Listening to a conversation at a Vinalhaven party recently, I heard Ross Trainor describing, with gusto, how sometimes he smells just like clam baskets. I thought this was understandable because he lives near the Harbor Gawker restaurant with its always-busy fryolator. But the way he was talking about it also conveyed some sense of pride, and I wondered why he would feel that good about this particular aroma, so I interjected an incisive question — “What?” — and Trainor explained it was his exhaust that smelled like clam baskets sometimes, when he’d been lucky enough to fill his truck’s tank with biodiesel on the mainland. And that was the first glimmer I got of Trainor’s excitement — not that he could smell like fried food — but that he has a way to reduce the carbon footprint of his vehicle and do less harm to the environment.

Trainor is a thoughtful 24-year-old. Growing up, every summer was spent on Vinalhaven. Since graduating from Evergreen State College in Washington State a few years ago with a degree in political philosophy, he spends July to January on the island, sterning on lobster boats. He also fishes in Alaska in early summer on salmon boats. This past July when he got to the island, having done a lot of research, Ross invited the public to a talk about using biodiesel fuel in boats. With an audience of about 40 people, he explained why using a mix like B-20 was good for the environment and didn’t hurt diesel engines or require any retrofitting. As the July 2007 issue of Working Waterfront points out, there are more fishermen using it, and there are compelling reasons to make the switch.

Will biodiesel be available on Vinalhaven anytime soon? Martha and Ed Conway, owners of Vinalhaven Fuel, are considering acquiring a new truck by spring that could carry it. But Martha wonders what the pricing will be, and if it is a bit more costly, if that will work against it becoming the fuel of choice. In an open market, you might suppose that lobstermen would buy the fuel because it is good for the environment, and they could pass along the increased overhead to the consumer. You can even imagine that many consumers would pay that price for “green” lobsters, as has been the case with shoppers at Whole Foods in Portland paying more for their humanely handled ones (which come with a delicate “two-touch” from Vinalhaven’s Little Bay Lobsters). But the price paid for lobsters in general has been kept low by dealers, who say they have to compete with the price of lobsters coming from Canada.

Trainor is optimistic that biodiesel will eventually be widely used by Vinalhaven’s fishing fleet. He speaks passionately about its desirable qualities, like biodegrading quickly compared to diesel when spilled in water, having less noxious fumes, and being produced from, say, soybeans grown right here in the U.S. He is in touch with other fishermen up and down the coast who are using B-20 and is encouraged by the open minds of those on Vinalhaven he talks with about it.

In the meantime, Trainor finds ways to lessen the carbon footprint as best he can. When the boat he sterns on finishes hauling for the day, if conditions are right, he climbs into a wet suit. He figured he might as well put the trip home — and fuel expended — to doubly good use, so he rides into Carver’s Harbor behind Star Fisher, pulled on his wake board. When I asked if other sternmen were doing this too, with maybe even a team or club for the activity, he said, “not yet.” But knowing his infectious enthusiasm, it may not just be B-20 that becomes popular on the island — how about wake boarding home from work as well? q