But there is something different about Clemen’s automotive means of transportation, and he keeps an example of it in a Mason jar on his desk in the Fuqua School of Business.

It’s more eco-friendly, and it’s the fuel that gives the Jetta life.

Biodiesel is a clean-burning alternative fuel, produced from domestic, renewable resources. It contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. It is produced from any animal fat or vegetable oil through a refining process called transesterification.

 Clemen, who says he’s a “product of the ’60s environmental movement,” started using biodiesel about two years ago. He and his wife, Margaret, bought a diesel engine RV after doing their homework and deciding to trade in their model that ran on unleaded gasoline.

They started using biodiesel in the new rig because, “We thought this was a good thing to do.”

 That led to buying the diesel-engine Jetta and joining Piedmont Biofuels Cooperative in Pittsboro. Nearly every week, Clemen collects waste oil and drives it to Pittsboro, where Piedmont Biofuels refines the oil into fuel for his car.

 “I turn the key, and it never ceases to amaze me,” Clemen said. “This complicated machine is running on fuel made from waste vegetable oil.”

The Jetta on biodiesel has similar fuel economy to unleaded gas – mid 30 miles per gallon. The biodiesel burns cleaner, reducing carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides and sulfates emissions.

“I now have a different relationship with my fuel,” Clemen said. “I make it. That takes effort and time. It’s a lot of fun. I like doing it. Now I think a little bit harder about putting trips together and being more efficient about what I do.”

 His passion carries over to the classroom. With Lincoln Pratson of the Nicholas School, Clemen ran an independent study last spring with more than a dozen Duke students who assessed the viability of collecting waste vegetable oil from restaurants near Duke. What would it take to have a collection route? What’s the cost? And would area restaurants be interested in contributing to the cause?

Clemen said some students involved are interested in pursuing the study further as a part of a master’s project. Clemen hopes that one day, Duke will be able to have its own collection system, a reactor perhaps run by Duke students.

 He recognized, though, that most people don’t have the ability to trade in their current vehicles for one with a diesel engine. But that doesn’t mean people can’t do their part to raise their eco-consciousness. The best thing people can do, he said, is use compact-fluorescent light bulbs.

 “You get bulbs that will reduce your energy consumption to just about one-tenth,” he said. “That’s the simplest, easiest, inexpensive way to make a difference.”