When good ol' Doc Brown cranked up his flux capacitor in "Back to the Future" to generate 1.21 jigowatts, we all sat back in our comfy theater seats with a big bucket of popcorn and exclaimed "cool!"

Yes, how cool would it be to open up your fuel door and throw in whatever crap you can grab out of the kitchen trash that will fit down your truck's pie hole? Well, now it's possible... well, within limits. And it does take some work. Introducing Biodisel... it's a diesel replacement fuel, and a dessert topping!

Biodiesel is a vegetable oil-based fuel that runs in diesel engines - cars, buses, trucks, construction equipment, boats, generators, and oil home heating units. It's usually made from soy or canola oil, and can also be made from recycled fryer oil (yes, from McDonalds or your local Chinese restaurant). You can blend it with regular diesel or run 100% biodiesel. The oil, for example, Wesson vegetable oil, doesn't even have to be new--it can even be used.

Interested in making your own? Thanks to Boulder Biodiesel, there is even a How-To Make Biodiesel available. It goes a little something like this... "To initiate the biodiesel reaction, we need a catalyst. Vegetable oil is an acid, so to "break" the vegetable oil molecule, we add a strong base. For this we use Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) also known as lye. The amount of lye is constant when using new vegetable oil, but used cooking oil varies due to the amount of Free Fatty Acids (FFAs) from heating the oil. To determine the amount of FFAs, we perform a titration." In other words, go grab Doc Brown and just have him figure it out for you.

The benefits abound. Since it's made domestically, it reduces our dependence on foreign oil. It's less expensive, sustainable & non-toxic, has zero emissions, reduces engine wear by as much as one half, makes your diesel engine run smoother, quieter, and produces less smoke.

Where can you get it? Take a look at these biodiesel retail fueling sites. There are currently less than 400 of these fueling sites throughout North America, and more are on the way.

For more information, visit the National Biodiesel Board.