Jul 18, 2008

Tapping into veggie power

Vegetable oil drives students' 13,000-mile cross-country trip

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

One day after graduating, a dozen Dartmouth University students jumped into a large green school bus and stepped on the waste-vegetable-oil pedal.

After six weeks on the road, the bio-fuel-powered bus arrived in Palo Alto on Thursday, with stops at both the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo and King Plaza in front of City Hall.

"Everyone's always very excited to see the bus," said Dartmouth graduate Ro Wang, one of the students riding the bus 13,000 miles through a total of 46 cities in 36 states.

The entirely student-run project, now in its fourth year, focuses on spreading awareness of bio-fuels and other sources of alternative energy.

The graduates rely on the generosity of restaurants to get from point to point. They target diners and non-chain restaurants to find leftover vegetable oil, which they filter twice then heat to 160 degrees before pumping into the bus.

"Any restaurant that fries anything has leftover oil," said Dartmouth senior and Menlo Park native Nathan Mazonson. "People say we smell like french fries."

Recent Dartmouth graduate John Beardsley said most restaurant managers are excited and curious to see the bus convert their waste into fuel. But some are less enthusiastic - one woman at a Red Lobster refused to open the door.

"I was hollering through the door about sustainability, and she would have none of it," Beardsley said.

In Palo Alto, the graduates were welcomed by groups of school children who clambered in and out of the vehicle.

In honor of the bus' arrival, zoo director John Aikin showed off a pair of straw-colored fruit bats, explaining that some plantings intended for bio-fuel are increasingly endangering the bats' native rainforest habitat.

"We need to be cognizant that some of our choices may affect live animals and rain forests," Aikin said.

The graduates said their campaign to talk to students, church groups, companies and others about their relationship with energy doesn't entail tough sacrifices.

The bus boasts a flat-screen television, PlayStation and Guitar Hero video games, and 12 laptop computers, all of which are powered by the vehicle's five solar panels and residential windmill.

"Not everyone has to go and be an environmental activist. It's about being eco-friendly as part of your daily routine," Wang said.

Daily life on the bus so far has been trouble-free. At night, the riders disembark to sleep at the homes of alumni, friends or family. During the day, they visit local groups, work on their computers or do maintenance work around the bus. In addition to the television, the vehicle houses a small "environmental library plus Harry Potter," Mazonson said.

Each rider has a small cubbyhole in which to store their personal items.

After visiting the bus, 11-year-old Palo Alto resident Anna Dukovic said she was particularly impressed "that they packed so little for so long a trip."

The bus will be on the road for five more weeks.



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.





ON THE WEB:

For more information on the Big Green Bus, visit http://thebiggreenbus.org/index.html