Biodiesel fuels are good for health, environment alike

Clean, low-carbon transportation fuels like biodiesel are making a positive environmental impact in local communities. Biodiesel also plays a vital role in improving air quality and protecting lung health. Good policies like the federal Renewable Fuel Standard are a foundation for continued progress. 
 
Under the RFS, biodiesel achieves the advanced biofuel designation, because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finds it is 57% to 86% less carbon intensive than petroleum diesel. A decade’s worth of academic research – including an up-to-date study from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Lab – support EPA’s conclusion. By using biodiesel, we can protect the environment and begin to address climate change.
 
Transportation remains the largest source of U.S. carbon emissions – a source that continues to increase because of our ongoing reliance on petroleum. Heavy-duty transportation sectors will continue to rely on liquid fuels for quite some time. But biodiesel is already here today to meet the need and replace oil, if the RFS continues to send the right signals for growth.
 
Beyond carbon reductions, using biodiesel can immediately improve local air quality for the more than 133.9 million people who live in communities with unhealthy air. Biodiesel sharply reduces major tailpipe pollutants, particularly from older diesel vehicles, when compared to petroleum. Using it in place of fossil fuels cuts particulate matter and hydrocarbon emissions by nearly half. Biodiesel is free from sulfur and aromatic hydrocarbons, which are known to impact health.
 
This is important because the EPA has consistently cited diesel exhaust – primarily from older trucks, buses and other vehicles – as one of the nation's most dangerous pollutants. Air pollution poses a serious threat to our nation's health. Studies show that air pollution from motor vehicle emissions contributes to thousands of asthma attacks, premature deaths, and lung cancer cases each year. Clean transportation fuels like biodiesel play a vital role in improving air quality and lung health. With the prevalence of asthma and other chronic lung diseases, especially in dense urban areas, that’s an important health benefit for our country.
 
Using biodiesel substantially reduces emissions of particulate matter and unburned hydrocarbons. EPA’s stringent engine testing protocols show that biodiesel use cuts emissions that contribute to ozone by half, compared to diesel fuel. Biodiesel is less toxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar. Using biofuels is simply better than using fossil fuels; biofuels continue to get better from an environmental perspective while fossil fuels only get worse. 
 
On a national level, the RFS is the only policy supporting production and use of lower carbon, environmentally better fuels in transportation. Biodiesel is the success story of this important program. The EPA expects production and use to reach 2.8 billion gallons next year. That’s a tremendous increase from around 400 million gallons in 2010, when the policy first started. 
 
Without the RFS in place, we wouldn’t be achieving these positive results. Continued support for good policy is needed to keep growing biodiesel production and use. 
 
Bailey Arnold is a senior manager of clean air initiatives with the American Lung Association.