"It comes as a surprise to many," says Jeremiah Ridenour, "that safe, biodegradable lubricants are available, competitively priced and they work great. That's why NOAA is a repeat customer of ours." NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is a division of the United States Department of Commerce. Jeremiah's company,WISE Solutions Inc., makes environmentally friendly lubricants and cleaners from plants. Part of NOAA's mission is to monitor fish populations with its newest research vessel, the $55 million Bell M. Shimada.

Named by a team of students from Marina High School, the 208-foot Shimada is the first of her class to use Ridenour's products exclusively. The Seattle-based craft carries up to 15 scientists and as Jeremiah observes, "She is a very cool hybrid vessel. Diesel generators power electric motors that drive the propeller. Stem-to-stern, WISE supplies her with biodegradable, plant-based hydraulic fluids and lubricants. The crew of 39 uses our soaps and kitchen cleaners too."

NOAA began to use WISE products in 2007. The US Government switched its vessels to ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel in 2008 and quickly encountered problems with soot and engine oil sludge. That's when WISE, at NOAA's request, conducted an experiment right here on the Monterey Bay. Equipped with side-by-side 1200 hp diesels, their test craft got a popular petroleum-base oil called Delo 400, in one engine. Ridenour ran the other on his low ash Bio-Synthetic 15W40. After 12 months, NOAA found more sludge and soot in the Delo engine. They asked WISE to run its Bio-Synthetic in both.

NOAA's mission is to conserve and protect America's watersheds and oceans from heavy metals, toxic compounds and carcinogens present in petroleum derivatives. Jeremiah views NOAA's purchase of WISE biodegradable products as, "Clear evidence that our American-made products protect fisheries and people. Ours are priced right and perform as well or better than every petroleum product they replace."

A bio-industry veteran, Jeremiah encountered the earliest scientific papers on vegetablebased industrial lubricants during a 1990 visit to University of Illinois. There to develop high-quality' organic vegetable proteins for his successful company, Wildwood Natural Foods, Ridenour was hooked. He sold Wildwood in 2005 and launched WISE Solutions soon after in Freedom, CA.

The values-driven Ridenour sums events up, "My mission is to nurture human health and well being. At Wildwood we did that through improved organic food production. WISE is the next step. Our bio-lubricants and other products are available now to improve global health and leave a cleaner Earth to our children."