Jill Stuckey (center) spoke to the Washington Kiwanis Club about alternative fuels. She was accomapnied by Michael Moore, a distributor of biofuels in Wilkes County. Bob Simmons (right) was program host for the day. Jill Stuckey, Director of Alternative Fuels for the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, was the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Washington Kiwanis Club on Tuesday, June 19. She discussed the economic, social, and environmental benefits of alternative fuel usage - especially biodiesel and ethanol.

Stuckey told members that biodiesel fuels can be made from vegetable oils from crops such as soybeans, peanuts, sunflowers, canola, as well as from animal fat from chickens, or even waste grease. She explained that ethanol, a grain alcohol, can be blended with gasoline, and can be made from corn, sugar cane, or sugar beets. In addition, she said, cellulosic ethanol fuel can be made from switchgrass, wood, hay, plants, and even household garbage. For cellulosic ethanol fuel production to be competitive the production technology has to be shown to be cost effective.

Production of alternative fuels produces new jobs, stimulates economic benefits,reduces greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, and reduces the nation's dependence on foreign petroleum product imports. Stuckey explained that the United States has only two percent of the world's population but consumes 25 percent of petroleum based products.