Former Chef Now Cooks Up Biofuels

Steve Fugate, biofuels entrepreneur and owner of Green World Biofuels, talks with BPGL’s Joe Hennager.

BPGL: Steve, I’ve known you for about 10 years as a chef at Iowa City’s best-known local diner. I know everyone around here asks you this, but what made you give that up and get into biofuel production?

FUGATE: I had been making biodiesel for a couple of years and had begun conducting workshops to educate people. I quickly grew tired of troubleshooting the inadequate equipment that was on the market. My wife, Wende, and I had extraordinary success producing our own biofuel and I had expertise in acquiring waste cooking oil from restaurants. So, I decided to pursue marketing an effective turnkey biodiesel production system and educating the fuel- and education-hungry masses full time…

Read Full Article

Freecycle: “Changing the World One Gift at a Time”

I’ll bet you’ve got stuff you don’t want anymore. It’s still too useful to trash or recycle, but nothing you want to keep. One good choice is to donate it to a charity group for resale. Still, there are things even Goodwill won’t take, but that others might want. How do you find a home for that half can of lavender paint or old-style television?

Freecycle it….

Read Full Article

Hazardous Waste Combustors and IT3 Conference

Joining forces with the International Conference on Thermal Treatment Technologies, the Hazardous Waste Combustors Conference and Exhibition has rescheduled its November 2008 event.

Read Full Article

Green Charter Schools Conference

Want to know what’s going on in the green school movement? Find out at the Green Charter Schools Conference in Madison, Wisconsin, November 7 – 9, 2008.

Read Full Article

Get Ready, Winter’s Comin’

You’d have to be a crotchety grump not to appreciate the amazing display of foliage at this time of year. Still, all this loveliness also brings the promise of bone-chilling cold not too far in the future. So, for your consideration, here are 10 tips for keeping warm while saving energy and lowering your heating bills.

Read Full Article

Bioneers TALLGRASS Conference

Learn how to improve the health of the planet in Grinnell, Iowa, October 31 – November 2, 2008, at the Bioneers TALLGRASS Conference.

Read Full Article

David Sieg, biofuel pioneer

In this series, Blue Planet Green Living brings you interviews with environmental pioneers, leaders in the green movement, and “regular” people, who are putting the principles of “organic, green, and natural” to work in their daily lives.

Read Full Article

Resist the Deceptive Lure of Poly Bags

Poly bags instead of plastic? “No way!” says Joan Burns, manager of Cart by Cart, which produces canvas shopping bags. The ubiquitous polypropylene bags sell for only a dollar or two, and sometimes stores even give them away. They’re supposed to be “good” for the environment.

Read Full Article

Living Small Yields Big Benefits

Use the word “downsize” with most folks, and they might picture moving from a two-story house to a bungalow or apartment. But Gregory Johnson, co-founder of the Small House Society, gives downsizing an entirely new meaning.

Read Full Article