But every time oil exploration within our own borders becomes a profitable venture,
we proceed with the routine taxing-out-of-business of our own wildcatters.

I can't understand why we do not use, used fry grease and other by products of our society, to fuel our life styles. "Diesel" engines have gotten a bad rap over the years because of excessive smoke and smell. the compression ignition engine will run on any combustible liquid, except gasoline and other light distillates.
I believe that the big oil companies are blowing chunks by not pushing bio and other alternative fuel sources.

The "Diesel" engine was designed to run on vegetable oil.

But that was over a hundred years ago. Ruddy's engine design has evolved considerably, so that in order to use alternate fuels, the engine or the fuel have to be reworked.
While it can be done, the transformation would be slow and expensive, in order to not bring commerce to a standstill.

Used vegetable oil wouldn't even be a pisshole in a snowbank compared to demand, so I would suggest that to be collected and used by dedicated engines. Perhaps stationary diesels used by municipal power plants, schools, or sewer authorities.

For commercial transportation (read trucks), new vegetable oil would have to be brought online at a rate. making the engines to use it efficiently a realistic choice for the truck buyers. A very large juggling act that only the feds could manage, I'm afraid. Of course whenever the feds get involved, smart choices and logical solutions, seem to go down the drain. :(

The "Diesel" engine was designed to run on vegetable oil.
Coal dust actualy , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_engine

Whenever they trot out that used restaurant vegetable oil car, they mention how it smells like fries wherever it goes, and they say it like it's a good thing. When you stop to think about it, that would be a terrible thing to have.

The coal dust engine (first generation Diesel) was 10 ft high, developed 13 hp and exploded.

The 1900 4-stroke that ran on vegetable oil (actually Diesel envisioned his inventions would run on hemp oil), made 25 hp but the diesel didn't really become viable until 1927 when Bosch invented a crude fuel injection.

Between the 1893 coal dust engine and the 1900 veggie oil engine, the machine changed so much the patents didn't apply anymore. :cool: