"Counties Switch to Biodiesel School Buses"

[GreenPartyVoter]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Sherry Dean has a secret she's been keeping from her drivers since March - their Upshur County school buses are running on an alternative fuel made of vegetable oil and diesel.

"I wanted to run it without my drivers or mechanics knowing," she said. "That way I can have a true feeling for how it's doing."

So far, the results have been "great."

Dean is among a slowly growing number of county transportation directors in West Virginia and across the nation who are switching from straight diesel to a mixture of diesel and biodiesel, a fuel based primarily on vegetable oils.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20051001/D8CVH3GO0.html

[Wilms]

1. I'm all for it...

'cept she probably should have told the mechanics.

[don954]

4. yes, the fuel is high in detergent and they should be watching the

fuel filters during the first few months much closer. I know when I switched to it on my boat all sorts of crap got washed out of my old fuel lines and tank, requiring monthly 1st level filter changes 3 times.

[davidinalameda]

2. its great to see that West Virginia is in the forefront of this

especially with the state so dependent on fossil fuel for its economy

[firefox]

3. Biodeisel reduces pollution drastically

They use biodeisel in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park to cut down on the pollution that is killing all the trees. It is one reason to make all diesel fuel add some plant oil.

I wonder how much vegetable oil cost when purchased on such a scale.

[nannah]

5. In Olympia Washington, the buses run on bio diesel

and I believe many of the garbage trucks do too. In WA, a recent change in the tax code has brought the cost of biodiesel closer to that of regular diesel. As prices of all petroleum based products rise, biodiesel should become increasingly competitive in price.

[donco6]

6. Our district switched to biodiesel last year.

We got a grant to convert the buses. Wasn't expensive.

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. That's really cool. I hope this will become the norm rather than

the exception.

[LostinVA]

8. All UVA buses are now biodiesel n/t