Hybrids are nice but a diesel engine is a far more efficient engine and you can run the new-fangled, cleaner-burning biodiesel in it right now. No need to modify your car in any way. And despite our city’s usual ambivalence toward eco-friendly options, us regular folks can actually buy the stuff here in Las Vegas! Want proof?

Take it away, guest contributor and world-traveling freelance writer Natalie Everett:

Did you know biodiesel for the diesel car-driving public is available at 16 Sinclair Oil locations in Southern Nevada — albeit in small amounts?

The fuel, called B5, is a blend of 95 percent Type 2 diesel oil with 5 percent biodiesel, which is soybean or vegetable oil converted into fuel, according to Haycock Petroleum specialist Gary Weinberg. Worried diesel customers might hesitate to use the unusual blend in their vehicles, Weinberg said that the biodiesel blend is in most ways the same, and in some ways better, than regular diesel.

“It provides better lubrication for the fuel system, and reduces emissions by 5 percent,” Weinberg said.

Hmmm… Who would have thought that oil would be a good lubricant? 😉

The emission reduction is related to how much B100, or pure biodiesel, is in the blend, he said. Hence a B5 blend reducing a car’s emissions by 5 percent. [Editor’s note: A common blend B20 is 80 percent diesel and 20 percent vegetable oils and is used in commercial and municipal diesel fleets throughout the valley, including the Clark County School District’s entire bus fleet.]

Incorporating biodiesel into the diesel gas used by any diesel car is more than simple. Any diesel engine can take biodiesel of any percentage, B5 to B100, and accept biodiesel and regular diesel interchangeably. In other words, if you currently drive a diesel car, you can drive that puppy over to a Sinclair gas station and fill it with the available B5 diesel blend — even if your car has never taken biodiesel before. And, using biodiesel once doesn’t mean you’ve committed to always filling your tank with it.

The last time I checked, biodiesel at Sinclair cost 5 cents more per gallon than regular diesel.

Here’s a list of Sinclair gas stations in the Vegas Valley:

1. 24/7 Express #1, 201 N. Stephanie/American Pacific

2. 24/7 Express #2, 785 W. Craig Rd.

3. 24/7 Express #3, 6460 S. Decatur/Sunset

4. Dale’s Sinclair, 1625 Nevada Highway

5. Dino Mart (Trimm II), 3280 S. Decatur/Desert Inn

6. Dino Mart (WGF), 3260 Losee Rd./Cheyenne

7. Fills, 7110 S. Durango Dr. / Arby

8. Guru Express Market, 7730 S. Jones Blvd./Robindale

9. Moapa Paiute Travel Plaza, I-15 Exit 75

10. One Stop, 9010 W. Flamingo / El Capitan

11. Short Line #4, 500 S. Decatur Blvd./Alta

12. Short Line #10, 6390 N. Durango/Centennial

13. Village Shop #6, 1080 Whitney Ranch / Russell

14. Village Shop #7, 3815 E. Craig Rd. / I-15

15. Village Shop #8, 4171 Boulder Hwy. / Lamb