Veggie Oil trip from Argentina to Oakland

Three alternative energy activists have just returned from a journey by land from Oakland CA to Rosario, Argentina, in a car that runs on waste vegetable oil as fuel. In an 11,000 mile trip that lasted 5 months, Mali Blotta (from Argentina), David Modersbach (from Oakland) and their son Emilio (4 years old) were able to use waste vegetable oil collected from restaurants and factories for their car, a 1980 diesel VW which they bought for $400 and made simple modifications to convert to run on veggie oil instead of petroleum. This is the first time that anyone has made a trip like this with a vegetable oil-powered car It’s simple and practical to use vegetable oil-based fuel – vegetable oil or biodiesel – as a clean-burning ecological fuel for all diesel trucks, cars, buses, trains or generators. In fact, the diesel engine, invented 110 years ago by Rudolph Diesel, was invented to run on vegetable oil. Today every existing diesel motor could quickly and efficiently be converted to run only on vegetable oil-based fuels, cutting pollution hugely and possibly transforming economic and social relations regarding transportation David, Mali and Emilio passed through California, Arizona, México, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, Ecuador, Perú y Bolivia and finally Argentina, all countries similarly affected by the politics of petroleum: pollution, dependency, militarism and poverty. They taught classes and showed countless people how the use of biodiesel and vegetable oil-based fuels can be a part of a grassroots movement to fundamentally transform our Earth into a cleaner and more peaceful place. Mali and David will give a presentation, answer questions and facilitate discussion. Workshop & Presentation: Biofuels Oasis Tuesday June 15th 7-9pm 2465 – 4th Street/Dwight Way Berkeley CA Contact: David Modersbach (dmoders@yahoo.com) Mali Blotta (malili19@yahoo.com) tel: 510-830-7952 (David and Mali) 510-665-5509 (Biofuels Oasis)