Tuesday, January 20, 2004

St. Petersburg Times

Pinellas County senior road mechanic Jamie Calder turns the ignition to his 3-ton "baby" just to show off the engine's hum.

Other county mechanics call the truck the "McGuyver mobile" in tribute to Calder's knack for fixing anything, anywhere.

County officials call the vehicle part of an experiment that they hope will eventually save the county millions, reduce air pollution and recycle some of the county's greasiest gunk.

Last November, the truck became the first Pinellas vehicle to get its fuel tank filled with biodiesel fuel - an alternative fuel made from vegetable oil. Fourteen other vehicles soon followed.

"The fuel has some definite advantages: it pollutes the air less and is far less toxic than regular diesel. It doesn't require Mideast detente or drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and it doesn't threaten the habitat of Alaskan caribou." (Read more...County's truck fleet to run on waste oil:[STATE Edition])

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