfect Yassky solution – “tax” oil retailers (which is passed on to users), despite minimal to no benefits – all so that Yassky can pad resume with (fake) “green” , for run at another higher office.
Yassy=Hack