Central Washington Biodiesel

Our Address

1000 N. Prospect Street
Suite 1
Ellensburg, WA 98926

Phone/fax

509-925-1972

Email: cwbiod"at"cwbiodiesel.com

August 14, 2007
CW Biodiesel opens dual pump -- Northwest fuel featured.

July 26, 2007
Side-by-side pumps allow local biodiesel choice.

July 25, 2007
CW Biodiesel Fuels Huge Microsoft Construction Project

February 1, 2007
Central Washington Biodiesel Produces First 100% Washington Biodiesel.

July 27, 2006
Production Facility in Ellensburg Receives Permit.

July 25, 2006
Central Washington Biodiesel LLC Receives First Biodiesel Production Air Quality Permit.

Not all biodiesel is created equal

Biodiesel can be made out of any new or used vegetable oil. There are many sources of vegetable oil from different places. Canola and Soybean oil are used frequently in North America.

One of the cheapest - but most environmentally damaging - sources is palm oil. Palm oil is grown in the tropics, where tropical rainforests are being destroyed for palm plantations.

In Malaysia and Indonesia, palm oil production displaces wildlife, including endangered orangutans.

This aerial image shows an area in Malaysia where tropical rainforest is being converted to palm oil plantations. The rainforest is the dark green area in the upper left. Established palm oil plantations are lighter green. New plantations are soil-colored. Note the fires that are turning rainforest debris into carbon dioxide.

Aerial view of palm oil plantation
Palm oil plantations in Malaysia

The area shown by the picture is about 11 miles x 9 miles, centered at about 2°51'36.63";N, 112°11'10.48";E.

Palm oil is has been produced and used in the tropics for a long time, but the recent boom in palm oil production is huge and unprecedented.

Unfortunately, it really does appear to be true that palm oil biodiesel is, in the words of Guardian (UK) newspaper columnist George Monbiot, " Worse Than Fossil Fuel."

It's no surprise that the species diversity of animals in palm oil plantations is much lower than it is in tropical rain forests. Of just as much concern is that palm oil plantations displace orangutans, the only great ape that lives in this area. For more information about this, search the Orangutan Foundation's website for 'Palm Oil'.

Central Washington Biodiesel recommends that you ask where your biodiesel was grown. Please consider avoiding palm oil biodiesel.

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