Roanoke, VA Biodiesel Public Education Forum, Wed. 5/30/07

[Opie]

1:00 pm
Biodiesel Public Education Forum
Hollins University's Environmental Studies Program, Virginia Tech's Biodiesel Program, James Madison University's Shenandoah Valley Air Quality Initiative, and Virginia Clean Cities will present a Biodiesel Public Education Forum on Wednesday, May 30 from 1 - 5 p.m.
Admission is free, with space limited to the first 200 people.

The forum features the following schedule:

1 p.m.--Biodiesel Basics for the Beginner with Al Christopher and Chelsea Jenkins, Virginia Clean Cities; Clarifications on common misconceptions about vegetable oil, waste oil, homebrew, ethanol, vehicle modifications, and ASTM-certified biodiesel fuel.

2 p.m.--Practical Implementation with Chuck McCarty, JMU Alternative Fuels Program; Blends, longevity, quality, warranties, performance, cold weather issues, and more.

3:15 p.m.--Homebrewing Biodiesel with Lisa Schweitzer, Va. Tech Biodiesel Program; Chemistry, safety, waste, and regulatory considerations in Va. 3:45 p.m.--Speaker Panel Open for general Q & A from the audience.

4:15 p.m.--Concurrent Breakout Sessions. Session A: Fleets; Session B: Individual Users; Session C: Co-ops/Small Producers. For more information, contact Renee Godard at 362-6457 or rgodard@hollins.edu.

Location: Frances Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Campus Map: http://www.hollins.edu/about/map/map.htm

[builder77]

Wow I would have loved to attend this. Too last minute for my work though.

[Opie]

I just found out tonight. My apologies...

[cranetruck]

It would be nice to get a transcript for people who can't attend.

[builder77]

I emailed them to ask if they will be taping it, and if so will it be possible to obtain a copy.

[Opie]

I'll see what I can find out.

[rampli]

I attended the forum and found it very interesting. Most of the information was from the commercial perspective; fleet management, blending technolgies, etc. Not much on the homebrew type manufacture that I was hoping for. The session by Lisa Schweitzer was interesting in that she has had much experience with small, and seemingly unsuccessful, production as part of her teaching at VT. They also had a fellow there from a VA hazardous waste regulation agency. He had some pretty scary information about the hazardous materials that remain after production and the ramifications if you get nailed by the government for improper storage or disposal.

They promised to email a link to a JMU website which will contain the syllabus and power point presentations that were used. I'll forward that information here when I recieve it.

[Opie]

Darn! I was carrying my orange -10 manual in hopes that someone would come up and say hello. I had to leave halfway through as I had to work last night.