OCPS Green FleetHealing Harvest salutes Orange County, Florida, Public School System for taking a step towards green measures.  OCPS announced earlier today that they are now fueling their 1,274 buses with B20 blended biodiesel fuel.  As part of the “Green Fleet” initiative, they also are promoting an “anti-idling” campaign to help remind other drivers not to waste gas and keeping their fleet up to date with fuel efficiency and emission standards.

Are you wondering what biodiesel fuel is?  As America’s first advanced biofuel, it is both renewable and clean-burning compared to its counterpart, and helps the district to save more than a whopping half million gallons of fuel a year.  And for those students who are too far to walk or ride a bike to school, this means that our tax dollars are being put to a greener ride.

More advangages of Biodiesel compared to Petroleum Diesel are provided below by http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/biodiesel.shtml

ProsCons
* Domestically produced from non-petroleum, renewable resources* Use of blends above B5 not yet approved by many auto makers
* Can be used in most diesel engines, especially newer ones* Lower fuel economy and power (10% lower for B100, 2% for B20)
* Less air pollutants (other than nitrogen oxides)* Currently more expensive
* Less greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., B20 reduces CO2 by 15%)* B100 generally not suitable for use in low temperatures
* Biodegradable* Concerns about B100's impact on engine durability
* Non-toxic* Slight increase in nitrogen oxide emissions possible in some circumstances
* Safer to handle

And while finding perfect solutions to our environmental issues are both challenging and complicated, this move seems to be one in the right direction in weaning off the fossil fuel dependency.  Bravo OCPS!

Is your US public school system following in the same footsteps?  Or are you in another country which practices brilliant green transportation practices? Comment below.