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OUTOFENERGY?
Fuel alternatives abound, but the federal government isn’t about to fund them.
> BY PETER KOCH . PAGE 8 <
reader essay
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Fuel alternatives abound, but the federal government isn’t about to fund them.
> BY PETER KOCH <
“Where the hell’s the improvement?!” calls to mind. Its 83-mpg fuel efficiency far
Tony Fini, a retired Blasdell schoolteach- outstrips the meatier Corvette, though.
er, is standing in his Mundy Street drive- With a tiny 16-hp Kohler engine, the “Car
way, eyes wide and shoulders shrugged. of Fini” tops out around 57 mph. Like the
His frustration is palpable as he compares Jeep, though, an upgraded engine could
the fuel efficiency of two cars for me—a make it more appealing to everyday con-
2000 Mercury Grand Marquis (“the same sumers. “With a 23-horsepower engine,
as a 2005,” he says, “they didn’t change this car could probably get 70 mpg and go
’em”) and a 1973 Pontiac GTO. The dif- 70 mph,” Fini says. It’s this 70-70 formula
ference—21.5 mpg to 18.5 mpg, respec- that Fini thinks could sell if it was put into
tively—is only three miles per gallon. “You production, but for now his cars sit in a
mean to tell me in thirty years,” he says, shed collecting dust.
disbelieving, “that they really couldn’t It’s not that he hasn’t tried to get finan-
3
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Must be at least 19 years of age.
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above: The “Auto Di Fini” flanked by Tony Fini’s other high-efficiency vehicles.
to open a non-polluting automobile fac- trucks and passing 55 mph speed limits na-
tory on the old Bethlehem Steel site that tionwide. Despite these actions, Asian car
produces “a couple of lines of energy-ef- companies were finally able to get a foot-
ficient” Finis. While the economic benefit hold in the American marketplace. Toyo-
for Fini, himself, is obvious, he also points ta, Nissan and Honda produced small, re-
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out that thousands of WNYers could be liable, efficient cars that Detroit coudn’t
�������������������
employed there and an attractive new compete with. In the mid-1980s, however, ���������������
low-cost, fuel-efficient vehicle would be oil prices collapsed and consumer myopia
������������������������������
available to American consumers. But he set in as Americans again asked for larger,
�
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doesn’t see that happening anytime soon. safer, more powerful vehicles. Detroit had
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“I quit, really,” he says, and then trails off, lost its hold over the small car market, so
“I’ve spent enough time...” it was happy to accomodate the new de-
mand for bigger vehicles by refocusing its
Fini refers often to what he calls his “three
efforts on high-margin trucks and SUVs. ������������������������������������������������� ���
enemies”: oil companies, automobile
companies and the federal government. While the bigger, more powerful gas-hun- ����������������������������������������� ��
In his mind, they are enemies of innova- gry vehicles became the norm here, small,
diesel-powered cars grew fashionable and
����������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������� �������� ��
tion and of the enterprising individual, ����������������������������������������������� ���������������������������������� ��������
mostly because they profit from ineffi- affordable in Europe. ������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������ �������� ��
cient automobiles (especially the oil com- What most people don’t realize is that ��������������������������������������������� �������������������������������������� ��
panies and politicians) while everyday these sorts of changes don’t start with the �������������������������������� ��
consumers suffer. Tony’s inability to gen- automakers. European carmakers didn’t
erate interest from the car companies is make smaller, fuel-efficient fleets because �
really a symptom of a much more deeply they were concerned about the environ-
��
rooted, complicated problem: a lackluster ment. They did it because they were
��
energy policy geared toward short-term forced to. The governments changed
profit and, more importantly, long-term their energy policies, including raising ��
FREE or LOW-COST
collapse. taxes on gasoline to reduce consumption. ��
Europeans became conservation-minded, ���
A BRASH NEW WORLD ��
health coverage from
and decided they really couldn’t afford to
America’s current energy policy is fool- fuel big vehicles. It’s as simple as that, and Children under the age of 19 ��
hardy at best. Nowhere is this more clear it’s sound energy policy, accepted by the ���
than in the transportation sector, which
accounts for a full 65 percent of our en-
ergy consumption. We’ve been lagging
behind our European counterparts in in-
rest of the world.
In Britain, for instance, where about two-
thirds of gas prices are taxes, they’ve got
Fidelis Care. ���
��
��
it down to a formula—raising fuel prices Family Health Plus, Child Health Plus and Adults ages 19–64 ���
frastructure and new, clean technologies ���
for nearly 30 years, and Bush’s new $14.5 by 10 percent reduces fuel consumption Medicaid are New York State-sponsored health
by seven percent, as consumers start us- ��
million energy policy indicates that we insurance programs offered by Fidelis Care.
ing fuel more efficiently. Currently, Euro- ���
won’t be catching up anytime soon.
peans pay an average of $6 per gallon for
America is Big Car Land when compared gasoline, and about $4 of that is govern- • Choose your own network doctor or pediatrician ��
to the rest of the world. The nation roared ment taxes. All that tax money is then re- • Quality care from hospitals and specialists ��
out of WW2, riding an economic boom. invested in transportation infrastructure • Emergency services, eye care, dental care and more ��
The federal government built a national and alternative fuels research.
interstate system and gave out housing Health insurance from Fidelis Care
loan guarantees, allowing people to leave A love of big cars is not an intrinsic value provides the benefits of quality healthcare, and ��
the crowded inner cities for the new subur- for Americans. The British didn’t arrive
here and try to trade in their horses for the security of knowing your family is protected. ��
bia. The burgeoning middle class bought So if you’re a New York State resident and don’t
cars en masse and began commuting to moose. The simple difference is that, un-
like other countries, our government has have health insurance, or need coverage for your child,
work and going on road trips. As trips
became longer, cars got bigger and more given neither the auto industry nor con- call Fidelis Care today and see how we can help. ���
comfortable. They grew in importance sumers any reason to make cars smaller ���
and size across the board throughout the or more efficient. Detroit certainly isn’t
’50s. However, a few hiccups—namely the going to change its tune without a govern- ���
��
While such grassroots efforts usually fail
to take off, some local entrepreneurs are petrodiesel. The new production facility ��������������������������������
����������
� ������
looking to establish a long-term market will employ about 20 people over the next
here in WNY. couple of years, and its doors should open ��������������������������
by Jan. 1. The plant will have a capacity of
People like Mark Kubiniec, owner of the about two million gallons per year, all of
Sunoco station at the corner of Elmwood which have already been sold to a buyer.
and Amherst, and Tonawanda’s Noco En- That buyer will sell the fuel across the �����������
ergy Corp. have long been working to cre- state. But there will also be some sold lo- � � � �� � � � � � � � � � ��� � � � � � �
ate inroads for biodiesel. Kubiniec wants cally, Mancini says. “I’ve been speaking to
to add a biodiesel pump at his station, a a couple of local gas stations that would �������������������������������
�������������
$50-60,000 investment. He’s counting like to put in biodiesel pumps.”
on a government grant to help cover the “The ultimate goal is to develop an alterna- �������������
costs, though. “I’m looking to devise a way tive energy cluster of companies and uni- ����
to afford it,” Kubiniec says, “it’s not going versities working together to create a new ����������� ����������������
to be lucrative. It will probably be a break-
even scenario, at least until it catches on.”
economy and market for Buffalo,” Man- ����� ������������������
cini says. Now we are onto something—a
And that’s the key, really. As Kubiniec “green” economy for WNY. Another great ���������������� ��������������������������������
says, “It’s a chicken and egg situation.” feature of biodie-
What he means is �������������������������������������������������������������������
sel is that soy,
that lower prices one of the main
are necessary to
create a demand, “There is no magic bullet. base products
for biodiesel, can
We must learn to niche,
���������������
but until there’s a be and already is
market, prices are grown in WNY.
generally high. So
which will come where appropriate, in what- The byproduct
of turning soy ��������������������������������������������
first, the demand
or low prices? ever form of alternative fuel into biodiesel is
livestock feed.
������������������������������������
Kubiniec says he
has commitments
or energy resources make As Lynn Hardie
points out, “Now �������������
from a number of
small fleets, but
sense.” it’s a sustainable
cycle.”
����������������������������������������������������������������������������
��������������������������������������������������������������������������������
“they’re not going Lynn Hardie’s ��������������������������������������������������������������������� �����������
to do it out of the Clean Communities of WNY grew out of
goodness of their hearts.” In other words, ����������������������������������������������������������������������������
the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities
it has to be priced competitively with pet- program. When funding was lost three
rodiesel. ■ ���������������������������������■ ���������������
years ago, she started it up as a non-profit
Noco is encountering the same problem. organization. Now she obtains govern-
The energy company has been importing ment grants to improve alternative fuel ■ ����������������������������
biodiesel to WNY for three years and sell- infrastructure and to educate local fleet
ing it to local fleets (Town of Tonawanda’s managers about alternative fuels.
municipal truck fleet, regionally head- Hardie thinks that the ultimate solution
quartered NYS vehicles). It costs about ���������������������������������������������������������
to America’s energy dependence is a
20 cents more per gallon than petrodie-
WhatYou Want
crazy quilt of alternative fuels. “There is
sel, making it a hard sell for high-volume no magic bullet. We must learn to niche, ���������������������������������������
customers. In 2003, they ran a demonstra- where appropriate, in whatever form of ������������������������������������������
tion program with the NFTA, where the
NFTA used 168,000 gallons of biodiesel to
alternative fuel or energy resources make
sense.” She thinks that New York will have
����������������������������������������
power 140 of its buses for six months. As to better develop compressed natural gas
soon as the grant money from NYSERDA (CNG) and biodiesel, since we sit on top
ran out, though, the NFTA dropped the of a lot of natural gas and already grow
program. Noco also sells biodiesel to in- soy. She also points out that, contrary to
dividuals, but it has to be purchased in the national energy policy, our state has
expensive 55-gallon drums. So how can been progressive regarding alternative
Buffalo establish a biodiesel market? En- fuels. The Senate is currently reworking
ter Tara Mancini and Linda Hardie. some incentives for biodiesel and ethanol
Tara Mancini is the president of Blue Sky
Optimum Energy, a young company that
is in the process of building a biodiesel
that Pataki put into his latest budget. She
thinks that we will see those incentives ap-
pear in legislation by early 2006. Also, the
AWorld of Career Opportunities
production facility here in Buffalo. Man- state has set up biodiesel pumps along the Daemen College offers educational opportunities for those seeking career
cini claims that her company can manu- Thruway to fuel its own fleet and is cur-
facture biodiesel so efficiently as to make rently studying the possibility of alterna- mobility. Our M.S. degrees will help you develop the skills you need for
it competitive with petrodiesel. tive fuel pumps at Thruway plazas.
A greener WNY does seem within reach.
lifelong advancement.
A native of the Boston Hills area of Or-
chard Park, Mancini discovered biodiesel
while working at Rich Products. One day
One can picture local famers growing soy
that Tara Mancini will make into clean, • Executive Leadership and Change: for all careers and nursing administrators
three years ago, while listening to NPR’s affordable biodiesel. She will sell it to
Noco and gas station owners like Mark
• Global Business: marketing, accounting or MIS
“Science Friday,” Mancini heard a report
about biodiesel. “They were saying all Kubiniec, who, in turn, can pass the sav- • Nursing for RN’s: MS degrees, Certificates and Post-MS Certificates in Nursing,
these wonderful things about biodiesel,” ings onto customers, both individuals and Adult Nurse Practitioner or Palliative Care
fleets. Lynn Hardie will educate the scores
she says. “But they had one problem: they
couldn’t get the cost down.” As it turns of eager new biodiesel customers and • Education: Childhood (1-6) and Childhood Special Ed (1-6), Adolescence Ed (7-12)
out, that’s what Mancini was doing for a WNY will be a bonafide, sustainable mar-
ket for alternative energy. As far-fetched • Physician Assistant
living. Her job was to redesign processing
lines (in Rich’s vegetable oil processing and distant as it all sounds, fuel alterna- • tDPT: Transitional Doctorate in Physical Therapy
plant) to make them more cost effective.
Mancini saw her opportunity to run a
tives like biodiesel might ultimately be the
only route to long-term sustainability for • Certificates in Human Resources and Accounting (no degree required)
green business, and she jumped at it. WNY and the United States as a whole. If
the Bush administration is any indicator,
She spent the first couple of years on R&D,
finding the best ways to process different
I’ll put my money on it. Graduate Open House October 5, from 6-8 pm.
types of vegetable oil, and then built a
And as for Tony Fini, if he can’t get the
current incarnation of the “Auto Di Fini”
Call to register:
pilot plant at the University of Texas. All
the reseach had paid off, and Mancini
off the ground, maybe he can start tinker- 8 0 0 .4 6 2 . 76 5 2 C O L L E G E