At the corner of Queen and Pape, there’s an independent gas station called Stohos that advertises “biodiesel”

At the corner of Queen and Pape, there’s an independent gas station called Stohos that advertises “biodiesel.” What is it?—Basil McCrae, East York

When Rudolph Diesel unleashed his fancy new combustion engine at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, it ran on peanut oil and was designed to allow individuals to produce their own fuel, free from the clutches of Big Oil. But Big Oil had other ideas, and following Diesel’s mysterious death in 1913, his engine was converted to run on petroleum. Recently, however, environmentally minded technophiles have revived Diesel’s original vision. Made from various vegetable oils, biodiesel is cheaper than regular diesel, cleaner and renewable (not to mention low in saturated fat). So far, Stohos is the only gas station in the city to offer the stuff, which gives off french fry–scented exhaust. With the manifold ills of traditional fuels, it’s a tasty concept indeed.