Drive-by biodiesel plan

Re “Fuel that’s off the grid,” Column One, Oct. 1

I was inspired by your Column One and cannot help but think of the possibilities for biodiesel fuel in Los Angeles. In fact, we have a ready-made situation that eases the distribution problem immensely. We have an area that is currently choked with diesel exhaust created by large truck engines -- the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. What if some of our “left-leaning Hollywood types” got together with our port authorities and maybe even local governments (at the risk of delaying the schedule by years) to establish a biodiesel production facility close to the ports? Biodiesel delivery trucks could go right to the trucks waiting in line for their cargo and top them off. Using Rob Del Bueno’s enterprise as an example, it seems this could be implemented much faster and potentially cheaper than replacing all of the cargo trucks with clean diesel engines.

Kirk Moody

Manhattan Beach