Hey Mr. Green,
Is synthetic oil greener than conventional motor oil? --Gentry in Sacramento, California
"Synthetic" is a dirty word to some nature lovers, but it's actually a better choice than "real" oil. While synthetic oils take twice as much energy to produce than do ordinary lubricants, they need changing less often, so there's a net savings in total energy and oil consumption, typically 4.5 gallons per year. This is why the EPA favors synthetics.
But energy for motor oil is probably less of a problem than do-it-yourself mechanics who dump drained oil instead of recycling it. More than 345 million gallons of lubricants are improperly disposed of each year--enough to pollute trillions of gallons of water. To find out where to recycle oil, call (800) CLEANUP or go to earth911.org.
I am a distributor for and have been using American made nonpetroleum synthetic lubricants in my vehicles for over 30 years: engine oils, greases, gear lubes, etc. They meet and exceed all standard specs. Germans first created and started using synthetics in WWII. All jet and space craft use synthetic lubricants. Dealerships are available all across the USA, which means dealer prices and other opportunities, besides reducing the need for petroleum lubricants. Everyone should be switching to superior synthetics and stop using petroleum lubricants!
Posted by: Gene Garman | June 06, 2010 at 07:43 PM
Age age 74, not having been raised in the computer generation and not computer savvy, perhaps I do not yet know how to communicate on this comment "feed," but I am looking for the serious "green" response to use of American made nonpetroleum synthetic lubricants. It seems to me everyone in the Sierra Club should be interested in decreasing use of petroleum lubricants which every automobile can use. I have been using them for over thirty years. What am I missing in terms of interest by the Sierra Club?
Posted by: Gene Garman | June 09, 2010 at 06:16 AM