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The 5 Rs

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Reuse

The "5Rs" are an exploration of the themes Respect, Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. These Earth-loving actions allow us to reduce our impact on our Earth and add deeper meaning and joy to our lives. Send us yours - circle@circleoflife.org!

Respect
Rethink
Reduce
- Peet's Coffee Reduces Paper Cup Use
- To-Go Ware Poem by Stephanie Bernstein
Reuse
Recycle

Do I Smell Fries?

Our friend and We the Planet tour collaborator, Trevitt Schultz, shares some ideas about the fourth R, "Reuse."

I’ve been living a dream come true — a dream about a bus named “Unifried.” A while back, while I was chatting with my good friends John and Steve, John told us that he wanted to run a bus on vegetable oil and drive it around the country. Immediately, we were excited to help him. Our partnership led to a magical and inspiring adventure. You really can drive around the country on vegetable oil!

We did it in a 36-foot Crown bus that used to take children to school in Lodi, California. We converted the bus to run on waste vegetable oil and outfitted her for comfortable living while on the road. We call her Unifried because she represents the idea that one way to bring the world together is through the sustainable use of renewable resources. The Unifried Bus has been spreading this information around North America since she first hit the road in July of 2003.

Vegetable grease, ready to burn clean! Photo by Joni Mitchell

Any diesel engine can be run on grease. In fact, when the inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolph Diesel, first demonstrated his engine at the World Fair in 1898, it was running on peanut oil. By running on old fryer grease from restaurants, we can reuse one industry’s trash and turn it into an environmentally friendly fuel source for a vehicle that would otherwise be considered a “gross polluter.”

It’s easy to get off petrol and onto biofuel. When you are ready for a different vehicle, consider getting a diesel. Perhaps you can even choose to reuse an older model vehicle. That would not only be a great environmental choice, it would also be economical.

Once you have a diesel vehicle, you can start running on biodiesel immediately. Biodiesel is chemically-thinned vegetable oil that does not require any vehicle modification to run in your diesel engine. If you are ready to go all the way, install a heated fuel tank, and filter and convert your diesel to run on straight vegetable oil. Your local diner is likely to give you their old fry grease for free since otherwise they have to pay to have it removed.

After some filtering you can pour it right in your tank and start spreading the smell of french fries all over town!

TAKE ACTION!

• Check www.biodieselnow.com for a fueling station near you. Or set up a biodiesel processor and start making your own fuel for about 55 cents per gallon.
• The Unifried Biofuel Caravan will be traveling throughout the summer and fall of 2004. Learn more at www.veggiebus.com.
• For more great resources, also see www.grassolean.com and www.veggievan.com.