apple juice

I knew something was fishy when the bloomington schools canceled school last week because of “biodiesel” when every other school bus in the state uses the same 2% biodiesel. (As mandated by law)

And, yep, as it turns out:

Citing an independent study, the Minnesota Department of Commerce reiterated today that biodiesel was not the culprit that caused school buses in Bloomington, Minn. to malfunction last week.

Now… if only I could get 100% biodiesel again this summer!

Most conversations about my car go like this:

“So that thing is a diesel?”
“Yup”
“Um, how’s it start in the winter?”
“Pretty good.”

So, I decided to take a little video. I have an enormous minnesota accent! Do I always have that?

Geez.

Anyway, enjoy me being a nerd.

I filled up my vehicle with BioDiesel Fuel today. A blend probably, since it’s still liable to snow at any time around here.

I haven’t filled up since February 22. I drove 550, mostly city, miles. I pumped just under 14 gallons. (40 mpg) The cost per gallon was $3.94.

We need to raise the gas tax, again.

Raising the gas tax is the only reasonable way we will be able to pay for fixing all of these roads, build adequate bridges, pay for buses, and continue to make progress on rail transit.

Now, I know that we just raised it a nickel. Big whoop. Raise it a dollar and dedicate it to rail transit. The day I can ride a street car or train to my job will be a happy, happy day. The day that I can take a streetcar to the train station and ride a train to Duluth in 1 1/2 hours or ride a train to Chicago in 4 hours will be a happy day.

California has a $10 billion dollar proposition on the ballot this fall to build high-speed rail between its major cities. This is the scale of regional investment that the Upper Midwest will need to make in the not-to-distant future.

Big SUVs, the suburbs, and cheap energy are on the way out, and we need to plan accordingly.