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A Renewable Non-Polluting Resource Wind energy is a free, renewable resource, so no matter how much is used today, there will still be the same supply in the future. Wind energy is also a source of clean, non-polluting, electricity. Unlike conventional power plants, wind plants emit no air pollutants or greenhouse gases. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 1990, California's wind power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 15 million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced. It would take a forest of 90 million to 175 million trees to provide the same air quality.

Most of the ethanol used in the United States today is distilled from corn

As a transportation fuel, ethanol can be used as a total or partial replacement for gasoline

Unlike gasoline, pure ethanol is nontoxic and biodegradable; it quickly breaks down into harmless substances if spilled.

Ethanol and ethanol-gasoline mixtures burn cleaner and have higher octane than pure gasoline, but have higher "evaporative emissions" from fuel tanks and dispensing equipment. These evaporative emissions contribute to the formation of harmful, ground-level ozone and smog.

Ethanol may be considered to be carbon-neutral because the plants that are used to make fuel ethanol (such as corn and sugarcane) absorb CO2 as they grow and may offset the CO2 produced when ethanol is made and burned.

Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can be used instead of diesel fuel, which is made from petroleum. Biodiesel can be made from vegetable oils, animal fats, or greases. Most biodiesel today is made from soybean oil. About half of biodiesel producers are able to make biodiesel from used oils or fats, including recycled restaurant grease.

Fueling engines with biodiesel has just started to catch on, but it isn't a new idea. Before petroleum diesel fuel became popular, Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine in 1897, experimented with using vegetable oil (biodiesel) as fuel.

Biodiesel as a Transportation Fuel A Bus Powered by Soybean Oil Source: Stock photography (copyrighted) Most trucks, buses, and tractors in the United States use diesel fuel.

Using a gallon of biodiesel produced in the United States avoids the CO2 emissions that result from burning about a gallon of petroleum diesel. Biodiesel may be considered to be carbon-neutral because the plants that are used to make it, such as soy beans and palm oil trees, absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) as they grow and may offset the CO2 produced when biodiesel is made and burned.

However, in some parts of the world, large areas of natural vegetation and forests have been cleared and burned to grow soybeans and palm oil trees to make biodiesel

early all gasoline so

Nearly all gasoline sold now in the U.S. contains some ethanol.

About 99% of the fuel ethanol consumed in the U.S. is added to gasoline in mixtures of up to 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline.

he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled in October 2010, that cars and light trucks of model year 2007 and newer can use E15