With all the diesel traffic in Memphis and Shelby County, the
air is starting to match the muddy waters of the Mississippi
River. When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took
notice last summer, they assigned the county a poor rating based
on its ozone levels and gave local authorities until June 2007
to clean up the air. In light of this, City councilman E.C.
Jones last week introduced an option to various city and county
government staff that could reduce diesel emissions up to 30
percent. Representatives from Clean Fuels Technology, a Nevada-
based company that produces a fuel mix of water and petroleum,
met with the heads of local government departments that rely
heavily on commercial diesel-fueled vehicles. They said the
aquadiesel, also known as emulsified fuel, reduces the
components that make up smog (called NOx), as well as the smoke
emitted from diesel vehicles (particulate matter). "This may be
something that departments with vehicles that use diesel, such
as MATA, the fire department, and pu