Who's Spearheading this effort for Potcheen?
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Potcheen's Capn' Christian Blochinger attended Florida Institute of Technology where he earned his degree in Environmental Science.
He was awarded the Bateman -Creed Environmental Scholarship and Graduating on the Dean's List. Christian worked with many local
floridian environmental groups as well as Biological organizations in efforts to protect ecological systems, native endangered species
and promote sustainable policies for the future. He also worked to further conservation efforts across the country including Clean Water
Action, The Sea Turtle Society & Manatee Rescue, Reef Ecology & BioDiversity.
In 1993 He moved to Evergreen, Colorado and worked for Clean Water Action in grass roots movements to protect legilation that
protects our water quality and testing requirements of drinking water reserves.
In 2003 Potcheen was formed and in 2004 Christian Purchased a 1983 MCI Crusader II (GRACE O'MALLEY) tourbus
(which unfortuantely sucks up Diesel fuel in mass quanities). Christian investigated various ways to convert to alternative fuel systems
to reduce the Carbon Footprint as well as make Touring affordable for Poor struggling musicians. Biodiesel and Electric hybrid systems
were investigated however WVO (waste vegetable oil) was the solution. The band traveled across the country from New York to
San Diego and put almost 250,000 miles on Grace.
What is WVO and how does it work???
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* Clean (filtered) waste vegetable oil (recycled from restaurant grease traps is heated to 160+ degrees, functions the same
in a diesel engine as petroleum diesel. * Waste vegetable oil has already served its purpose (cooking!) thus this second use
comes free of any manufacturing, transportation, or pollution requirement.* Unlike diesel and gasoline, waste vegetable oil
emits no sulfur oxides or sulfates (acid rain) and is 100% carbon-neutral (does not cause an increase in the overall amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere).
In 2008 Grace met her demise in a gnarly bus crash in Missouri < http://www.kmbc.com/r/18846418/detail.html >
Christian was hurt and took a half a year to recover, A year later he purchased another MCI tour bus ( Black Anne Bonney )
and had her retrofitted to run on WVO.
Unfortunately the original WVO mechanic who converted GRACE was unavailable and another guy was used from Denver. The
system was very poorly designed and shoddily intalled, We had all sorts of electrical shorts, cheap toggle switches that kept
breaking and the coolant line burst during a run back from San Francisco to Salt Lake City draining into the WVO tank and causing
the bus to overheat constantly and shut down on the highway. When i came back in town, we found that the mechanic "KIRBY" had
run like the craven coward he is and soon he closed his doors and went out of buisness. IT is so important that you always Check
how many systems a mechanic has installed and get references.
Then the bus is being re-tooled by a group called ECOPERFORMANCE in Carbondale, CO. They finished and they unfortunately
underestimated the heat put out bu a Tubo Diesel Engine the zise of a compact car and it melted the fuel filter and failed in Texas.
The mechanic who designed it contracted Hanta Virus in Mexico on vacation and met an untimely death. His company soon went under.
So we are always on the search for a good mechanic.. lets hope the next one isnt A) an lying cheating Idiot or B) an unlucky bastard.
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How does WVO Save on money
For over a 4 years & 250,000 miles on the road, The Pirate ship has toured using vegetable grease collected, for free, from restaurants
& truck stops. The bus was converted to run on 100% waste vegetable oil at a cost of $8000.
However, cars , Vans & trucks can also be converted for far less as longs as they run on Diesel Engines.
WHo invented the Diesel Engine??
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Rudolph Diesel:
Rudolf Diesel designed many heat engines, including a solar-powered air engine. In 1893, hepublished a paper describing an engine with combustion within a cylinder, the internal combustion engine. In 1894, he filed for a patent
for his new invention, dubbed the diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel was almost killed by his engine when it exploded. However, his engine
was the first that proved that fuel could be ignited without a spark. He operated his first successful engine in 1897. His original design
ran on Bean oil. Unfortunately large petrochemical companies veered away from simple organic sources to one they could manufacture
from petrochemicals and now Diesel is the primary source of fuel for fleets of commerical land vehicles and sea vessels that make up
the bulk of transport
of goods across the planet. Oh yeah, the pollution comes with that as well.
Although Diesel burns way cleaner than unleaded gasoline and them simplest of fuel to synthesize from oil, The oil companies still
realize a substantial amount of profit and have jacked the price of diesel to all time highs. this in turn raises the costs of transport of
these goods and then up the chain prices go up for all of our goods. Brilliant!
How does this help Potcheen & the Planet:
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Driving from coast to coast several times from the East Coast to the West, Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, The Potcheen
Crew has saved over $35,000 in would-be fuel costs and spared the atmosphere of over 150 tons of CO2 - the equivalent amount
of CO2 release to power a 60-watt light bulb 24/7 for 300 years!.
Solar Energy:
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In addition the band utilizes solar panels mounted atop the roof of the bus to power electronic devices and lights, so when we
are in area where shore power is not available, we need not use our gas generator and burn fossil fuels and emit loud annoying
engine sounds to disturb the countryside.
SUNFORCE SOLAR PANEL arrays: www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_354345742_3Recycled Heat:
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We have a Vermont casting iron Pellet stove on board. This stove uses a small amount of electricity to power an auger and a fan
motor. UTs main fuel is compresses Recycled wood pellets (from scrap wood and sawdust). We use this only when we are trying
not to freeze to death :)
Recycled Cd packaging and merchandise
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After many years the industry responded by offering "green" packaging for Cd's and materials for tshirts, hats, posters, paper
which most people dont think about. If we can limit the mass amounts of plastic invloved with shrink wrap, CD Jewel cases,
synthetic textiles etc. we can make a difference.
All of our CD's are printed on recycled cardboard
All of our Posters and Fliers are made from recycled paper
We reduce the need for paper by using electronic press kits (EPK's)
GREEN PRESS
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The Sound LA Radio Station: http://www.thesoundla.com/?..nid=113&sid=528&vid=0
NBC SAN DIEGO: www.nbcsandiego.com/news/green/Lean__Green__Money_Saving_Machine_San_Diego.html
Booking The Band & Bus for a Green Event
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To Schedule a Green workshop: Christian Blochinger, Environmental Scientist can lead a workshop with visible tours of the bus
and a concert by Potcheen.
For more info on booking, Send an Inquiry (potcheenfolkband@gmail.com) or check the Tour Schedule to see when Potcheen
will be available to give a presentation or interview in your area.