alternative energy

Ukrop's, a community-serving and environmentally friendly grocery chain in Virginia, has begun another sustainable program. The supermarkets, which fry their own chicken, will use the soy oil from the fryers to convert into bio fuel.

Southside Fuel, a local company, will process the used oil from the frying vats into a standard 15 percent biodiesel, the most that the current trucks can handle.

Ukrop's expects to produce around 60,000 gallons of bio fuel each year, about one fourth of its needs. This is really an incredible amount and will really cut down on their carbon emissions.

These types of changes are the ones that our country really needs. Not only seeking out alternative energy sources, but the ones that are already lying in front of us. The chicken oil was already in the store, without any further purpose. What a great way to recycle and reuse a substance that would have gone to waste!

Many other stores and restaurants could switch to this method, saving them money and decreasing their carbon footprints. We don't necessarily have to grow corn and soy for the sole purpose of creating fuel - this method causes many criticisms and concerns. We can just creatively utilize the resources we already have.

With the rising gas prices no where near slowing down, Americans are contemplating using their own resources to combat the problem. Oil reserves currently are located offshore and also in some regions of Alaska previously not opened to drilling. However, is this really the right thing to do? Is it worth the possible environmental consequences to lower prices?

I don't believe so. First of all, there are varied estimates on what amount of oil could be provided by these sources, especially the untouched Alaskan reserves. Predictions range from 6 months to 2 years. This amount of oil would hardly offset the foreign oil usage, and probably would not lower prices by noticeable amount.

Furthermore, obtaining oil causes numerous hazards to the environment, ranging from the actual drilling process to possible spills. Though there are precautions that are taken to prevent these disasters, the immense damage that they cause mean that we should not even take the slightest risk.

The amount of money that would need to be spent would cause another blow to national budget. Personally, I believe that there are many other aspects of our country that could use the spending, including education and investments into renewable energy.

The main problem is not that we need more oil, but that we rely too much on oil. One positive effect of high gas prices is that people and businesses trying to reduce their usage of the precious commodity. Really, reducing the amount of fossil fuels we use and exploring alternative sources are the best strategies for this energy crisis.

The image above is from www.treehugger.com.

Ms. Frizzle's Magic School Bus may be able to glide through the Solar System, traverse on the ocean bottom, and cruise among human blood cells, but there's one indisputable feature the Scholastic-branded vehicle doesn't have: an environmentally-sound engine from the twenty-first century.

The Wake County Public School System, the 19th largest public school district nationwide, with 156 schools and 134,000+ students, has changed the notion of the conventional school bus. Over 99% of buses in the United States, including the 838 from Wake County and the one Magic School Bus in a popular children's book series, emit diesel exhaust into the air and directly contribute to respiratory illnesses in humans.

Last year, the school system in North Carolina decided to give a new idea a try. They became one of the first school districts in the country to operate a new plug-in hybrid electric school bus. Advanced Energy, a Raleigh-based non-profit corporation, led the Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Bus Project. The innovative vehicle holds the potential to double fuel efficiency and reduce emissions by up to 90 percent. It runs on a 25/80-kilowatt hybrid-electric powertrain parallel to the traditional V8 diesel engine. Plug-in hybrids, in contrast to regular hybrids, are recharged when they are parked overnight and allow more of the energy to come from batteries – another step to an environmentally cleaner world.

And, why not? Not only is the hybrid bus good for the environment, it may alleviate the pain at the pump that's currently been hitting the pocketbooks. School districts burn through 7,500 gallons of gas every 3 1/2 school days and, based on recent prices, they need to replenish with $29,000 worth of fuel.

Photo courtesy of ABC 11.