Touring Alaska on Vegetable Oil

Stumbled upon this video on YouTube and thought I'd share it. These guys trek to Alaska on a bus powered by veggie oil. For those not familiar with the veggie-oil-running-your-vehicle-process here is a little insight on how it works:

For more info check out:

Veg Oil Conversion by Fossil Free Fuel
http://fossilfreefuel.com/


Here are the guys MySpace pages
http://www.myspace.com/MoseGiganticus
http://www.myspace.com/TheEmotron

UPS Hybrid Fleet

Since talking about green package delivery I've found out that UPS has announced that they have ordered 200 hybrid vehicles (HEVs), which is the largest commercial order of these trucks by any company!

"Alternative fuel research and development is just one of the ways that UPS is mitigating climate change risks," said Bob Stoffel, UPS's corporate sustainability officer. "We also are focused on aggressive conservation programs and improving network efficiency to cut fuel use."

UPS's "green fleet" operates in the United States, Germany, France, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom and has traveled nearly 144 million miles since 2000. The fleet includes electric, hybrid electric, CNG, liquefied natural gas and propane-powered vehicles. The company also is continuing work with the Environmental Protection Agency on a hydraulic hybrid delivery vehicle.

"UPS has been utilizing alternative fuel vehicles for more than 70 years and is clearly the industry leader in hybrid electric and CNG vehicle purchases," said Robert Hall, director of UPS's ground fleet. "At UPS, it's very important to us to demonstrate our commitment with action, which is why we have the largest private 'green' fleet in the industry. And both CNG and HEV vehicles provide substantial reductions in carbon emissions, which supports our commitment to reducing our impact on the environment."

The 200 hybrid electric vehicles will be deployed in 2009 and join 50 HEV delivery trucks already in operation. The 200 trucks are expected to save 176,000 gallons of fuel annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 1,786 metric tons each year. That is the equivalent of removing almost 100 conventional UPS trucks from the road for a year.

Read the full Press Release here

Junk in the Trunk?

Got junk in the trunk? If so, start clearing out the non-essentials stat! The more unnecessary cargo you're hauling, the more gas your car consumes. Not very fun on your wallet especially with the skyrocketing fuel prices lately. So what are you waiting for? Unload the junk and reduce fuel consumption (along with keeping your bank account happy). All the more reason to finally tackle the trunk clutter, right?