What is it with the media and biofuels? Do they simply refuse to try to do ANY research, or is it just too complicated for them to understand?
This time it’s Sakina Rangwala of the Washington Post, writes an article “Green Is in the Eye of the Beholder” (link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/AR2009020603539.html).
When discussing biodiesel as one of the “Green Car Technologies”, Rangwala has this to say: “Biodiesel can be used in any diesel vehicle but automakers will extend their warranty protection only to vehicles that run on B5 biodiesel. B5 is a mixture of 5 percent biodiesel and 95 percent conventional diesel. ”
Even a simple Google search for “Biodiesel Engine Warranty” yielded a link to the NBB website would have revealed no fuels are really warrantied by any manufacturer, but that many, many manufacturers support higher blends than B5. Here’s the link: http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/oems/default.shtm.
It would also have revealed that the US government mandated using B20 in all government vehicles and many states have mandated B20 as well. There are even some engine manufacturers that will endorse B100. How hard was that, well, it took me longer to write this blog entry than it did to research it on Google. Sad.
Perhaps the NBB needs to have a “Media Liaison Service 1-800” number to help answer questions for reporters who can’t seem to do the research on their own. The public is confused enough as it is about biofuels without having bad reporting make the situation more confusing.