Fuel gets more environmentally correct.Byline: Best of . . . The Register-Guard BEST LOW-GUILT GAS STATION SeQuential Biofuels Where: 86714 McVay Highway, accessible from the 30th Avenue exit from Interstate 5 Fuel: Biodiesel and ethanol in a range of blends Hours: From 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week Sweet Shots: The espresso stand and bakery inside the convenience market is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Being socially responsible isn't always easy. Nobody knows that better than Team Best of ... Sure, we try to do our part: recycling, buying organic (when the price doesn't give us a heart attack), letting the lawn go brown in August, keeping the winter thermostat thermostat, automatic device that regulates temperature in an enclosed area by controlling heating or refrigerating systems. It is commonly connected to one of these systems, turning it on or off in order to maintain a predetermined temperature. under control. But, hey, we're not perfect, and a couple of team members must confess upfront. We drive gas guzzlers. We're sorry, OK? Peak oil notwithstanding, some of us really do need our trucks, and you will only pry the steering wheel out of our cold, dead fingers. Fortunately, we now can feel a smidge Smidge Small amount of price, usually +/- 1/8 or 1/4. less guilty, thanks to the arrival of a new gas station in Eugene. SeQuential Biofuels opened a couple of weeks ago, offering not just biodiesel blends but also ethanol. For the first time, we can spend our fueling-up cash on something that is at least partially homegrown home·grown adj. 1. Raised or grown at home. 2. Originating in or characteristic of a locality: "Rock is homegrown music in the United States, evolved from blues and country and Tin Pan Alley" and renewable. SeQuential is a Eugene-based company that opened a biodiesel production Biodiesel production is the process of synthesizing biodiesel. Biodiesel is a liquid fuel source largely compatible with petroleum based diesel fuel. The most common method for its manufacture is synthesis by reacting a glyceride-containing plant oil with a short chain alcohol such facility in Salem last year, making fuel from used cooking oil supplied by Kettle, the snack food maker. They've got biodiesel stations all over the state. The new local station also includes blends with ethanol, a fuel derived from corn or sugar cane. Whether you drive a diesel vehicle, one of those fancy flex-fuel rigs or an ordinary gas-powered car, they've got a blend that will work. When we showed up for the first time, their polite - and informed - pump jockeys steered us in the right direction. We know ethanol has its naysayers who complain that the energy required to produce it exceeds the energy of the fuel created. And we were as dismayed as anybody to read the most recent Consumer Reports magazine, which found that E85 - the 15 percent gas, 85 percent ethanol blend - worsens a car's overall fuel economy. But we figure these alternative fuels are in their infancy. Producers are still working out the kinks, and we like supporting their efforts. Besides, SeQuential isn't just about the fuel. It also has a convenience store stocked with Adj. 1. stocked with - furnished with more than enough; "rivers well stocked with fish"; "a well-stocked store" stocked furnished, equipped - provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority); "a furnished apartment"; organic soda pop and chocolate, chlorine-free diapers, nonpetroleum lip balm balm, name for any balsam resin and for several plants, e.g., the bee balm. balm Any of several fragrant herbs of the mint family, particularly Melissa officinalis (balm gentle, or lemon balm), cultivated in temperate climates for its fragrant , plus other last-minute essentials. It also has a small but decent variety of beer and wine. Better still, the store houses Sweet Shots, a satellite of the city's most decadent dec·a·dent adj. 1. Being in a state of decline or decay. 2. Marked by or providing unrestrained gratification; self-indulgent. 3. often Decadent Of or relating to literary Decadence. n. bakery: Sweet Life Patisserie pa·tis·se·rie n. A bakery specializing in French pastry. [French pâtisserie, from Old French pastiserie, from pasticier, to make pastry, from *pastitz, . Like the outside fuel pumps, Sweet Shots is big on choices. It's got a full range of the butter-and-sugar confections we know and love, but for the allergy-challenged it offers egg-free, dairy-free and wheat-free options, too. When we stopped by the other day, we had berry pie and coffee and inhaled in·hale v. in·haled, in·hal·ing, in·hales v.tr. 1. To draw (air or smoke, for example) into the lungs by breathing; inspire. 2. a delectable caramel chocolate while we sat at the tiny coffee bar and - we are not ashamed to confess - enjoyed the ambience. Our only bone to pick with the place is that it's not on our beaten path - located off of Interstate 5 just north of the 30th Avenue exit. We suggest you give it a try before the Lane Community College students discover it and the friendly staff no longer have time to chat about the green roof, or the solar panels on the overhead canopies, or the surrounding bioswale, or the many other elements that make this compact building a fine addition to Eugene's growing collection of environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly, also referred to as nature friendly, is a term used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.[1] locales. Best of ... has ideas to burn. Fuel up with us and go at www.registerguard.com/bestof. |
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