The ThunderBlogs

Steel fences and barbed wire surround the squat warehouses and buildings on Industrial avenue. Distant sounds of metal clanging, loads dropping and radios droning filled the air. At the CN railway yard, a single truck was fork-lifting rusty containers from one spot to another.

Eric Jorgens, a visiting manager at the yard pointed to six stationary tankers lined up on the tracks. The capacity of each tanker is marked in bright yellow paint: 25601 gallons. “Those ones contain biodiesel from Iowa. This yard is where steel wheel meets rubber wheel. From here, the diesel will go off to Chevron or Shell and such, and be diluted down to 5% or 10% and sold at gas stations. A lot of this biofuel coming into B.C.”

According to The B.C. government’s Livesmart website, “As B.C. continues to implement the Climate Action Plan, it is also moving ahead with coordinated actions to help the province adapt to climate change.” One of these actions is the imposition of the carbon tax and the motor fuel tax.

Two blocks west of CN railways, on 360 Industrial Avenue, is the green and yellow building of The Recycling Alternative, which houses the city’s only 100% biodiesel pump. The pump is run by the Vancouver Biodiesel Co-op, which has approximately 200 members who use 100% biodiesel to run their cars.

Alex Day, founder member of the co-operative, had something to say about the B.C. government’s efforts to “help British Columbians make green choices that save money at home, at work and on the road.”

“Since January 1st, 2010, the motor fuel tax, which biodiesel was previously exempt from, adds 25.11 cents per litre more to the cost of biodiesel. The government decided that it is too onerous to distinguish between the two, since they now have the renewable fuel standard so they’re just not distinguishing, so all renewable fuels are also being charged the carbon tax, which makes no sense.”

“The carbon tax is mostly just a slap in the face,” added Day. “The intention of the carbon tax is to put a disincentive on carbon based fuels and therefore create an incentive for renewable fuels. All the members talk about it , and are not happy about, and while they made the decision to choose renewable fuel, it is souring for them to know that the government won’t take the effort to exempt 100% biodiesel from the carbon and motor vehicle taxes instead of just bundling them in with other carbon-based fuels. Our membership is still growing, but some old members use less biodiesel and some have just stopped using it.

How backwards it is to charge carbon tax to renewable fuels, and how unhelpful it is to charge the motor fuel tax to biodiesel in a growing industry.” Day was not satisfied with the government’s steps to reduce British Columbia’s carbon footprint.