As the world watches the price of crude oil fluctuate in response to the conflict in Iraq, chemists and advocates for alternative energy technologies are training their sights on the grease used to cook French fries.

They say that oils derived from soybeans, corn, and other vegetables hold promise as a cleaner and renewable alternative to the finite resource sucked up from the ground.

"It is time for us to start getting sane about how we produce energy and how we use energy," said Charris Ford, an alternative fuels advocate in Telluride, Colorado who drives a modified diesel truck fueled by used vegetable oil that he collects from local restaurants.