Kelly Muellman and Imanuela Costiner aren’t consultants from MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.” But after gazing upon the fleet of university vehicles last semester, they felt a change was in order.
The two are co-presidents of Students for Environmental Action (SEA), a group aimed at improving the environment on and around campus.
Last semester, SEA pushed the university to begin using more efficient fuel in campus vans and other diesel-run equipment.
Muellman and Costiner, both sophomores with concentrations in environmental studies, spoke with university officials in hopes of bringing biodiesel, a petroleum-free, vegetable oil-based alternative, to campus.
“We want to be a better neighbor to the nearby Roxbury community,” Costiner said, “and biodiesel fits in the clean air mind frame.”
She also said Roxbury has one of the highest asthma rates in all of New England.
SEA first approached Ron Lavoie, director of Physical Plant Operations, with the proposal. He said he initially had a lot of questions, including side effects, modifications to equipment and shelf life.
“I love the idea, and at this point, I just want to make sure we are not embracing a product that ends up becoming a detriment,” Lavoie said.
He and his staff have begun researching the feasibility of a biodiesel program, which has been implemented at both Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts. They are still in the decision making process, but Lavoie said he is enthusiastic about the switch and favors a pilot program on campus to test the fuel on a smaller scale. Money is not a major factor is Lavoie’s eyes.
“It is not so much more expensive that money [would prevent the program] if we were to see that there was value to the environment,” he said.
The fuel being proposed isn’t pure biodiesel, but a mixture known as B20. Made up of 80 percent regular diesel and 20 percent biodiesel, B20 won’t solidify in cold weather like pure biodiesel. It can be mixed in the tank or purchased pre-mixed.
Muellman said the fuel could potentially be made in-house, and she has even seen interest from the campus dining company Chartwells, Inc. in providing used vegetable oil for the process.
For now, however, Lavoie said they are more comfortable buying the fuel pre-made to guarantee it meets legal standards and will not harm the engines of their vehicles.
He isn’t sure when and on what scale the program will be implemented. He said no one is solely dedicated to the project and those on his staff who are doing research “have other responsibilities.”
Lavoie said switching to the more environmentally-friendly fuel seems to go along with the university’s mantra of “leading edge, leading technology.”
Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel to have fully completed the health effects testing requirements of the Clean Air Act, according to the official National Biodiesel Board. They also said over 25 million gallons of the alternative fuel were sold in 2003, and sales continue to increase.
SEA remains optimistic of the switch. Muellman said she wasn’t expecting such an enthusiastic and helpful response from the university.
“I was ready to fight,” she said.
