Andy Hodgdon, the highway superintendent in Norwich, Vt., has been fueling all of the town's vehicles for more than a year with a mix of diesel and 20 percent vegetable oil, and he believes the air is clearer around town these days.

"I think that we use a little less energy, and we're finding that it's way cleaner. You can't smell the diesel any more, and I think the mileage is better," he said.

Brooking Gatewood and 14 other recent Dartmouth College graduates piled into a retrofitted "Big Green" school bus and headed off to play Ultimate Frisbee in tournaments across the country. Along the way, they stop at restaurants to pick up free used fryer oil, which fuels the bus.

Sure, Gatewood said, they like playing the game. But they like the way the air smells as they travel across the country even better.

More important, the Ultimate Frisbee tournaments give the former students a forum for discussing the world's dependence on fossil fuels. The Big Green Bus, which runs on 80 percent fry oil and 20 percent diesel, is an example of the alternatives available now, Gatewood said in a telephone interview from San Diego.

By using alternative sources of energy to fuel vehicles, Hodgdon and Gatewood are taking part in a growing trend that is becoming more feasible as the price of petroleum continues to reach new highs.

Crude awakening

Last week, light sweet crude for August delivery closed on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the range of $57 a barrel, down from over $60 a week earlier. Regular gasoline was selling for around $2.30 a gallon at most stations throughout the region, and home and business owners are facing heating fuel prices that are as much as 40 percent higher than last year.

This time of year, residential and business customers are pre-buying and locking-in the price of heating fuel for the winter. Those using No. 2 fuel oil are facing prices that are averaging $2.14 a gallon and are as high as $2.55 a gallon. Kerosene is averaging $2.40 and propane $1.98 a gallon.

Some companies, including Irving Oil Co., allow customers to lock in a maximum price and benefit from dropping prices, spokeswoman Michelle Firmbach said.

Prices change quickly, Firmbach said, adding for that reason, she would not quote what Irving was charging.

The high price of oil also is affecting farmers and loggers, New Hampshire Agriculture Commissioner Steve Taylor said.

Prices for heating oil and diesel have farmers looking at alternatives for heating barns and running equipment, he said. "I'm hearing a lot of people say they're looking at outdoor (wood burning) furnaces for heating," Taylor said.

This month, diesel is up almost 36 percent over last year to $2.55 a gallon, according to the Vermont report, which is compiled through a Department of Public Service survey of the state's dealers and outlets.

High oil prices have caught the attention of congressional lawmakers who are on the verge of passing an energy bill that provides tax breaks and incentives for the development and use of renewable fuels such as biodiesel, a mixture of vegetable oil and diesel and ethanol, which is a gasoline alternativemade from renewable sources. The bill is expected to be passed prior to the August recess and to be signed by President Bush.

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