PrairieFire BioFuels Coop Welcomes the Field Museum's Renewable Energy Vehicle on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 9:00 AM.

PrairieFire BioFuels Cooperative will be hosting the Field Museum's Renewable Energy Vehicle, or "REV" on Tuesday December 4, at 9:00 AM. PrairieFire's Lead Mechanic Luke Matthews will explain the work PFBF did on the Field Museum's vehicles, then Johanna Thompson, the Field Museum's Coordinator of Student Programs, will talk about how they're using the REV to demonstrate and explain renewable energy for school children and adults alike.

The Field Museum's Renewable Energy Education Team's REV is a diesel Dodge Sprinter van that runs on straight vegetable oil, thanks to a veggie oil system installed by Madison's own PrairieFire BioFuels Coop. It also has solar panels on its roof to power a laptop and LCD displays, a portable solar-powered iPod docking station and a veggie oil powered go-kart. The REV team's mission is to demystify renewable energy to real for school children and adults, through visits to schools, fairs and festivals.

PrairieFire BioFuels Coop is delighted to work with the Field Museum on their Renewable Energy Vehicle. Veggie oil is a great choice to power the REV because it is relatively simple for a diesel engine to run on vegetable oil and "vegetable oil is carbon neutral," explains Mike Clark of PrairieFire. "The plants that the oil is harvested from absorb more CO2 in their lifetime than is emitted when the vegetable oil is burned."  The veggie oil used to power the vehicle is waste oil, leftover from local restaurants.

"We hope to lessen the gap between our energy products-like electricity or vehicle gas-and the scarce resources from which they came," says Johanna Thompson, Coordinator of Student Programs at the Museum. "Our goal is to de-mystify the options for people and simplify the most current science for teachers and students. And have fun while we are at itŠI mean, who doesn't love a go-kart?"

For more information on the REV, call (312) 665-7330 or visit www.fieldmuseum.org.
The Field Museum is located at 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

PrairieFire BioFuels is a member-owned cooperative creating access and building infrastructure to support vegetable-oil-based fuel sources and usage. PFBF is located at 1894 East Washington Avenue in Madison. For more information about PFBF, call 608-441-5454 or visit www.prairiefirebiofuels.org.