"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."