McEnergy Independence

A recently opened gas station in Lawrence specializes in biodiesel and ethanol. Seeing the lower gas prices in bright neon on a major road is bound to get a few folks thinking about converting their cars to biodiesel (it made me curious). I understand conversion isn't even that difficult. A few years back, a punk rock festival here had a panel on how to convert your own car to biodiesel as a DIY project.

Even though the prices are significantly lower than regular, I was surprised the gas wasn't nearly free. Rumors are that a biodiesel car can run on used fast food grease.

My American plan: McDonald's starts selling biodiesel.

The biggest problem with a new fuel system is deploying the infrastructure. McDonald's ubiquity is finally an advantage! The grease has already been shipped across our country for its primary use, so it would be taking an axe to our fuel shipping costs. In exchange, McDonald's gets money for free, and gets to improve its image (even if ever so slightly).

So why does this plan fail?