New York City turning to biodiesel for heat

[jpak]

http://postcarboncities.net/node/1340

Manhattan's Lower East Side is famous for its pastrami and pickles as well as its rich Jewish heritage. Now, a small cooperative building in the area is one of the first places in the city to use a blend of heating oil and biodiesel to keep residents warm this winter.

In the basement of the former tenement, a boiler is sipping the fuel, which significantly reduces the building's emissions of soot and carbon dioxide.

"I sleep better at night knowing that we're not polluting the earth as much," says Fred Seiden, a member of the co-op on East 7th Street and the driving force behind the fuel change.

Mr. Seiden's building joins an increasing number of New York buildings – perhaps numbering in the thousands by this winter – that are turning to biodiesel for heating. Starting next year, the city itself has plans to use a biodiesel blend to heat city-owned buildings. This marks a potential new role for the cleaner-burning fuel, which is currently used mainly as a blend with traditional diesel to cut emissions from trucks. If it helps New York clean up its air – third worst in the nation in terms of airborne particulate matter – other cities such as Boston and Philadelphia may shift over as well, experts say.

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[liberal N proud]

1. Waste cooking oil should be readily available in NYC

With all the restaurants in the city, there should be lots of used cooking oil from fryers around town to at least supplement the oil they use.