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Global Driving

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A 700-horsepower hot-rod pickup seems an unlikely candidate to advertise environmentally-friendly fuel alternatives but Willy Nelson's 1941 style model has been pushed into the role. The truck runs on biodiesel fuel.

Nelson was recently given the concept vehicle for his help in promoting Biodiesel as an alternative fuel. It was the first of only 500 that will be produced as collector's items and also as demos that biodiesel packs punch. The hot rod was presented to Nelson through actor Dennis Weaver's Institute of Ecolonomics and Ecosense Solutions, which supports business plans for ecology-friendly ventures

Willy Nelson is one of a group of Hollywood celebrities who have thrown their energies into promoting biodiesel. Daryl Hannah, Val Kilmer and the late Dennis Weaver are others.

Hannah, whose movie credits range from Splash in the early 1980s to Kill Bill in 2003, lives in Colorado now and is an avid environmentalist. Her interest in biodiesel stems, in large part, from the influence of Charris Ford, a flamboyant local proponent of the biodiesel alternative. After a few sessions with Ford she got herself a biodiesel pickup truck which she uses on her ranch just outside LA.

Ford is the founder of Grassolean Solutions; LLC, an organization devoted to providing people with sustainable energy information and products. He describes himself as "a stonemason, a carpenter, an amateur mycologist and an "eco-rapper". He's based near the picturesque town of Telluride, Colorado, where he and his wife Dulcie manage a large ranch.

Chariss's colorful publicity stunts and energetic promotion played a large role in making Telluride a sort of biodiesel showplace. The town uses a public bus powered by biodiesel and a number of locals use the fuel in vehicles ranging from snowcats, tractors, and backhoes, to school buses

Some local restaurants currently supply Grassolean with their spent cooking oil and Chariss plans to expand his fuel-refining capacity to a nation-wide network of supply stations. "I have dreams of becoming the Steve Jobs of green energy," he says.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reckons that biodiesel fuel cuts particulates and carbon monoxide emissions by more than 40 percent and hydrocarbons by 67 percent. In a recent CBS interview Hannah drank a little to demonstrate how non-toxic it is.

Footnote: Charris Ford and Daryl Hannah are featured in French Fries to Go, a 15-minute award-winning documentary which provides a humorous introduction to biodiesel.

 

Related Links:

• Drivers.com on alternative fuels
• CBS - Daryl Hannah fights for alternative fuel (video)
• Discussion forum on biodiesel

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Comments

soed, on Wednesday, 24. September 2008 at 01:01 PM

soed, on Wednesday, 24. September 2008 at 12:55 PM

arghya, on Thursday, 03. January 2008 at 11:42 AM