At least until the end of this year, we're going to focus on biodiesel. This fits with the mission of A42: it is an open-source project, and is appropriate to the formation of a community or cooperative structure. Also, we have a couple of people who are helping with the writing and projects. Gadgetarius, who lives in Flagstaff Arizona, is already hearing talk from others about forming at least two community projects to make fuel on a larger scale. Obviously, this is an example of approprate technology, for at least five reasons which come to mind immediately:

• It lowers our dependence on foreign petrochemical products.
• It helps the family budget.
• It is environmentally friendly.
• It's another model and step towards decentralization, "Small is Beautiful", and "Economics as if people mattered".
• It puts responsibility at the personal level and makes politics redundant.

You may be able to think of other reasons to make your own biodiesel, or at least learn about what's going on. Feel free to comment or contribute to the discussion.

Another reason for the focus is timing. Obviously, the time is right for this technology. While some adventurous souls have been doing this for many years, relatively few people know very much about it. For example, few people even know the difference between biodiesel and French fry grease. I know, people stop me all the time and ask me! Also, Minnesota just passed a law mandating the use of biodiesel:

Wed Sep 28, 1:08 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS, United States (AFP) - Minnesota will from Thursday demand that all diesel fuel sold in the US state be partly distilled from soybeans in a bid to take a bite out of the nation's appetite for crude oil.

The northern state is the first in the United States to pass a law to promote biodiesel, fuel made from agricultural oils and fats, said Ralph Groschen, senior marketing specialist at the Minnesota
Department of Agriculture.

The new mandate comes as the cost of oil hovers around 65 dollars a barrel. Car fuel prices have hit three dollars a gallon at times in the United States -- having risen more than 80 percent in the past three years -- while two hurricanes have disrupted fuel production in the Gulf of Mexico.

President George W. Bush recently signed a new energy bill which included tax breaks for biodiesel. The requirement was originally passed in 2002, but its implementation delayed until biodiesel production was sufficient.

Minnesota is the biggest US producer of the soybean-based alternative fuel already sold at more than 200 service stations in the state.

Two plants are rolling out their first batches of biodiesel, with plans to ship most of the production out of state. One plant is in Alberta Lea, south of Minneapolis, and another is in Brewster, in southwestern Minnesota.

Groschen said Minnesota, a huge producer of soybeans and corn, can learn from the lesson set by Europe's acceptance of alternative fuels.

"They're out ahead of us, and we're just trying to make it happen here," Groschen said. "They've blazed some of the trails."

He cited higher taxes on petroleum in Europe as one catalyst for the acceptance of alternatives to fossil fuels.

As US taxes are lower "perhaps the pain hasn't been quite as severe here as it has been over there," Groschen said.

"Ours is still fairly cheap. That decision perhaps moved them forward on this quicker than it did in the United States, but now with these oil prices we're moving to catch up and to develop our renewable fuels."

In Albert Lea, lush soybean fields surround the new SoyMor biodiesel plant, which uses the latest technology to avoid emitting pollution. Farmers who had joined together in a cooperative, took a gamble on investing in the venture, as did two other farmer cooperatives.

The plant is one of three in which more than 3,000 Minnesota farmers have invested millions of dollars, Groschen said.

"Minnesota is coming on very strong with biodiesel and has led the way in many respects for biodiesel development in the United States," said Jenna Higgins, spokeswoman for the National Biodiesel Board.

The two big plants, along with the smaller Farmers Union Marketing and Processing Association, plan to produce 63 million gallons of biodiesel per year, officials said.

Meanwhile, multinational companies such as Cargill Inc., based in Minnetonka, Minn., and Archer Daniels Midland of Decatur, Ill., are planning US biodiesel refineries, as they have done in Europe.

Last year, about 35 plants made about 30 million gallons of biodiesel in the United States. The US Agriculture Department predicts that volume will grow to 124 million gallons or more this year.

Demand is growing because of Minnesota's mandate and a tax break in Illinois for blends above 10 percent biodiesel, Higgins said.

So if you're interested, please keep coming back to see what's new. We'd love to hear from you, whether it's a comment, a criticism, news, or an idea.