Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

It is largely accepted that our society will have to face the reality of climate change. The repercussions from shifts in our climate arguable include alteration of crop patterns, increasing sea levels and severe weather conditions. The process of global warming is believed to be exacerbated by anthropogenic (human) influence, mainly the combustion of fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when burned. The use of biofuels made from existing biomass are considered to be “carbon neutral”, meaning that unlike their petroleum counterparts, they are not contributing to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels since they are made from carbon sources that are cyclically occurring in our ecosystem. Biodiesel is quite effective at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. For each litre of biodiesel consumed, the accepted value of this reduction is 92% when compared to petroleum diesel. This translates into a 161,000 metric tonnes of reductions yearly from the Kyo