ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- A summer with budget-busting gasoline prices seems like the worst time to launch a cross-country road trip from California to Georgia , but this one is different : We 're road-testing alternative fuel that might help reduce pollution and break the nation 's reliance on foreign oil . CNN.com 's Cody McCloy , left , and co-pilot Brian Hardy set out on their biofuel experiment on July 28 . The gasoline alternative is called biodiesel , and it 's made by chemically modifying vegetable oil . The resulting biodiesel is nontoxic , biodegradable and can be blended at any level with regular diesel . Most diesel cars can run on it , and it can be found in more and more places around the country . Watch Web developer Brian Hardy and I make a two-week journey from California 's San Francisco Bay area to Atlanta , Georgia , on CNN.com Live . During our road trip , we 're blogging and reporting about what kind of mileage we 're getting with biodiesel fuel and how easy it is to find places that sell it . See Cody 's road trip photos » . Biodiesel is just one of several biofuels powering more and more U.S. cars and trucks . Mesa , Arizona , for example , has switched its fleet of 1,000 municipal vehicles such as fire engines and street sweepers to biodiesel and other green fuels such as ethanol , and compressed natural gas . Watch a quick tour of Cody 's vehicle » . Some biofuels are less expensive per gallon than gasoline -- cutting the average cost of gas by 20 to 35 cents per gallon , according to the U.S. Department of Energy . An average American family can save up to $ 300 per year by using ethanol , according to the DOE Web site . Biodiesel fuel , however , is not always cheaper than gasoline -- although it is made using renewable resources , such as vegetable oil or used cooking oil . The pros and cons of alternative fuels » . Atlanta-area biodiesel dealer Rob Del Bueno says -- if you really think about it -- it 's amazing how something as simple as a gallon of fuel can move a heavy multi-ton vehicle down the road . `` We think fuel is expensive , but for what you get , the price that you pay at the pump is so insignificant to what 's really going on . '' But Department of Energy chemical engineer John Scahill warns that the price of petroleum -- now at about $ 125 per barrel -- will become `` prohibitively expensive within our lifetime . '' About $ 333 billion exited the United States in 2007 due to the purchase of oil , according to Scahill , illustrating the high cost of importing foreign energy . Biofuel is produced and sold in the United States -- which keeps money from those transactions circulating inside the U.S. economy . `` About 140 billion gallons of gasoline per year are used for transportation in the United States , '' said Scahill , `` and we can save about a third of that if we maximize our use of biofuels . '' Our biodiesel vehicle is a 1978 International Harvester Scout that we purchased in San Jose , California , just for this adventure . We trust this all-terrain classic will serve us well on our trip . CNN.com users can vote on possible destinations at the bottom of the American Road Trips special report here . We 'll talk to experts about emerging energy sources that offer alternatives to oil including wind power , hydro-electric and solar . Follow Cody 's trip on interactive map » . And we 'll offer tips on how to make your summer road trip more environmentally friendly and easier on your pocketbook . We 'll be testing GPS navigation gear and other cool gadgets to see how they work during a real road trip . But because it 's a road trip , we 'll also be camping and enjoying some of the most spectacular sites in the Southwest and Southeastern United States . And we 'll be asking CNN.com users to suggest destinations and to vote on where we travel .
CNN.com crew to drive from California to Georgia on biodiesel fuel . Biodiesel fuel is made from chemically modified vegetable oil . The process of making it involves heating the plant material, then adding a catalyst that breaks down the oils into simpler molecules and produces electricity as an alternative source for transportation fuels. Crew to offer green road trip tips ; vote on possible destinations here .