Just got an excited call from my Grandfather. He was anxious to tell me that McDonald’s is now using their fryer oil to make biodiesel to fuel their own delivery trucks. I haven’t researched this yet, but I think it’s pretty damn cool that my Grandpa was so stoked about it!
I’m on vacation, so that’s why I haven’t been writing. Will start up again soon…
–Refined gOil
When you think about places where the vehicles of the future are being innovated, the first location that comes to mind probably isn’t Spokane, Washington. But that’s exactly where the EnergyRushTV video journalism crew went this summer. We’d been hearing about the “Tango” and its unique size, shape and power. Then we heard George Clooney had purchased one, so we just had to check it out.
I MET JOSH TICKELL YESTERDAY! Okay, I’m a huge nerdbag, but this is the man whose book “From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank” singlehandedly inspired me to convert to biodiesel (it took me a year to do it after I read it, but it really was From the Fryer… that convinced me)– and I know that I’m not the only one whose life has been changed by his work. The whole world is going to know Josh Tickell as soon as his feature film Fields of Fuel debuts at Sundance. I was privileged enough to attend a screening of this work at AFI in Los Angeles yesterday, and there is not much to be said — just RUN to see it, as soon as it makes wide release. The best part was that I actually walked up to him at the end and got the satisfaction of thanking him for helping me accomplish the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and the world (sentimental, but true). He was very gracious. If you know Josh’s work and support his message, please consider checking out the Fields of Fuel website, and making a donation to help get the film to the masses. This is the type of media that can really change the way so many different people think. We know that biodiesel is not the only option — and it’s not even be the best — in terms of renewable fuels, but awareness and use of it certainly represents, as Josh says in the film, a a new way of relating to fuel in general. I’d also like to include a link to Josh’s blog here. Keep in mind that, a la the format of Michael Moore, the information is filtered through Josh himself — so while it is documentarian in style, it is also a film in which the maker is heard and seen and therefore…it makes biodiesel personal. Okay, enough filmic psychobabble. I’ll let y’all check it out for yourselves. And I highly recommend that you do.
–Refined gOil
Here are some EVS-23 pictures — I wish I had taken some more actually, like of the Envision Lifeport and the Challenge X cars being test-driven. But here’s what I have (the first shot is of EnergyRush producer/cameraman/inventor/editor extraordinaire, Eric Bishop, who will be pissed when he sees I put him on the blog…hahaha):
Here’s a shot of the dining area that the Anaheim Convention Center had set up — it was HUGE! And they catered a lunch to everybody attending.
And of course, the Piece de Resistance:
Finally, Paul Steinbroner was very insistent that this picture be taken to prove that there are handsome guys working for Tesla. The broad on the cute guy’s right is yours truly (don’t blame me for looking boring; the dress code for the event was ‘business casual’, which sort of made me laugh, but also made me put on gray woolen trousers).
Anyway, I certainly enjoyed being there, and I hope these shots pique your interest — I hope the story will air on EnergyRush Soon!
–Refined gOil
Yay! I can finally upload pictures again…Take a look at these from Gadget’s workshop:
I’ll put some up from EVS-23 tomorrow!
–Refined gOil
The EnergyRushTV team had been hearing for some time about various incarnations of electric speedsters making some amazing times at drag races around the country. This is the kind of thing we like to see for ourselves, so this summer several members of the EnergyRush crew journeyed to the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon to witness the raw power that can come from the combination of electricity and speed.
Over the course of 2007, our team has had several meetings and interviews with a fascinating young entrepreneur named Atul Deshmane, president of Whole Energy, an up-and-coming biodiesel and alternative fuels company with operations in the U.S. and Canada. We’ve learned a lot from Atul and have done stories about him that have appeared on this site. But we decided to go meet some of the more unique end users of Whole Energy’s fuels, so off we went on a one-day tour of northwestern Washington state.
The date: November 8, 2007. The event: Cleantech Investing in the Northwest. The place: Seattle, Washington. Our goal: Talk to and interview as many players as possible.
Members of the EnergyRushTV team descended upon the Emerald City from several different places on the west coast. Project leader Paul Steinbroner came over from Wenatchee, Washington; producer/photographer David Okimoto flew up from San Francisco; and producer/cameraman Mark DuMond motored in from Renton, Washington.
Many of the trips taken by the EnergyRushTV team put us smack in the middle of big cities. After all, that’s where much of the innovation in alternative vehicles and cleantech development is taking place. But we went on a daytrip recently that placed us far from the metropolitan areas.
…from EVS-23. I did probably close to 10 full interviews, and we only skimmed the first millimeters of the surface of what was actually on display at that convention. And everyone I talked to who had been there in years past said that the event is just getting bigger and better every year. The most interesting display for me was probably Envision’s LifePort solar carport/rec room/partybarn/whatever you want it to be. It would take up too much space to describe the awesomeness here, so just click on the link and read about it. And I think EnergyRush will be working with Envision in the future; and that’s a good thing. We’ve covered vehicles so much, I think it’s time we looked at what Envision is doing, and what the implications are for the average dude or dudette — pretty much anyone can go solar now, if they want to. I think we’re really seeing the dawn of a new age.
–Refined gOil
