The other day, I blogged about colleges that are implementing green practices, but I failed to mention Dartmouth and their Big Green Bus. And I know, you are probably thinking “But Libby, “green” and “bus” are two words that just don’t go together!” Well, let me tell you about the Big Green Bus.
The Big Green Bus is a 1989 MCI motorcoach that recently completed a summer tour with 15 students on board. The students traveled to such places as Las Vegas, Denver, Minneapolis, and Chicago to promote sustainable living practices. But, let me tell you more about this special bus.
The students completely redid the inside of the bus, which features interactive displays of energy saving ideas and home improvement tips. But, the students on the bus also practice what they preach. The bus has four SunPower 315 solar panels to provide the bus’ energy. It is enough to power the computers, lighting, television, air conditioning, and refrigerator. And, did I mention that the computer cases are all 100% recyclable?
There are deep cycle batteries for storing the solar power that the panels generate. The bus also has a 4,000 watt Xantrex XW series inverter. An inverter takes the DC from the deep cycle batteries and converts it to AC to power 120 volt appliances. The flooring of the bus is bamboo and even the television is green-friendly. The flat screen is LCD, which uses less power than a CRT screen.
One of the coolest features of the Big Green Bus is that it runs on biodiesel. That’s right, the same vegetable oil in which McDonald’s cooks up your fries! The grease is purified through three filters: one that strains out larger particles, one that captures particles larger than ten microns, and one that is a half micron absolute rated filter.
The tour is over for this year, but you can read about the students’ adventures in their blog on the official Big Green Bus web page.
(The 2009 Big Green Bus crew – photo by Kawakahi Amina ’09)