The next time you chomp down on a fast-food french fry, consider this: the vegetable oil that was used to cook the fry is a potential fuel of the future.

Want proof? Check out the Big Green Bus, a school bus driven by a group of Dartmouth College students that runs on waste vegetable oil (WVO). The 12 students on the bus are spreading the message that there are alternatives to fossil fuels such as gasoline. This summer, they're making stops in 23 states and the District of Columbia to spread the word about alternative energy and conservation.

The Big Green Bus before its makeover.

WVO is the cooking oil leftover after cooking foods such as french fries. Usually the oil is thrown away, but a person who is handy with diesel engines can convert that engine to operate using WVO.

It's easy for the Big Green Bus's riders to get WVO for the bus. When they need fuel, they visit a fast-food restaurant. "There are two dumpsters in the back of fast-food restaurants. One for garbage and one black one. for waste vegetable oil," says bus rider Andrew Zabel, 20, of Fairfield, Conn. If there's no garbage or water mixing with the WVO in the black dumpster, they'll get permission to pump the WVO into the bus's gas tank.

The Big Green Bus has two separate fuel tanks. One is for WVO. A smaller one is for diesel fuel. The bus starts up on diesel fuel. The heat from the engine warms the WVO until it is thin enough to flow through the engine. Then the driver will flip a switch so that the bus runs on WVO instead of diesel fuel.

Most vehicles today are powered by gasoline, which is a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels create carbon dioxide when they are burned. When too much carbon dioxide builds up in Earth's atmosphere, it creates environmental problems. For example, the burning of fossil fuels has been linked to global warming. WVO does not release extra carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when it burns.



Zabel says that many of the kids he's met on the Big Green Bus tour are fascinated by alternative fuels. "Kids are very active in coming up with different alternative fuels that you can run the bus on. We get suggestions [such as,] . Can you run it on squid oil.I'm not really sure what squid oil is," Zabel says, laughing. Then he adds, more seriously, "It's that type of imagination. that's going to solve alternative fuel problems."

Do you think the Big Green Bus is an effective way to get people's attention and teach them about alternative fuels? Why or why not?

With its WVO-powered engine and a TV powered by solar panels, the Big Green Bus is certainly environmentally friendly. Maybe you don't have a Big Green Bus of your own, but you can still help conserve energy! Every twenty years, families double the amount of energy they use at home, according to the Connecticut Light and Power Company. But you can take some simple steps to cut down the amount of energy you use. That means using fewer fossil fuels! Here are a few ideas.

• Turn off lights, computers, televisions, radios, and stereos when not in use. Don't leave lights on in an empty room.
• Unplug your chargers when you're not charging your MP3 player, cell phone, or other rechargeable items.
• Recycle paper, aluminum, and plastic (find out if there is a recycling program in your area). It takes less energy to recycle than to make goods from new materials.
• Set your heat thermostat at 68 degrees during cold days and turn it down at night. In the summer, set your thermostat to 78 degrees. (Don't forget to get permission from your parents first!)
• Close windows and doors when using an air conditioner or heater.
• Ask your parents about replacing some light bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent light bulbs. They use ¼ the energy of regular light bulbs, and last 8 to 10 times longer.
• Consider taking a short shower instead of a bath.
• Don't leave faucets dripping.
• Turn off the water when you are brushing your teeth.

What other energy-saving ideas can you think of?


Did you know?

• There are 450,000 school buses in the United States.
• 390,000 school buses run on diesel fuel alone.
• One-third of U.S. school buses are more than 25 years old. Those buses emit the worst pollution.

You might not ride a Big Green Bus to school, but steps are being taken to make sure that the school bus you do ride is better for the environment—and for you.

"Children's health is a top priority for the EPA," says Merrylin Zaw-Mon, director of transportation and regional programs for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). She explains that children are more susceptible to air pollution than adults. To reduce the air pollution from school buses, the EPA launched the Clean School Bus program three years ago.

The program is taking action toward the three "Rs":

• Reduce bus idling.
• Replace very old buses with cleaner diesel engines or buses that can run on alternative fuels.
• Retrofit buses with cleaner engines to reduce emissions.

You can take action, too, by encouraging your bus drivers to reduce their idling time—that's the amount of time a bus runs its engine while it's stopped. "By reducing the idling, you can really clean up the pollution," Zaw-Mon says. For more information, visit the Clean School Bus U.S.A. Web site.