Switchgrass is drought, insect and disease resistant. It set down deep roots and assists in building good top soil. It is perennial, and row plantings is not necessary. It can be planted on marginal crop lands. If grown on the same land perennially, it grows to 8 ft tall and provides habitat to wildlife. It is harvested like hay and baled up. Family farms can easily participate in switchgrass crops.

It has enormous advantages over corn. However, we also need to pay attention to the new breakthrough, biodiesel derived from algae. There is a pilot project with an algae greenhouse set up beside a traditional power plant in Arizona. The traditional power plant pumps emissions into the algae greenhouse rich in CO2. The algae absorbs the CO2 and expels oxygen. There are DAILY harvests of biofuel. See the October issue of National Geographic for an excellent article comparing biofuels and explaining the new algae breakthrough.

You are totally correct on this:
Not just on switchgrass(as GW said) but also on algae biodiesel.
I saw that algae biofuel plant on Modern Marvels and would like to note that it is exactly the type of facility that would qualify as a source from which to buy those useless "carbon credits" but a smart person would actually just invest directly so as to reap some of the profit.

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"Most people can't think, most of the remainder won't think, the small fraction who do think mostly can't do it very well. The extremely tiny fraction who think regularly, accurately, creatively and without self delusion---In the long run these are the only people that count."Robert Heinlein

There would still have to have some sort of conformity...I doubt one engine could be used for both, and I REALLY doubt you could switch from one form of biodiesal to another...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

Hey he is famous for knowing what he is talking about. Especially when he says it in state of the union speeches. BTW people have used pot plants for years to make a multitude of products from paper to oil. It needs no pesticides and it grows like a "Weed"

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Talking about music is like dancing about architecture

I had to look this up to be sure I knew what I was talking about. I did not find anything on different types of biodiesel but the consensus seems to be that, except for older engines, diesel engines need no modification to run biodiesel. I don't see why this would not also be true for biodiesel from differing sources.

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Right now America spends $700 billion every year on foreign oil. That's our money going overseas when it could be staying here. We have to stop this.
That's why I support the Pickens Plan. Check out the website at www.pickensplan.com. If you like what you see, please join me as a Pickens Plan supporter.

If a certain course of action makes the mouth-breathers furious, then that’s a good policy. – The Practical Environmentalist

My last years Ford Diesel came with a notice that I could use any biodiesel. But the new one I have requires low sulpher diesel. I don't know what that means in the big scheme of things

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Talking about music is like dancing about architecture

Diesel himself demonstrated his new engine at the World Fair using oil.

I am not entirely familiar with diesel mechanics, but the vehicles I have seen burn oil have two tanks. The engine needs to warm up on regular diesel and then you switch over to oil. There is a website for VeggiePower on the internet. This high IQ cowboy starting converting diesel vehicles over to oil over a decade ago. He is based in Ojai, California.His system was to go get your own oil. Restaurants have to dispose of their cooking oil every 3 to 7 days. The better quality restaurants tend to use oil fewer times, and are therefore better as a source.

"Dirty Jobs" had a show with a guy whose car ran on cooking oil Mike Rowe had to collect...There was one SMALL change to the engine for it to work, but it did...

Here's the problem though...

The guy had to create a filtration sytem in his garage in order to get the oil to the correct cleanliness and specs...

A) That's not something the general public would be willing to do...

B) I don't know the feasability of having stations that perform that task to make the oil clean enough for public consumption...

Proving it CAN be done is one thing...

Proving it can be done on a national scale AND keeping costs down is quite another...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

I knew we were already using bio d, but here are some fuel stops that sell it to big riggers:

Truckers Links
We have been using it for ...hmmm...I'm thinking two years at least.

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Salty

THANKSGIVING MENUS AND TIPS

A GREAT PLACE TO SHOP

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Right now America spends $700 billion every year on foreign oil. That's our money going overseas when it could be staying here. We have to stop this.
That's why I support the Pickens Plan. Check out the website at www.pickensplan.com. If you like what you see, please join me as a Pickens Plan supporter.

If a certain course of action makes the mouth-breathers furious, then that’s a good policy. – The Practical Environmentalist