Daryl Hannah, Disinformation Agent?

So,I was reading this article the other day about Daryl Hannah and her biodiesel El Camino.

First of all, I did not know that there was any such thing as a diesel El Camino. Then I googled it and found that yes, they were made from 1982-1984.

Ok, so that part of her story checks out.

The article on sfgate was talking about Daryl drinking biodiesel, so I watched her "Video Blog" about it. You can see it here.

Yes, she does drink the biodiesel. Not a big swig, but a little taste, so that part of her story checks out.

The problem I did have was with some of the definitions she used. For one, she called her car a VEGGIE car. Ok, she does not drive a VEGGIE car. I drive a veggie car. Daryl drives a El Camino that is powered by biodiesel. There is a huge difference.

A veggie car runs on straight (or waste) vegetable oil. There is no conversion of the fuel needed, but you do have to do some modifications to your car. Therefore a veggie car is much better for the environment than a regular biodiesel.

Why you ask?

See, another thing Daryl fails to mention in her video, is that to convert vegetable oil to biodiesel, you need to use a chemical that is kind of nasty. This chemical is called Methanol, and it is poisonous. Also, I have no idea on how "dirty" the manufacturing process is for methanol, but I am sure the factory that makes it puts stuff into the environment.

Another misrepresentation she makes is that it is easy to make the biodiesel out of waste vegetable oil. Well, she does not really say it is easy, but she does not explain the process, and that leaves the viewer with the impression that this is no big deal.

Well, it probably is no big deal to Daryl, since she buys the stuff from "Her Friend" (who we see in the video blog). Daryl does not have to go and collect the waste veggie oil, nor did she make a backyard still to brew it, nor did she ever have to come in contact with the raw methanol.

All she does is buy biodiesel from someone else that makes it.

Big whoop-de-do. What you want, a cookie?

However, by not explaining the process and making the distinctions between biodiesel and the use of waste vegetable oil (WVO), she ends up muddying the concept.

Muddying a concept, so the public becomes confused on the subject is also known as disinformation.

That girl has to get her facts straight.

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