February 22, 2005
Dear Representatives:
SEED (Students Expressing Environmental Dedication) is an environmental group at the University of Washington, and we are contacting you to express our support for House Bill 1645, currently being considered by the Technology, Energy, and Communications committee.  This bill, as you probably know, would remove the 'special fuels tax' of about 25 cents on all fleets that transport children and use at least 20% biodiesel in their fuel.  
Biodiesel is a domestically produced, renewable fuel that can be run in unmodified diesel engines, and has numerous benefits over petroleum diesel.  It can be produced within our own state from locally grown crops, stimulating the local economy, and helping to free us from our crippling dependence on finite foreign oil reserves.  
Biodiesel also burns much more cleanly than petroleum diesel.  This makes it a particularly good choice for the schoolbuses that we transport our children in every day.  Studies have shown that the air inside these buses contains an average of 5-15 times the level of carcinogenic particulates as ambient air.  Using biodiesel in schoolbuses could significantly reduce this number, and we owe this simple step to our children.  
Lastly, biodiesel is a 'carbon-neutral' fuel, meaning that the carbon released when it is burned originally came from the atmosphere where it was collected by plants.  Petroleum fuels have a net contribution of carbon to the atmosphere, because they release carbon from oil buried deep underground.  Carbon-neutrality means that biodiesel does not contribute to global warming nearly as much as petroleum-based fuels.   
As citizens and students, we care deeply about the health of our communities, our economy, our planet, and our children, and believe that the passage of  this bill would be a  great step forward in promoting the use of biodiesel.  
Sincerely,
The members of SEED