I’ve had quite a lot of people ask me what I mean by eco-friendly tree care, including “no chain oil”. Chainsaws require a lubricating agent in order to run the chain and bar, and generic chain oil is petroleum based. This means that when a chainsaw is running, virtually all of the oil in the reservoir ends up on the ground. And the oil mist ends up in the user’s lungs.
You can switch from petroleum-based products to common vegetable oil (which is cheaper, too). The downfall is that if you leave vegetable oil out in extreme cold, it will freeze. I solve this problem by keeping my big container of oil inside in the winter, and a smaller bottle to take along to jobs, which gets used up quickly. (Stihl also makes a biodegradable chain oil, but it’s not always available in remote locations--ask your local retailer.)
Europe (and California) is leagues ahead of us in using vegetable-based oils as a common, regulated practice. In Austria, for example, petroleum-based chainsaw oils are totally banned.
Here’s a very useful article which lays out tips for making the switch, but really, it’s easy!
http://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/11/using-vegetable-oil-to-replace-chainsaw-oil/