After many months of delay and procrastination I finally sat down and watched An Inconvenient Truth. For some reason I had been afraid to see it. Perhaps it was fear of knowing too much about what is actually happening to our planet: that after a 100 years of spewing carbon dioxide into our thin atmosphere we are in trouble. Perhaps it was fear of being so beaten down by the truth.

I was sorry I waited so long to see it. While the danger is real, we can do something about it.

I was fortunate soon after seeing the movie to speak with Adam Navone, drummer of Blue Turtle Seduction, about their biofuel bus and how they cut down their emissions and how bands can make a difference.

What made you decide to use Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) as an alternative fuel source?

We as a group have some real close friends whom several years ago converted two school buses to WVO and drove to Costa Rica several years ago in a project called the sustainable solutions caravan. They were hand filtering oil through the nights and driving during the days all the while meeting with the heads of states showing them the benefits of using this would be waste product as a fuel. That’s where we first heard of this idea and being that our business entails lots of travel the idea became really appealing to us all. We decided to use WVO instead of Biodiesel because we’re not able to refine as we travel and instead modified our bus with a new fuel tank, filters and heaters so we could use WVO on the run. We collect, filter and drive all from the bus.

Was it Pollution, the cost of gas, or for the environment?

All of these reasons apply. Our emissions were cut way down, no sulfur dioxide, I believe less than half of the CO2 and other Noxious and greenhouse gases were cut. Doing our part to help lessen our impact on the environment is a great feeling as we travel from town to town. The cost of fuel has also now become a major motivator in finding oil. With prices on the rise, touring bands really have to get creative to stay afloat. Another reason that WVO is great in that this oil was grown here in the States and is helping to offset our foreign oil dependencies. Again, every little bit helps.

How much does it cost. What does it cost per gallon. What are the miles per gallon?

Well, the oil generally is free… Yep vs. $5+ a gallon that really is great. We are also always willing to by the oil and we’ve set up some connections where the oil runs around $1.50-2.00 per/gallon. The cost we incur come from filtering and where and tear which generally runs around a $1 or so a gallon. We get close to the same mileage on WVO as diesel, roughly 8 miles a gallon, though many of us now feel that our bus runs better and feels like it has more horse power on veg.

How long does it run for?

We have to start the bus and end the bus on diesel so as to heat the oil when starting and to clean the lines when turning off, other than that we can run as much WVO as we can find.

What are the pluses and minuses of the different blends? Why use Waste Vegetable Oil?

We don’t really blend oil in this process, it is %100 WVO when we’re driving on veg. We are picky about the oil we collect though, in trying to preserve our engine. You have to watch out for water in the oil as well as just real nasty oil. Oh and you can’t drive on Hydrogenated oil, something in the chemistry doesn’t work out.

Where do you get the biofuel … contracts with places, or do you pull right up to a McDonald’s?

We have many contacts that we collect oil from, no contracts or anything, usually just a handshake and gratitude for the help. We explain what we’re doing and usually people are really excited to help out. No MC’ds, we usually try and go for sushi oil, super clean or something comparable.

What can you recommend for other bands that want to use biofuels. How would they go about it. Is it difficult, costly to purchase the system?

You have to be willing to get dirty, this is definitely not the glamorous side of being green. Really ask yourself if you want to be covered in grease, ruin lots of clothes and be willing to go talk to lots of skeptic
business owners, Biodiesel is another alternative that might work better for you, so check out your options. We had our system installed several years ago, and the costs range considerably.

Through this experience what are some of the more surprising and/or interesting things you have learned about using biodiesel?

That this is not the end all answer, the fuel issues we’re all experiencing are going to motivate us all to find solutions and the more solutions in use, I feel the better.

Is this a solution we all can use?

Probably not, we are already seeing problems from ethanol, where corn prices are through the rough and cultures who’s staples are corn are now having huge issues. Again, a diversified approach of alternative fuels is what I see as the interim until the future answers come along. Though new research is finding some cool ways of growing algae which have a considerably high oil content yielding thousands of gallons an acre vs. corn or soy which produces a few hundred gallons an acre at best.

What are your best and worst experiences using biodiesel? Does it smell like french fries…

It smells like whatever was cooked in the oil, I want to find a donut shop…make the people behind me drool.

Any other interesting stories on the road. Especially as they may relate to the environment or biodiesel?

It’s great that so many people are really excited about alternatives in the world. We get a lot of support from fans and get to be involved in a lot of cool environmental expo’s. It’s pretty much all good and bonus we get to help spread the word even more.

Do have any advice for other bands on things that they can do to help the environment?

Use your own water bottle. The little plastic water bottles are ridiculous in this industry. Why do we use something for a minute that will last for longer than we’ll be around ourselves.

Special thanks again to Adam and everyone with Blue Turtle Seduction, great people and a great band. I can say from personal experience they are a band not to miss.