It can be stressful at times, heading up a magazine exclusively dedicated to an industry many people believe will fail. To this business, the feeling of "biodiesel against the world" is not new. But add in the dismal state of finance and the lingering recession, and uncertainty in this industry abounds. I'm asked all of the time, can you tell me something positive about the outlook for biodiesel? My response is usually, how much time do you have? Of course I can. I believe in it, even when others have thrown in the towel far too prematurely. 
 
 I'm a big boxing fan, and it really upsets me when I'm watching a fight and then, all of a sudden, a fighter gets stunned by an unseen punch, his legs get a little rubbery and the referee stops the match even though the shaken boxer never lost the Will to fight. It was a premature stoppage. His hands were up. He was dodging punches and throwing back. He wasn't given a fair chance to come out of it. A true fighter possesses the special drive to pull through either brief moments or prolonged bouts of uncertainty, and never takes a knee or quits on his stool in the corner. Fighters who do this should find another profession. I'm not real big on sports analogies, but the biodiesel industry is that pure-hearted fighter with the Will to go on despite what everyone else believes. 
 
 Biodiesel has made tremendous strides in quality and has thus become a successfully accepted blendstock for diesel fuel. I don't need to tell you all this-it's like preaching to the choir-but when people ask me to tell them something good about the outlook of biodiesel, I point to several things. 

 
 Allowance of up to 5 percent bio in the diesel fuel spec, ASTM D 975, is a major milestone that speaks to the validity of it as a fuel and its acceptance by OEMs and the distribution chain. 
 
 I point to the fact that there's a pending mandate that only biodiesel can fulfill at this time. Sure production capacity is far greater than the 1 billion gallon standard, but the ethanol industry didn't sit back and rest on its laurels when the first renewable fuel standard was passed. That first RFS was only like 7.5 billion gallons passed in 2005, and at that time ethanol production capacity was close to that volume. But the precedent was established. It was a foot in the door. And look at the volume of ethanol in the RFS2-double the volume of corn ethanol compared to the first RFS, in addition to a large quantity of cellulosic ethanol, or ethanol made from biomass rather than starch. So the 1 billion gallon mandate is a foot in the door and if anyone thinks the biodiesel lobby will be satisfied with that and that alone, then they are delusional. 
 
 I point to all of the businesses and families dependent on the industry's success. 
 
 I remind them that biodiesel is a globally traded fuel, while at the same time it is a product farmers can make on their own to fuel their fleet of tractors, tandem trucks, and generators. And while biodiesel is a globally traded fuel, it's one with grass roots appeal. Businessmen, hippies, yuppies, environmentalists, researchers, farmers, writers, councilmen, legislators, bureaucrats-the appeal crosses all walks of life. 
 
 I point to all of the stellar research underway. But this R&D ought to not detract from the reality of biodiesel's existence as a fuel that is in production today and is commercially ready, not waiting for some big technological breakthrough to become viable in the market-like many advanced fuels are. 
 
 I tell them about the environmental benefits…the list goes on and on. 
 
 What I really want to know is how do you all respond to those referees who want to stop the fight prematurely, those who see nothing left in the eyes of the biodiesel industry? What do you say when people ask you to tell them something positive about the outlook for biodiesel? 
 

 I am really interested in your comments on this one.

Some talking points, and a solicitation for additional points, to offer those who see no future in biodiesel.

Responding to those who see no future for biodiesel

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Upcoming Events

2024 International Biomass Conference & Expo

2024 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo

Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Diesel

Carbon Capture & Storage Summit

North American SAF Conference & Expo

Responding to those who see no future for biodiesel