Not to pick nits but, the product that W&O is marketing is not straight soybean oil. It is a blend of (mostly) standard petroleum-based heating oil and a small percentage of soybean oil that has been converted into biodiesel. The process of converting vegetable oil to biodiesel is something that the average citizen is capable of doing at home with the right books, internet resources or experienced friend at their disposal. I may be wrong on this point but, I believe that the product actually supports industrial farming by corporations as opposed to real farmers. Burning vegetable oil IS C02 neutral, though, and that is great!

I don't mean to be offensive...just want to make sure that anyone else who may real the topic understands the distinction.

Thanks El Kabong. You sound very knowledgeable. What would you recommend as far as heating one's home and for an automobile? What do you use or what would you like to be using?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks for you kind words. My original post was too long. Of course, I lost
parts of it when I hit "Add Reply" Here is what I managed to save from it: (Part 1)

Those are good questions. They are not so easy to answer in this
context, though. And the answers require more questions. Related to
heating:
Most importantly though, Is your home well insulated? (Conservation
is our greatest resource).
Does it have double or triple pane windows?
Do you have heavy curtains on your windows?
Do you open them up during that day and close them at night?
These are the only simple answers without know more about your situation.

How many people live in your house?
What source of heat does your home currently utilize?
How is your hot water heated
Which directions do your roof pitches face?
Is there an exterior wall that faces south which is relatively
unobstructed from the Sun between the hours or 9AM and 3PM during the
cold months?
How much time are you willing to commit on a regular basis?

There are really a lot of questions that need to be answered before
you can even really start. Its case by case.

Related to transportation:
Do you carpool or use public transportation whenever possible?
Do you route trips so as to minimize idling?
Do you combine trips to prevent cold starts and avoid excessive driving?
Do you walk or ride a bike when possible?
Is your car powered by gasoline or diesel fuel? Something else?

If you can conserve fuel start there. If you own an older vehicle
(prior to fuel injection) that runs on gasoline, you could make some
minor modifications to allow it to run on ethanol made from vegetable
sources (most likely corn). Ethanol can be made from petroleum inputs
so, if you wanted to do something to take the burden off the Earth's
resources, you'd want to make sure it comes from plant sources. I'm
not sure where you can purchase ethanol in this area but, I've heard
rumors that its available. My car is fuel injected so, I can't make
any use of it.
Part II

If you happen to be lucky enough to already own a diesel powered
vehicle, you could get a reliable source of used vegetable oil
(generally free, as the article above mentioned). Once you have that
used oil, you filter very well. From here you could make some minor
modifications to the vehicle and just use the veggie oil directly.
The term generally used for this setup is "Waste Vegetable Oil" or
WVO. Better yet, IMHO, you could just convert it to biodiesel. This
requires some research. It also requires time and a small investment
($100-200). The payoff is significant. First, your car would NOT
require ANY modifications. Second, WVO coagulates as it approaches
freezing. Carefully processed biodiesel stays liquid at much lower
temperatures. This makes it much better for starting in the winter.
Of course, with a WVO setup many owners install a second, smaller fuel
tank just for starting then switch over to the WVO. WVO users
generally have preheaters that the oil flows through before reaching
the engine. The third benefit of biodiesel is that it can be burned in
an oil furnace without any modifications. Fourth, producing biodiesel
at home costs around 60 cents per gallon if you make it from free
used vegetable oil.

If I had the option of building my perfect home, I'd build one that
was super insulated. It would have a considerable thermal mass (stone
preferably). I would install a south facing "solar wall" that has a
glazing over it to collect the suns rays during the day. It would be
covered during the summer to prevent heat gain. I'd also prefer that
my house it was sunken into the ground a bit further than traditional
buildings. This would provide more stable temperatures. It would
have lots of sky lights or a celestory. With proper circulation and
ventilation, it might not even need a heating system. If required,
I'd use a solar hot water heater for space heating (radiant heating
under the floor) and domestic hot water heating.

Currently, I heat with heating oil. I will be heating with biodiesel
in the near future. I am currently in the search for a very cheap
diesel vehicle. Like most, I can't afford to go out an buy a new car
or specialized heating equipment. I do plan to build my own solar hot
water heater as soon as I can find the parts for free to cheap. We
might as well re-use or junk anyway.

Something worth remembering though - it is often a lot of work getting
anything worthwhile started. Sometimes, there is a lot of work to
keep it going. Don't waste your work or resources by wasting the
product of you labor...conserve, conserve.

A few nights ago the Discovery Channel had a section of THE DIRTIEST JOBS devoted to this issue. It involved a man picking up Free Vegetable Oil and then converting it to a BioDiesel at about .40 cents a gallon. This guy was into it in a BIG way.He distilled it and added things so it would satisfy Californias Emissions standards. He sold and used his own product ( In a Nissan KingCab P/U Diesel.

What is sad in a NIMBY way is that we could have had an operating Ethanol Plant HERE in another year. Instead Adams County got it because THEIR farmers and County Supervisors were looking at long term not the now
.
Me: Doesn't matter now. I need a vehicle that does not kill my back so that means bigger older cars. Now if I could find an older GM Diesel that actually works I would convert in a bio moment. Of course that is something that did not work in the embargo years and other than P/U's OUR car makers( Big 3) don't want to know what diesels are.

Years ago(70's-80's) J.C. Snavley used to burn their waste wood chips,sawdust etc.to heat their firm in Salunga.Probably still do. I have also seen Corn burners,husks,cobs and kernels, my favorite is the wood pellet burner that doubles for a wood burner if needed.

As stated before all these techies could have us oil free in 10 years but Big Oil and Big Govt. will not alllow that to happen. Watch for the roadblocks as this becomes a more popular means of heating and fueling.

I have to believe that you are right about that. Luckily for Glenn Brendle (the subject of this article), he'll likely have grassroot support should local officials try to give him trouble.