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CNN Live Today

Grease the Wheels

Aired July 29, 2003 - 10:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All aboard and hold your nose. Thirteen students from Middlebury College in Vermont have finished a cross-country trek in a bus that was fueled by used vegetable oil. The trip started out as a vacation, but it soon turned into a quest to promote alternative fuels. The students paid $1,500 for the bus, they modified the engine to run on vegetable oil, and then they enlisted the help of sponsors to complete the mission. Their sponsors included fast food restaurants who donated their used vegetable oil. The month-long journey started out in Vermont, and it ended more than 6,000 miles away in California. So figure it out, the bus had to make it the whole way.
Here to talk about it and talk about their adventure, Stephen Swank is in Los Angeles, and Nick Benjamin is in Boston.

Gentlemen, good morning. Congratulations on a good journey there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

KAGAN: So, Stephen, let's start with you. I understand this journey actually started as an idea to go rock climbing across the country.

STEPHEN SWANK, VEGGIE BUS RIDER: It did. Originally, we wanted to go and do some outdoor activities and rock climb, but it soon turned into the best way to promote alternative fuels.

KAGAN: And the alternative being basically the stuff you fry french fries in, right?

SWANK: Yes, all we would do is go to restaurants and places like that and ask for their used vegetable oil, and filter it a little bit and heat it, and it was ready to go as fuel.

KAGAN: Nick, did they think you guys were nuts?

NICK BENJAMIN, VEGGIE BUS RIDER: A lot of people were really skeptical about the idea, but when they saw us actually pumping the fuel out of the back of the restaurants, they came over and they asked questions, and they got pretty excited.

KAGAN: Now, let's talk about the bus itself. You can see the picture. It basically was a clunker. You paid how much for this bus, like $1,500 for the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. KAGAN: And then retrofitted it a little bit so this bus, which almost had 200,000 miles on it, could handle this kind of fuel?

SWANK: Yes, that's exactly what we did. The person you saw pouring the fuel, Thomas Hand (ph), he was the primary mechanic, and he did some very simple modifications. And we really want to stress the crossover from diesel to running your car on vegetable oil is very, very simple.

KAGAN: When we talk about alternative fuels, is it just to come up with other things besides fossil fuels, or is this a cleaner burning as well?

BENJAMIN: I think it's both. I mean, it is a cleaner burning fuel. The emissions are much cleaner between particulate matter and also sulfates, and we consider it a zero-carbon emission because the carbon dioxide that's been taken from the atmosphere with the plants ends up returning to the atmosphere, so we have sort of a closed loop cycle. It's also a much better engine for -- it's a cleaner fuel for the engine. It has natural solvents which clean the engine out of any particulates that have been left along the way.

KAGAN: So it's a nice idea, but, Steve, how did the bus do?

SWANK: Oh, you know, we were actually very amazed. We were expecting to experience some difficulty, some breakdowns, but we had no breakdowns whatsoever. The engine loves to run on vegetable oil, and it's prolonging the life of the engine. It had 200,000 miles, so it was well labored, but it's running just fine right now with its new owners, and it's very happy.

KAGAN: Well, you talk about the new owners. In keeping with the modern experience of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you guys sold it on eBay?

SWANK: We did sell it on eBay to a bluegrass fan, very cool guys. They're called Hot Buttered Rum, and they're very excited about the project, and they're continuing to spread the word about alternative fuels and keep the project going.

KAGAN: It should be hot buttered potatoes, and then they can take the oil from the potatoes and run the bus.

Are you going back to school? Are you going back to Middlebury in the fall?

SWANK: yes, we're both going back as juniors. Hopefully everyone there is going to be excited about the project. We can talk about it a little bit more, do some presentations, but we're excited to return.

KAGAN: And dream up something amazing for next summer. And when you do, we want you guys to come back.

Thanks for telling us about the veggie bus, Stephen Swank and Nick Benjamin, thanks for being with us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 29, 2003 - 10:48   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: All aboard and hold your nose. Thirteen students from Middlebury College in Vermont have finished a cross-country trek in a bus that was fueled by used vegetable oil. The trip started out as a vacation, but it soon turned into a quest to promote alternative fuels. The students paid $1,500 for the bus, they modified the engine to run on vegetable oil, and then they enlisted the help of sponsors to complete the mission. Their sponsors included fast food restaurants who donated their used vegetable oil. The month-long journey started out in Vermont, and it ended more than 6,000 miles away in California. So figure it out, the bus had to make it the whole way.
Here to talk about it and talk about their adventure, Stephen Swank is in Los Angeles, and Nick Benjamin is in Boston.

Gentlemen, good morning. Congratulations on a good journey there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

KAGAN: So, Stephen, let's start with you. I understand this journey actually started as an idea to go rock climbing across the country.

STEPHEN SWANK, VEGGIE BUS RIDER: It did. Originally, we wanted to go and do some outdoor activities and rock climb, but it soon turned into the best way to promote alternative fuels.

KAGAN: And the alternative being basically the stuff you fry french fries in, right?

SWANK: Yes, all we would do is go to restaurants and places like that and ask for their used vegetable oil, and filter it a little bit and heat it, and it was ready to go as fuel.

KAGAN: Nick, did they think you guys were nuts?

NICK BENJAMIN, VEGGIE BUS RIDER: A lot of people were really skeptical about the idea, but when they saw us actually pumping the fuel out of the back of the restaurants, they came over and they asked questions, and they got pretty excited.

KAGAN: Now, let's talk about the bus itself. You can see the picture. It basically was a clunker. You paid how much for this bus, like $1,500 for the bus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. KAGAN: And then retrofitted it a little bit so this bus, which almost had 200,000 miles on it, could handle this kind of fuel?

SWANK: Yes, that's exactly what we did. The person you saw pouring the fuel, Thomas Hand (ph), he was the primary mechanic, and he did some very simple modifications. And we really want to stress the crossover from diesel to running your car on vegetable oil is very, very simple.

KAGAN: When we talk about alternative fuels, is it just to come up with other things besides fossil fuels, or is this a cleaner burning as well?

BENJAMIN: I think it's both. I mean, it is a cleaner burning fuel. The emissions are much cleaner between particulate matter and also sulfates, and we consider it a zero-carbon emission because the carbon dioxide that's been taken from the atmosphere with the plants ends up returning to the atmosphere, so we have sort of a closed loop cycle. It's also a much better engine for -- it's a cleaner fuel for the engine. It has natural solvents which clean the engine out of any particulates that have been left along the way.

KAGAN: So it's a nice idea, but, Steve, how did the bus do?

SWANK: Oh, you know, we were actually very amazed. We were expecting to experience some difficulty, some breakdowns, but we had no breakdowns whatsoever. The engine loves to run on vegetable oil, and it's prolonging the life of the engine. It had 200,000 miles, so it was well labored, but it's running just fine right now with its new owners, and it's very happy.

KAGAN: Well, you talk about the new owners. In keeping with the modern experience of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you guys sold it on eBay?

SWANK: We did sell it on eBay to a bluegrass fan, very cool guys. They're called Hot Buttered Rum, and they're very excited about the project, and they're continuing to spread the word about alternative fuels and keep the project going.

KAGAN: It should be hot buttered potatoes, and then they can take the oil from the potatoes and run the bus.

Are you going back to school? Are you going back to Middlebury in the fall?

SWANK: yes, we're both going back as juniors. Hopefully everyone there is going to be excited about the project. We can talk about it a little bit more, do some presentations, but we're excited to return.

KAGAN: And dream up something amazing for next summer. And when you do, we want you guys to come back.

Thanks for telling us about the veggie bus, Stephen Swank and Nick Benjamin, thanks for being with us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com