The crocus and hyacinth have not pushed through the still frozen ground. No migratory birds were bouncing around my still-brown lawn. Spring has not shown her face. So I asked Greg Budney, curator of the Macaulay Library at Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology, if I was crazy. Was something really different?

He alerted me to the fact that many year-round residential birds were now going into a song-mode of reclaiming territory. For example, the female cardinals will now be doing their version of the male’s song. (To hear this, click here and type 49063 into the “advanced search” box) He also pointed out that this is exactly why so many birds sing…you don’t have to see ‘em to know they’re there!

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You see, they were working on plant based lubricants, to be used (at the time) in vehicles. He shared a story of how they were in some cases too effective at lubrication, causing engines to over perform. Now, years later, I thought I’d take a look at what direction this startup has gone. It seems they gone in many directions, and interesting ones.

But first, what’s to know about these lubricants, and beyond the “not petroleum” factor, what makes them so beneficial, and do they perform in line with their conventional counterparts? In a word, yes. And even better.

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