Do Your Part For the Planet: Fill 'Er Up in Ballard

Cantwell fills up a gas guzzler at Propel Biofuels' new location in Ballard.

Can you imagine a world in which Washington grown produce becomes Washington produced vegetable oil, which turns into Washington processed biodiesel, only to be sold at Washington gas pumps. Sen. Maria Cantwell can. She joined Propel Biofuels president Rob Elam to dedicate his new location on Leary Way, fill up her tank and call for annual production of 36 billion gallons of alternative fuel by 2022.

According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Department of Energy, published in 2005, U.S. drivers were using about 113.1 billion gallons of fuel annually, a number increasing at a rate of about 3 percent each year. So sit tight little polar bears, we’re working on this environmental crisis thing, but we really like driving alone to work.