Synopses & Reviews
Is it possible to drive coast-to-coast without stopping at a single gas pump? Journalist Greg Melville is determined to try. With his college buddy Iggy riding shotgun, this green-thinking guy who's in love with the idea of free fuel sets out on an enlightening road trip. The quest: to be the first people to drive cross-country in a french-fry car. Will they make it from Vermont to California in a beat-up 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon powered on vegetable oil collected from restaurant grease Dumpsters along the way? More important, can two guys survive 192 consecutive hours together?
Their expedition on and off the road includes visits to the solar-powered Google headquarters; the National Ethanol Council; the wind turbines of southwestern Minnesota; the National Renewable Energy Lab; a visit to one of the first houses to receive platinum certification for leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); an "eco-friendly" Wal-Mart; and the world's largest geothermal heating system.
Part adventure and part investigation of what we're doing (or not doing) to preserve the planet, Greasy Rider is upbeat, funny, and full of surprising information about sustainable measures that are within our reach.
Review
"An amusing and informative look into alternative fuels, conservation, and what individuals and corporations . . . can do about climate change." Audubon
Review
"Melville's tale of a cross-country drive in a decades-old Mercedes converted to run on used cooking oil is... a hopeful, goodhearted portrait of those he meets--be they Minnesota wind farmers or hippie diesel mechanics -- who are getting a head start on building the post-carbon future, a tomorrow fueled by a refreshing optimism, as well as by grease."
-- Newsweek Newsweek
Review
"Melville has a breezy, unpretentious style as well as the ability to work in the occasional edifying digression-a brief history of wind power, for instance, or a discussion with a professor about cellulosic ethanol-without disrupting the book's brisk, novelistic pace. At trip's end, Melville explains to his pal that they have proven something important: "If two goobers like us can actually get in a car and drive across the country without fossil fuels or putting a lot of carbon into the air, the answers for sustainability are easier than people think."
-- Audubon Magazine Audubon
Review
"From its punny title, to its unique premise (a man decides to drive from coast to coast in a car powered by used French fry oil), to its serious message (you, too, can be more environmentally conscious), to its easygoing writing style, this is just a splendid book. . . .An exciting and occasionally nail-biting adventure. . . .[Melville] is a lively stylist, and the book is both entertaining and educational."--Booklist, starred review New York Post
Review
"An entertaining combination of On the Road and An Inconvenient Truth."--New York Times Book Review
Review
"A lot of interesting data . . . about renewable energy's promise and pitfalls."-- New York Post
About the Author
Greg Melville is a freelance journalist who's written for such publications as Men's Journal, Outside, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, the Wall Street Journal, Money, and National Geographic Adventure.
Table of Contents
Preparation
Burlington, Vermont to Waterloo, New York
Waterloo, New York to Chicago, Illinois
Errand 1: The Ultimate Green Home
Chicago, Illinois, to Worthington, Minnesota
Errand 2: Wind Power
Worthington, Minnesota, to North Platte, Nebraska
Errand 3: Ethanol
North Platte, Nebraska, to Golden, Colorado
Errand 4: Find "Fence Swingers"
Golden, Colorado, to Little America, Wyoming
Errand 5: Heat
Little America, Wyoming, to Lovelock, Nevada
Errand 6: Green Wal-Mart?
Lovelock, Nevada, to Berkeley, California
The Final Errand: The Letter
Notes
Acknowledgments