Only one full day left to work on the bus and lots to do.
I've got to the stage now where only the bare essentials are now a priority, and that is currently fixing the hole in the tank.
If I can get that done quickly, then I can worry about the bike rack and the plumbing. I'm worried that my water pump doesn't cut out when i close the taps. When I connected it up last time it kept going til it blew the solar collector apart. That's now back together, but I haven't dared reinsert the pump fuse. I have another cut out valve switch I can canabalise from something else but that will take a bit of time. A job for later.
I also need to connect up the waste water pipe. I went for a drive with it hanging down half done under the bus (I got excited showing off to a journalist) and it got caught in the wheels and got wrenched out.
I've tried plastic welding on the tank, but it hasn't stopped the leak, now I'm going to try car filler which apparently is the only thing that really sticks to Polyethylene. The hole is in a really awkward place, and I have to stick my head in between the bed and the tank. If the flimsy bit of wood holding the bed up slips out, my skull will be the only thing (not) propping it up.
It's 4 am. Time to sleep, I can fret more in the morning.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Monday, 7 September 2009
Eco-Adventurer Sets Off For “Rubbish” Expedition Around The World.
Andy Pag (34 London), the eco-adventurer who drove a chocolate powered lorry to Timbuktu using waste cocoa butter and organised the Grease to Greece Rally where teams had to scavenge chip-fat to power their vehicles across Europe, is now setting off to drive around the world on an eco-expedition that can best be described as … Rubbish!
Pag has recycled a scrap yard school bus and turned it into a state of the art eco-home using a mix of reclaimed trash and cutting edge green technology. Not only is the 20 year old “Biotruck” made from rubbish, but it’s been modified so it can run on rubbish too, specifically used cooking oil thrown away by restaurants and caterers.
“By 2050 the experts say we’ll each have to be emitting less than 2 tonnes of CO2 per year to avoid the worst effects of manmade climate change.” says Pag, “In the UK we currently emit around 10-13tonnes. I’m curious to see what people in other countries are doing about their footprint, and to see if it’s possible to travel around the world emitting less than 2 tonnes myself, by using energy-from-waste and other technology.”
The first fill up comes from Uptown Oils in London who produce fuel from locally collected used cooing oil. When full, the Biotruck has a range of around 5000miles (8000km), but Pag intends to keep the tank topped up during the 12 month journey from chip shops and burger bars along the route through Europe, the Middle East, South East Asia and the Americas, with the help of an on board Zuwa collection pump, Greenfuel tanks and an Oilybits filtering system.
The expedition’s CO2 is being monitored by consultants Terra-Ambiente, and onboard the Biotruck, every effort has been made to avoid fossil fuels. Cooking is on a woodgas stove, washing is with water heated bythe sun, lighting is by ultra low energy LED bulbs from the Good Energy Shop, sleeping is on an Abaca organic mattress, and the call of nature is answered on a Separett waterless composting toilet.
To get the most of every drop of fuel, Pag has fitted EcoVolt solar panels on the roof which power a Magdrive hydrogen generator, supplementing fuel with Hydrogen gas so that on sunny days the Biotruck will cover more miles per gallon. Total Vehicle Technology have serviced the engine and installed a Clean Diesel Technology Particulate Filter which reduces the exhaust emissions to that of a vehicle 1/10th its age.
“I’ve no idea how easy it will be to find used cooking oil in places like Iran, India or Brazil but it’s going to be fun finding out. Driving around the world is a massive challenge, and trying to do it using sustainable fuels, with a tight carbon budget makes this the toughest expedition I’ve ever attempted.” confessed Pag a former engineer and journalist who has been organising overland expeditions for 14 years.
Before being waved off from the windmill on Wimbledon Common at 11am on the 12th of September by well wishers and Wombles, Pag will offer guided tours of the bus to the public. Regular updates will be posted on the expedition website, www.biotruckexpedition.org where followers can track the expedition’s progress.
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Press call and Interviews
Journalists are invited to a press call between at 8am and 10am on the 12th of September by the Windmill on Wimbledon Common (Windmill road, SW19 5NR), to see the bus and meet Andy Pag as they depart on the round the world expedition.
Please confirm attendance with Andy Pag; T: 0797 494 2796, E: andy@biotruck.co.uk to ensure access to the bus.
Pictures
Pictures for print and for web of Pag and the Biotruck are available at http://twitpic.com/photos/biotruck
Background
· The Stern Review predicts that achieving a global CO2 footprint of 2 tonnes per person per year will stave off the worst effects of manmade climate change.
· Energy-From-Waste presents a huge opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas emission. Waste cooking oil is usually destined to rot in landfill sites, producing methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.
· Running a private vehicle on waste vegetable oil or “home-brew” biodiesel has been legal and tax free in the UK since June 2007.
· Diesel Particulate Filters trap exhaust gases including soot known as “Black Carbon” which as well as causing local pollution is thought to produce a significant greenhouse effect.
Sponsors and Expert contacts;
· Clean Diesel Technology and Total Vehicle Technology, installers and suppliers of Low Emission exhaust gas systems. (Dan Skelton 01883 629090, Wayne Bint 079515 86935)
· EcoVolt, certified installers of PV solar panels (Charley Wander 07831 705 000)
· Good Energy, suppliers of 100% sustainably produced electricity. (Sophy Fearnley-Whittingstall 07979 368238)
· Oilybits, Zuwa and Greenfuels, suppliers and designers of filtration and Biofuel production equipment (Adrian Henson 07748 655 589, Ulli Holzer 0049 170 8061686, and James Hygate 07973 358 808)
· Terra-Ambiente, sustainability consultants.(Daniela Meilmann 07779 235 538)
· Uptown Oils, Producers of Fuel from Waste Oil (Nigel Jewison 07973 286 726)
Friday, 4 September 2009
Passed without flying colours.
There's a lesson in all this MOT business. At each stage through this 4 week process to get the MOT we thought we could solve the immediate problem with a small bit of work, saving time and money. But each step forward revealed a bigger step that needed to be taken.
In the end we used the sledgehammer of changing everything for new parts on the back axle, drums, shoes, cylinders and pipework.
No one sells second hand brake parts, because of the liability involved if they are faulty, so new was the only and costliest option.
As Adam fitted the new brake shoes he noticed that the old ones had holes that put the return spring in more tension, which would have lead to their application being uneven.
The lesson in this is not "Don't scrimp and don't try shortcuts" because that rule can only be applied with hindsight. The lesson is more specific "Check the springs before you fork out for a new brake system."
The bus is now outside my home, MOT'd, taxed and ready to go.
Jobs left to do include;
Plumbing in the sink, the shower tray and the taps,
Building a solar collector on the roof,
Getting a lock for the door and fuel cap
Testing the fuel tank for leaks,
Filling it up and
Renting a Womble costume for the big departure which will be on the 12th.*
(*Subject to the fuel tank not bursting when I fill it up)
In the end we used the sledgehammer of changing everything for new parts on the back axle, drums, shoes, cylinders and pipework.
No one sells second hand brake parts, because of the liability involved if they are faulty, so new was the only and costliest option.
As Adam fitted the new brake shoes he noticed that the old ones had holes that put the return spring in more tension, which would have lead to their application being uneven.
The lesson in this is not "Don't scrimp and don't try shortcuts" because that rule can only be applied with hindsight. The lesson is more specific "Check the springs before you fork out for a new brake system."
The bus is now outside my home, MOT'd, taxed and ready to go.
Jobs left to do include;
Plumbing in the sink, the shower tray and the taps,
Building a solar collector on the roof,
Getting a lock for the door and fuel cap
Testing the fuel tank for leaks,
Filling it up and
Renting a Womble costume for the big departure which will be on the 12th.*
(*Subject to the fuel tank not bursting when I fill it up)
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
On why mechanics drive shit cars and marketing driven consumption.
It's a fact that mechanics put up with cars that have lot of faults because knowing that it only takes a tweak here or there to fix it, transforms the problem from a fault with the car into a chore that needs doing.
Having been (albeit briefly) a manufacturing engineer and studied product design, I'd say this transformation, in reverse, is at the heart of creating a desirable product. Products are, in a purely physical sense, materials that have been manipulated into a form that allows them to perform a function.
Being aware of this manipulation process, the mechanic doesn't see his car as a car-object, but as a collection of parts, some of which need replacing or tuning, where as a motorist would see the car as a car-object which is broken, like a black box which either does or doesn't "work".
To create a desirable product, a marketeer has to remove the impression that their product is just a collection of assembled parts, and is in fact an object in and of itself. For some reason this creates desirability. I haven't quite figured out why we don't value the assembled nature of products over the finished form, but I don't think it's innate in human nature, I think it's a learnt response from society.
Regardless, this urge is the driver of an over consumptive society. My neighbour a few doors up has a lovely car. He's worked hard for it and deserves it. I don't begrudge him it, but what I don't understand is, that having worked hard, why would he want to spend that effort/money on a car which is after all only glass, metal, rubber and plastic folded into a shape which looks lovely. Why not cut a picture of the nice car out of a magazine, stick it on the fridge, buy a second hand car for a fraction of the cost, and take £100/week that the car probably costs in repayments worth of extra holiday to spend with his lovely family.
I am happy to admit that I am obsessive about the environmental impact of consumption, but that's down to having worked in manufacturing, which takes the shine off the desirable product-object concept, but secondly make me see the energy costs associated with any product, the heating to form plastic and metal, the transportation energy for supplies and distribution, the energy to extract and process the raw materials and the wastefulness that is inevitable with mass production and big industry.
It's also down to having spent so much time in Africa and seeing how life can function without all this crap that fills my home in London. One of the things I am looking forward to on this expedition is downsizing the space I have for stuff. Like an enforced vow of non consumption. I can't put up with broken suspension.
Having been (albeit briefly) a manufacturing engineer and studied product design, I'd say this transformation, in reverse, is at the heart of creating a desirable product. Products are, in a purely physical sense, materials that have been manipulated into a form that allows them to perform a function.
Being aware of this manipulation process, the mechanic doesn't see his car as a car-object, but as a collection of parts, some of which need replacing or tuning, where as a motorist would see the car as a car-object which is broken, like a black box which either does or doesn't "work".
To create a desirable product, a marketeer has to remove the impression that their product is just a collection of assembled parts, and is in fact an object in and of itself. For some reason this creates desirability. I haven't quite figured out why we don't value the assembled nature of products over the finished form, but I don't think it's innate in human nature, I think it's a learnt response from society.
Regardless, this urge is the driver of an over consumptive society. My neighbour a few doors up has a lovely car. He's worked hard for it and deserves it. I don't begrudge him it, but what I don't understand is, that having worked hard, why would he want to spend that effort/money on a car which is after all only glass, metal, rubber and plastic folded into a shape which looks lovely. Why not cut a picture of the nice car out of a magazine, stick it on the fridge, buy a second hand car for a fraction of the cost, and take £100/week that the car probably costs in repayments worth of extra holiday to spend with his lovely family.
I am happy to admit that I am obsessive about the environmental impact of consumption, but that's down to having worked in manufacturing, which takes the shine off the desirable product-object concept, but secondly make me see the energy costs associated with any product, the heating to form plastic and metal, the transportation energy for supplies and distribution, the energy to extract and process the raw materials and the wastefulness that is inevitable with mass production and big industry.
It's also down to having spent so much time in Africa and seeing how life can function without all this crap that fills my home in London. One of the things I am looking forward to on this expedition is downsizing the space I have for stuff. Like an enforced vow of non consumption. I can't put up with broken suspension.
Saturday, 29 August 2009
Power to the People
Today Esther was telling me about an island community in Denmark which generates almost all of it's own electricity, and it made me think about the different approaches of governments to building renewable energy generating capacity.
Here in the UK I've noticed an emphasis on big "top down" schemes. Large scale wind farms that create a backlash from local communities who don't want the "ugly" wind generators on their landscape. The logic is that this is the only way to create the scale of capacity that's needed.
It's an interesting aside that so many landmarks of the industrial revolution (viaducts, canals, railway lines) are now thought of as beautiful national treasures, yet many inspired the same distaste and backlash in their day.
The Danes have a different approach which is to enable and encourage communities to build their own renewable energy generating capacity. This means that people have a sense of ownership over the energy and adopt them rather than resist them. I hate to belie my hippy Luddite leanings, but local is always the best solution.
In the UK we also have a scheme that subsidises individual homes' renewable energy, but this again doesn't have the same impact as a community sharing the scheme. Wind generators and PV arrays have a physical presence which is felt within a community, even if it's on an individuals property, so it makes sense to encourage communal ownership, and share the communal benefits (and costs).
In practice "community groups" that are empowered enough to actually implement a renewable energy scheme are pretty thin on the ground, and I struggle to imagine the residents on our street deciding to club together to put up a wind generator. However, given the right incentives I'm sure it could happen, and if you can create a rollout-able model (like Neighbourhood Watch) then it could be a great way of producing significant renewable energy capacity.
Here in the UK I've noticed an emphasis on big "top down" schemes. Large scale wind farms that create a backlash from local communities who don't want the "ugly" wind generators on their landscape. The logic is that this is the only way to create the scale of capacity that's needed.
It's an interesting aside that so many landmarks of the industrial revolution (viaducts, canals, railway lines) are now thought of as beautiful national treasures, yet many inspired the same distaste and backlash in their day.
The Danes have a different approach which is to enable and encourage communities to build their own renewable energy generating capacity. This means that people have a sense of ownership over the energy and adopt them rather than resist them. I hate to belie my hippy Luddite leanings, but local is always the best solution.
In the UK we also have a scheme that subsidises individual homes' renewable energy, but this again doesn't have the same impact as a community sharing the scheme. Wind generators and PV arrays have a physical presence which is felt within a community, even if it's on an individuals property, so it makes sense to encourage communal ownership, and share the communal benefits (and costs).
In practice "community groups" that are empowered enough to actually implement a renewable energy scheme are pretty thin on the ground, and I struggle to imagine the residents on our street deciding to club together to put up a wind generator. However, given the right incentives I'm sure it could happen, and if you can create a rollout-able model (like Neighbourhood Watch) then it could be a great way of producing significant renewable energy capacity.
Friday, 28 August 2009
The Biotruck Index
I spotted a couple of solar panels on the community centre in Oxted today, and it reminded me I haven't done any work on developing the Biotruck Index.
The idea behind the index is to put a number/rank/score to a place (country or region) that gives an indication on how effectively they are moving towards (or away from) low carbon life, based on the subjective observations I can make as I travel through.
With the advice of Janet and Daniela, I've isolated a few factors that I think are key.
Energy Production, How many KW of renewable capacity do I see/mile. I'm always on the look out for solar panels on roofs and wind generators. I can estimate the panel power but I don't have much experience of guessing the power rating of wind generators. I'll have to do a bit of research on that.
Transport, I want to look at sustainable fuel use, but this is really dificult to do, and other approaches might factor in the popularity of public transport.
Agriculture, Is food mass produced and bought in supermarkets, or is it locally grown and sold in street markets. There's a sliding scale in between that. Maybe I can count my own shopping, and answer the question, how easy is it to find local produce.
Education and Attitudes. This is really the big question in my view, and I'd like to weight the score of this so it's as important as the rest combined. The tricky part is how to quantify attitudes and accurate knowledge.
I did also want to look at construction as it apparently has a big impact on global CO2 emissions, and the use of sustainable and locally sourced materials, but I don't really know how I can do this.
The idea behind the index is to put a number/rank/score to a place (country or region) that gives an indication on how effectively they are moving towards (or away from) low carbon life, based on the subjective observations I can make as I travel through.
With the advice of Janet and Daniela, I've isolated a few factors that I think are key.
- Energy Production's, how quickly are renewable energy being adopted?
- Transport, how green is the transport infrastructure.
- Agriculture, is food production industrialised or local.
- Education and Attitudes. Is the need for "low carbon" strong in the psyche and do people have an accurate sense of what needs to be done.
Energy Production, How many KW of renewable capacity do I see/mile. I'm always on the look out for solar panels on roofs and wind generators. I can estimate the panel power but I don't have much experience of guessing the power rating of wind generators. I'll have to do a bit of research on that.
Transport, I want to look at sustainable fuel use, but this is really dificult to do, and other approaches might factor in the popularity of public transport.
Agriculture, Is food mass produced and bought in supermarkets, or is it locally grown and sold in street markets. There's a sliding scale in between that. Maybe I can count my own shopping, and answer the question, how easy is it to find local produce.
Education and Attitudes. This is really the big question in my view, and I'd like to weight the score of this so it's as important as the rest combined. The tricky part is how to quantify attitudes and accurate knowledge.
I did also want to look at construction as it apparently has a big impact on global CO2 emissions, and the use of sustainable and locally sourced materials, but I don't really know how I can do this.
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Updated Schedule
Assuming this time the brakes pass the test..., I'll be MOTing the bus on Friday, then doing some publicity shots over the weekend, issuing the press campaign on Monday and aiming to set off on the 4th or 5th of September.
From there I'll head down to Milan to pick up my first passenger, my dad, and together we'll travel to Istanbul via Croatia, Albania and Greece.
I have to collect some visas in Istanbul, before heading into Iran, ideally via Georgia and Azerbaijan.
In Tehran I'll try to get the best information I can about the security status of the road to Pakistan and make the decision weather to take that route and on to India and South East Asia, or if it is too unsafe I will have to cut up north and head into Russia. This isn't my preferred route as it will be cold and that will play havoc with the vegetable oil. I'd much prefer to head into India and then ship across to Indonesia and work my way back up north towards China.
Maersk Line are organising the shipping across the Pacific to Seattle, and from there the plan is to head to up into Canada, and then back down through the Americas finishing in Argentina, where again Maersk Line will help me ship back to Europe, and finish the journey back to the UK.
From there I'll head down to Milan to pick up my first passenger, my dad, and together we'll travel to Istanbul via Croatia, Albania and Greece.
I have to collect some visas in Istanbul, before heading into Iran, ideally via Georgia and Azerbaijan.
In Tehran I'll try to get the best information I can about the security status of the road to Pakistan and make the decision weather to take that route and on to India and South East Asia, or if it is too unsafe I will have to cut up north and head into Russia. This isn't my preferred route as it will be cold and that will play havoc with the vegetable oil. I'd much prefer to head into India and then ship across to Indonesia and work my way back up north towards China.
Maersk Line are organising the shipping across the Pacific to Seattle, and from there the plan is to head to up into Canada, and then back down through the Americas finishing in Argentina, where again Maersk Line will help me ship back to Europe, and finish the journey back to the UK.
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