Inside the House of Baldwin

Last night I was invited to attend the opening film of the Sundance Film Festival in Sundance, Utah. It’s called Fields of Fuel and is directed by Josh Tickell. The film is a documentary about alternative fuel sources, primarily Biodiesel. The film is also politically charged concerning America’s dependence on foreign oil and the U.S.’s participation in Middle East wars to keep our country’s supply flowing.

After watching the film I became convinced that I can help decrease my fuel consumption, at least in one small way, by purchasing a diesel vehicle and using Biodiesel fuel. Unfortunately, I was disappointed to learn that there are no gas stations in Utah County offering Biodiesel. This information comes from Utah Biodiesel Supply.

The other problem is finding a diesel vehicle that would suit our family of six. We need either a mini-van, or a SUV. To find a diesel vehicle, you have to search used vehicle sights. And the majority of consumer diesel vehicles available are sedans and smaller cars. It’s very frustrating when you would like to be environmentally green, but there are no sources available to allow you to be so.

This is where the underlying theme of the film comes in. We, the people, need to let our politicians and the powers that be, that control auto manufacturing, and that produce fuels, know that we want alternative choices. I don’t want to buy an SUV that gets 14 miles to the gallon and contributes to green house gases. If given the choice I would definitely purchase a diesel vehicle and fill it with Biodiesel. BTW: you don’t have to make any modifications to your vehicle to use Biodiesel. Plus, it’s cheaper, you get better gas mileage, your vehicle runs better, and it emits 75-80% less emissions than regular diesel.

I will continue to watch for the availability of Biodiesel close to where I live, and more choices in consumer diesel vehicles. Hopefully, after the year-long 50-state information blitz about alternative fuels and Biodiesel by Josh and his crew, it won’t be very long.

Any Book of Revelation signs of the times watchers reading my blog? Take this report to church with you next Sunday.

The total number of natural disasters worldwide now averages 400–500 a year, up from an average of 125 in the early 1980s. The number of climate-related disasters, particularly floods and storms, is rising far faster than the number of geological disasters, such as earthquakes. Between 1980 and 2006, the number of floods and cyclones quadrupled from 60 to 240 a year while the number of earthquakes remained approximately the same, at around 20 a year. In 2007 the Oxfam International family of agencies responded to floods or storms in more than 30 countries.

The number of people affected by all disasters has risen from an average of 174 million a year between 1985 and 1994 to 254 million a year between 1995 and 2004. Earlier this year the Asian floods alone affected 248 million people.

Climate Alarm: Disasters increase as climate change bites
Oxfam Briefing Paper (PDF)
November 2007