At a time when fuel prices are through the roof, a major American news organization is sponsoring a road trip across the country… running on biodiesel.
CNN.com producer Cody McCloy and web developer Brian Hardy jumped in a 1978 International Harvester Scout and kicked off the two-week trip on Friday, going from San Francisco to Atlanta. Starting Monday morning at 9:40, they’ll be blogging about their adventure on the green fuel on CNN.com Live. This article tells a little bit about what you can expect to see from the trip… and it won’t just be about biodiesel:
During our road trip, we’ll blog and report about what kind of mileage we’re getting with biodiesel fuel and how easy it is to find places that sell it.
Biodiesel is just one of several biofuels powering more and more U.S. cars and trucks. Mesa, Arizona, for example, has switched its fleet of 1,000 municipal vehicles such as fire engines and street sweepers to biodiesel and other green fuels such as ethanol, and compressed natural gas. Video Watch for details on benefits of biodiesel fuel »
Some biofuels are less expensive per gallon than gasoline — cutting the average cost of gas by 20 to 35 cents per gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. An average American family can save up to $300 per year by using ethanol, according to the DOE Web site.
Now while they’re about half right when they say biodiesel is a mixture of diesel and vegetable oil, they do get it right when they point out the green fuel is biodegradable and is cleaner than petroleum-based diesel.
Should be an interesting trip to follow. You can see an interactive map here, and as I mentioned earlier, they’ll be blogging on CNN.com Live starting Monday morning.