w o r d s

Today, Governor Mike Easley signed bill S1272 into law. That bill exempts homebrew biodiesel from the NC road tax. The 30-cents-a-gallon cost reduction is certainly welcome. But, as Lyle recently commented, the bigger picture is really huge, because it allows the homebrewers and SVO-ers to get out of the “closet” as the State DOR does not care anymore that they don’t (usually) pay taxes on their fuel. So I need to get another bumper sticker:

THIS CAR IS POWERED BY HOMEBREW

Praise the lard!

YES!

On Aug. 26 last year, the LRA and the Ugandan government signed a truce, putting an end to 20 years of war and brutality in Northern Uganda. A friend of mine just returned from Gulu recently and he told me last week about how much that town has changed. Four new Hotels are under construction, many of the Night Commuters have returned to their villages, foreign aid is reaching the area and the town is bustling with commercial activity.

These are all hopeful signs for healing and development in a region that has been ravaged by civil war. Still, the truce is fragile, and the wounds are deep and fresh. Much help and healing will be required to bring the Acholi people back on their feet. The question of justice and reconciliation will require some careful and creative consideration. The Ugandan Sunday Monitor published an article that summarizes the current situation:

Today, northern Uganda is more peaceful than ever. In fact, the government team currently consulting victims on justice and peace issues are traversing the region freely in a way they would not just a year ago. Night commuters (displaced children walking to urban areas to sleep in the relative safety of shop verandahs), have greatly reduced. The number of people living in internally displaced people camps has dropped from 2.2 million in 2002 to 1.2 million according to the UN today. But as the fractured region tries to pick the pieces, what do the victims say?

War victims trapped in search for peace and justice, Sunday Monitor, Kampala, Uganda, August 26

Also, check out the Uganda-CAN website for more current info on this issue.

Rassismus in Deutschland? Das gibt’s doch gar nich …

Wir wissen um die Vorfälle in Mügeln augenblicklich noch zu wenig, um solche weitreichenden Schlussfolgerungen zu ziehen.

Das war die Reaktion Sachsen’s Ministerpräsident Georg Milbradt auf die Frage ob er einen “ausländerfeindlichen oder gar rechtsradikalen Hintergrund” sehe wenn ein Mob von 50 Bleichgesichtern 8 Inder verprügelt und durch eine Sächsische Kleinstadt jagt.

Wenn ich von rassistischen Überfällen in Deutschland höre, läuft es mir oft kalt den Rücken runter. Aber wenn ich dann die übliche Abwiegelei des Bürgermeisters, der Polizei, oder des Ministerpräsidenten höre, dann läft mir als die Galle über!

… [in Mügeln] gibt es keine Rechtsextremen.

zitiert Spiegel Online den Bürgermeister der Sächsischen Kleinstadt wo der rassistische Überfall stattfand. Aber nee, Rassisten jibts hier nich …

Es ist schlimm genug wenn Deutsche Bleichgesichter immer wieder über ihre Nachbarn herfallen, weil sie anders aussehen, ein bischen “komisch” sprechen, oder einen anderen Glauben haben. Wenn dann aber die, die eigentlich alle Einwohner vertreten oder beschützen sollen, sich vor diese rassistischen Arschlöcher stellen und diese barbarischen Vorfälle abwiegeln, dann machen die Abwiegler-vom-Dienst sich mitschuldig an diesem brutalen Terror. Diese Abwiegelei ist der Nährstoff des braunen Ungeziefers. Und dieses Ungeziefer manifestiert sich nicht nur in der üblichen, glatzköpfigen, Sieg-Heil schreienden “Herrenrasse.” Die gut-bürgerlichen, bleichgesichtigen Abwiegler sind die, die langfristig viel mehr Schaden anrichten weil ihr ewiges unter-den-Teppich-kehren dem Ungeziefer den nötigen Schatten spendet dieses dumpfe, modrige Gedankengut zu verbreiten.

Forty six years ago today, the East German Stalinist regime began fortifying the border across Germany. They built one of the most infamous borders ever: the Berlin Wall. During the 28 years that followed, an estimated 260 people were killed in attempts to cross into West Germany. The Stalinists always denied that the regime gave explicit orders to shoot these people, but a newly discovered document proves that the Stasi, the secret police, had numerous agents among the border guards and these Stasi agents had unequivocal orders to shoot to kill:

Do not hesitate to use your guns even if women or children are involved in the border penetration, as the traitors are known to use these situations.

Translated from Der Spiegel, quoting from Dienstanweisung vom 1. Oktober 1973.

Apparently the Stasi agents had orders to prevent defections from the border patrol, and they were to shoot anyone who tried to cross into West Germany illegally. Egon Krenz, the last ruler of the GDR, has vehemently denied the existence of the Schießbefehl  - at least as an order to shoot to kill. The question about the Schießbefehl is pretty important, because the existence of such an order to kill refugees, moves the responsibility for the killing of defectors from East Germany up the ranks. Otherwise, the responsibility for these acts lies squarely on the shoulders of the border guards who pulled the trigger, and who were later prosecuted in the Mauerschützen-Prozesse.

On this day in 1893 Rudolf Diesel’s engine ran for the first time, and it ran on peanut oil. So today we celebrate “Internationals Biodiesel Day” and raise our glasses to the genius of using fuel that grows back!

Praise the Lard!

In the summer, I like to collect the fryer oil in the morning, especially on a day with more triple-digits in the forecast. So I did my round this morning and “liberated” about 50 gallons - 20 from Alivia’s, 20 from Piazza Italia and 10 from El Rodeo. My new system at Piazza Italia works great - they now have a 30-gallon drum in the kitchen (they have no space outdoors). Every Friday, I just drop off a clean, empty one and haul the full one home on the trailer. It think I’ll do the same with El Rodeo.

After my grease run I was already hot and sweaty - it was “only” 87 F / 31 C at almost 70 percent humidity!

Ugh - I’m melting! North Carolina in August is certainly supposed to be hot, but tripple-digit temperatures are still unusual. Yesterday we hit a new heat record for the day and came within one degree of the all-time highest temperature ever recorded at RDU airport. It was 104 Fahrenheit - 40 Deg. Celsius - and still 33 percent humidity! And today we’re in for another scorcher …

The BIG list was abuzz today with interpretations of the new biodiesel tax situation in North Carolina. There were some questions about how these recent changes, like how the tax exemption for homebrew biodiesel will be applied to SVO use. Matt Rudolph, the ED of Piedmont Biofuels explained that under NC law, veggie oil as fuel falls under the definition of biodiesel in Chapter 105/Article 36C of the NC General Statutes. So both the removal of the bond requirement (S540), as well as the tax exemption for personal use (S1272) apply to SVO.

So SVOers can also cheer, as their efforts to use renewable fuels in their vehicles have now become much simplified in NC. Of course none of this is perfect. I think there need to be broader tax exemptions for renewable fuels, a stronger focus on encouraging local, community-based fuel (and other energy) production and an attempt at setting sustainability standards for energy production. This is not easy, as the story of the Senate Bill S1272 illustrates: apparently this was originally a bill intended to clarify the definition of biodiesel. But somehow it morphed into a homebrewer tax exemption. Of course, from our perspective this was a great step in the right direction.

The North Carolina General Assembly has adjourned for this session, and last Thursday the legislators passed S1272: Motor Fuels Tax Exemption for Biodiesel, which removes the requirement to pay road tax on homebrew biodiesel. That’s awesome - a great incentive for homebrewers. Also, legislators changed the tax law to remove the $2000 bond for fuel providers who don’t have more than $2000 in fuel tax liabilities. That’s another step to boost small-scale, local fuel production in NC. I find it a bit puzzling that S1272 does not mention waste veg. oil fuel, though. Especially as this activity, to some degree, was kicked off by reports of an SVO user getting fined $1000 by the state for using un-taxed fuel. But at least the SVOers got the bond requirement removed. That bond was a huge obstacle.

A big thank-you from the biodiesel homebrewers goes to Senator John Snow who represents North Carolina’s 50th Senate District. Sen. Snow sponsored several biodiesel related bills in this session, including S1272. That bill also establishes a study commission to examine the tax implications of alternative fuels and how they should be addressed. The state does need to take a close look at the impact of exempting certain fuels from road tax, and how to deal with non-IC powered vehicles. With the emergence of “fuel diversity” on public highways, it might be a good idea to begin re-thinking the idea of tying road taxes to fuel consumption. It will get increasingly difficult to define “fuel” (think about solar- or flywheel-powered vehicles). Also, I think that we’ll see multi-fuel engines in vehicles in the next 10 years. While the tax-exemption is certainly the right thing to do, and should be expanded to encourage the use of other made-in-NC fuels, the state has a duty, and an interest, to stay on top of these issues.