At the Great American Trucking Show in Dallas, August 20-22, the majority of truckers we spoke with were singing biodiesel's praises. They know that U.S. biodiesel is a sustainable, renewable diesel fuel that decreases dependence on foreign oil, adds lubricity to ultra-low sulfur diesel, supports American farmers, and provides thousands of U.S. jobs.

When the food vs. fuel controversy hit the airwaves last year, biodiesel was lumped into the mix. Biodiesel is made from hydrogenated oil, which could be any vegetable oil, such as soybean and canola, or even animal tallow or used restaurant grease. When made from soybean oil, it uses only the 20 percent portion of the bean that is oil, leaving the protein meal available to nourish livestock and humans. The U.S. biodiesel industry grew out of the farmers' need to find uses for a surplus of soybean oil. That surplus still exists because demand for food-based soybean meal is so high, but the left over oil is less in demand for food.

Keeping the price of biodiesel down at the pump is a major goal of U.S. biodiesel producers. Even though a majority of truckers told us they want to use biodiesel, there is much more work to be done until a large number of truck stops carry biodiesel.

Biodiesel producers are anticipating enforcement of the renewable fuel standard (RFS), including goals for providing renewable fuel in the mix of on-road gas and diesel sold in the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which contains RFS goals, requiring one billion gallons of biomass-based diesel by 2012.

Because of an entirely flawed analysis of biofuels' impact on "indirect land use change" in other parts of the world, the EPA has been slow to enforce the RFS. One thing to keep in mind, biodiesel made from used restaurant grease, or animal tallow from chicken manufacturing, does not compete for land. As for U.S. grown soybeans, total cropland acres in the U.S. are shrinking, not growing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture shows cropland shrinkage from 445 billion acres in 1997 to 406 billion in 2007. Even so, the delay in enforcing the RFS is helping to create a shortage of biodiesel for truckers who want to use it.

Take a look at BioTrucker.com and you will see testimonials from several truckers at the Great American Trucking Show and the Great West Truck Show on why they like biodiesel: added lubricity, support for U.S. farmers, decreasing use of foreign fuel, lower emissions, etc. In addition, demand for sustainable shipping is growing. Shippers want to tell their customers about efforts made to use renewable fuel.

If you are a supporter of biodiesel there is something you can do. Send a letter to the EPA. They are looking for input from the public. The National Biodiesel Board has provided an easy way to email a letter to the Honorable Lisa Jackson, EPA Administrator at http://www.biodiesel.org/news/RFS/form.shtm in support of biodiesel. Thank you to all who have already taken this step to ensure that biodiesel will continue to be available to the trucking industry.