For instance, now that gasoline and diesel fuel prices have increased so rapidly there has been a rash of used cooking oil thefts from restaurants in the U. S. These so-called thieves are competing with entrepreneurs and legitimate diesel car and truck drivers who have turned to making biodiesel at home either by buying a eBook that gives step-by-step instructions or buying a kit online for home brewing purposes.

Take the article about this high school student who is brewing biodiesel in his parents’ basement. He solicits fast food and other restaurants for the used vegetable oil and then mixes it with lye and methanol, wearing goggles, gloves and other safety equipment to create cheap biofuel for his Volvo.

A friend of mine in San Diego bought a used Ford diesel pickup truck, purchased a different online book and then proceeded with making biodiesel at home himself for less than $1 per gallon. He won’t tell me the name of the restaurants that he has struck a deal with (to haul away their used vegetable oil for free) for territorial reasons, but says he filters the oil, which smells like French fries, mixes it with a small amount of regular diesel then barely pours in a super secret additive. And, my friend is among thousands who are currently doing this.

But, as demand goes up, so does competition. The U. S. is not the only country dealing with cooking oil thefts from scofflaws competing with those who have asked permission. In the UK, pubs and restaurants have been getting their barrels of used oil hijacked by Englishmen who don’t like paying the equivalent of $9.84 per US gallon.

To sum up, thieves and concerned motorists share the same concern, which is how to get cheap fuel for their cars, trucks and other vehicles when fossil fuel prices have spiked and will continue to jab motorists in the pocketbook for the foreseeable future. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that making biodiesel at home is a very cost conscious alternative to bending over and taking it at the pumps.

Shell has teamed up with HR Biopetroleum, Inc. in a joint venture named Cellana to grow algae in seawater ponds on the coasts of Kona. Quickly multiplying native Hawaiian algae strains will be used to produce vegetable oil that in turn will be used to create biodiesel fuel.

Select strains of algae are able to multiply several times a day and may be able to yield 15 times the vegetable oil as other comparable crops such as palm soya or jatropha. This demonstration will have a small carbon footprint and the algae will also researched as a possible carbon sink for other industries.

In fact, while BioWillie facilities have been closing, a number of other distributors have been opening across the U. S. landscape. A robust list of biodiesel fueling sites and map may be found through the Biodiesel.org website.

Also, if you don’t wish to drive your diesel vehicle to the nearest fueling station or have grown tired of circling the nearest fast food restaurant hoping to get a fresh batch of French fry oil there is another option. Some companies like OC Biodiesel will deliver 5 gallon containers or 55 gallon drums right to your doorstep.

Some of the biodiesel vendors are even starting to offer blends that combine a percentage of biodiesel with petroleum such as B20 (20-percent biodiesel and 80-percent petroleum). The U. S. Department of Energy is predicting a 2000-percent growth of the use of biodiesel over the next 5 years.

With any luck, perhaps Willie Nelson will be able to stick it out that long, turn that frown upside down and finally turn a profit from the renewed interest in renewable biodiesel fuel.