What exactly is a "Big Green Bus"

Just that — it's big and it's green, and it's our home for the summer. We purchased this 37' long 1996 International school bus in April 2006 for the second BGB summer tour. It toured in 2007, and will be touring again in 2008. Our bus is powered by a 7.6L Navistar DT466 turbo diesel engine that we have converted to run on waste vegetable oil. It has traveled more than 30,000 miles on waste veggie oil.

In addition to the paint job, we have completely remodeled the inside — now it's complete with all the essentials of home including tables, couches and bunks in the back.  Additional energy saving improvements include:

• Solar Panels — Five 215-watt SunPower Solar Panels provide all the energy we need, including our computers, refrigerator, freezer, projector, lighting, television, and fans. You can check out SunPower's technology at www.sunpowercorp.com
  
  
• Deep Cycle Batteries — We have eight Trojan T-105 deep cycle six-volt batteries. They are wired in a series parallel combination to make a 12-volt system that powers a 2500-watt inverter to meet all our electrical demands. The solar power generated by our panels that we don't use right away is stored here.
  
  
• Inverter — The inverter takes 12 volt Direct Current (DC) from the deep-cycle batteries and converts it into 120 volt Alternating Current (AC) that powers all our onboard appliances.
  
  
• Floor — This hardwood floor, generously donated to us by EcoTimber, was sustainably harvested in accordance with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. The wood comes from a well-managed forest and is documented from forest to customer. www.ecotimber.com
  
  
• Veggie Filters — These filters purify the vegetable oil we receive from restaurants. The first filter captures any particles larger than 150 microns. The second filter captures any particles larger than one micron. (As a last resort we sometimes use pillowcases!) From here, the oil goes into our tanks, and is ready to be sent to the engine. The filters are generously provided by Rosedale Products, a leader in veggie technology. You can check them out at www.rosedaleproducts.com
  
  
• Flat Screen — We enjoy the comforts of our current technologies with an environmentally conscious perspective. We can "veg out" on the play station or watch a DVD at any time with a guilt-free conscience, as these appliances are powered exclusively by our solar panels.
  
  Our flat screen is an LCD (liquid crystal display) as opposed to a CRT (cathode ray tube) or a plasma screen. LCD screens typically use 57% less power than an equally sized CRT. Plasma screens are also relatively efficient, but because we buy increasingly large screens and tend to leave them on for extended periods of time, plasma TVs have become one of the larger energy draws in the American household.
  
  
• Heating and Cooling — No air conditioning here! Air conditioning is a huge energy draw and we'd have to install many more solar panels to keep our bus cool. Instead, we open windows.
  
  
• Computer Cases — Our computer cases were generously donated to us by Act 2Greensmart. The cases are made from 100% recycled materials. Each case is made from 12 PET plastic bottles, which saves the user 7,598 BTUs of energy, enough to power a laptop for 89 hours. act2greensmart.com