Thursday's Truth - What Fuels We Have Been!

I watched a documentary the other day that reminded me, once again, of the saying "there is nothing new under the sun".

The name of the film is Fuel and it follows one man's journey to discover the truth behind fossil fuel and it's role as both as sustainer of life and world currency. I downloaded mine via NetFlix but you can get a copy by clicking here.

I remember well the long gas lines during the 1970's, when the Middle East Oil Embargo disrupted supply to the US. At the time, I was driving a VW Beetle. Despite it's great fuel economy, I still needed to gas up and standing in line was a real wakeup call.

When I graduated from college, my first new car purchase was a VW Dasher Diesel. I have always been fascinated by this technology. Maybe it is because my childhood included a number of years in Asia where the Mercedes Benz 190D was the taxi of choice, especially in Hong Kong.

As soon as I had the money, the Dasher was quickly replaced by what was the "King of Diesels" - a 1982 Mercedes Benz 240D. This car is still in the family, having been given over by me to my late mother when I made a move to the big city of Manhattan where having a car was a luxury and not a necessity because of mass transit.

Whenever I drive it, I like to look for others of the same model, year, and type (there was a gasoline version produced during the same time period). Many other owners are astounded when they learn that my vehicle has only 97,000 miles on it. If you know anything about diesel cars, many have hundreds of thousands of miles and some over a million!

After viewing this film, I plan to convert my beloved car to biodiesel. I have also purchased my last new car. And not just because of the financial downside of doing so (depreciation immediate, long term investment with no return) but because I do not want to consume additional valuable, and limited, natural resources that are required during the production phase.

Our planet is fragile. Groups like Awakening The Dreamer and others are focused on helping bring about change and raising awareness.

I highly recommend you view this movie. I hope to see you driving a vegetable-powered vehicle in the near future. Our Planet will thank you and so will I.