"Cosmic" Joe:

Josh, welcome back to California and to the Sky Power Institute. It's good to see you again. Josh, some people are calling you the "Father of the Veggie Van". Would you tell us a bit about your unique bio-fuel powered vehicle?

Josh:

Thanks, Joe. It's great to be back in California, and to have some time to visit you here at Sky Power.

Actually, the "Veggie Van" is a diesel powered vehicle that runs on vegetable oil - mostly recycled french fry oil from fast food restaurants.

Josh:

The true "Father" of the bio-diesel fueled vehicle should be considered to be Rudolph Diesel. He originally designed the diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. His original design was then modified to run on what we now call "diesel", which is thinner than vegetable oil.

Josh:

Recently, in Europe, Diesel's original concept was reapplied, using a thinned down vegetable oil called "bio-diesel". I saw this technology in use in Germany and I thought, "Maybe we could do this in the U.S.. But instead of using new oil, how about recycling used frying grease from restaurants!"

"Cosmic" Joe:

Great idea! And it worked. Did you use a "stock" diesel powered vehicle, or was there retooling required to make your concept work?

Josh:

The engine of the vehicle is unmodified. But I did create a funny little cobbled together processor to convert the used vegetable oil into bio-diesel fuel.

"Cosmic" Joe:

And then you toured the "Veggie Van" across the country?

Josh:

Yes, in 1997 - 1998, my wife and I drove my bio-diesel powered "Veggie Van" around the country, some 28,000 miles, using nothing but recycled restaurant cooking oil - mostly from fast food french fries - as fuel. What started out as a sight seeing expedition to the Grand Canyon turned into a two year journey. The "Veggie Van" attracted attention wherever it went. We were invited to schools, conferences, expos, festivals, fairs, performances, and media events. Once the "Veggie Van" got rolling, it was difficult to stop. Wherever we went, people were excited by it and wanted to see it and talk about it. The journey evolved into a massive educational campaign.

"Cosmic Joe":

Why do you think the "Veggie Van" has such popular appeal? What is the message of the "Veggie Van"?

Josh:

I asked myself that a lot, while we were on the road. In the end, I think it was that, "Hey, LOOK! this is a simple, renewable solution that we can use in existing vehicles, existing engines. You don't have to change your energy infrastructure. It's already here. Basically, you just connect the dots and here - we'll have a new fuel to use."

"Cosmic Joe":

So, this is a viable technology - something that could seriously be adopted on a wide scale, now?

Josh:

Absolutely. It is already used in over 1000 fuel stations in Germany, and 5% of France's diesel fuel is bio-diesel. And it's happening in the U.S., slowly but surely. There is a fleet of 200 bio-fueled school buses in Phoenix, Arizona, and a new state fleet in Utah.

Josh:

The "Veggie Van" message was so well received that it was difficult to stop touring. People were so eager to hear and apply for themselves and for their communities what became the message of the "Veggie Van" - that we DO have simple solutions to our energy problems at hand, NOW. I realized that the only way I would ever be able to stop touring around in the "Veggie Van" was if I made an information resource available for people to access on a wide scale.

"Cosmic" Joe:

So, you wrote a book?

Josh:

Yes, my book, From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank, is available on-line at

"Cosmic Joe":

Thanks, Josh. I hear you're working on a "Veggie Sports Car" now? We'll look forward to hearing about your new projects, next time you're in California.

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