Revolution Green DVD

Revolution Green is an independent, well produced film about community-based biodiesel. It tells the story of Bob and Kelly King, and their journey from diverting cooking grease from a Maui landfill to a partnership with Willie Nelson, and the truckers and farmers that have been brought into the fold by the now famous BioWillie.

Narrated by Woody Harrelson, it tells an amazing story of the people that have gathered around Bob as he has spread his expertise from Hawaii to Texas, Oregon and beyond. His plants are commercial, yes, but focused on sustainable biodiesel. These biodiesel facilities are relatively small in size, and located to complement the community, whether it be near waste grease or cottonseed crops.

There is a big focus on Willie Nelson's impact on the acceptance of biodiesel by the trucking community, and the struggles of American farmers. The film is refreshing in its ability to balance the professional, business side of the industry with the personal, family side of truckers, farmers, and celebrities' lives.

Overall, I enjoyed Revolution Green and its ability to tell the story of a few key American biodiesel pioneers, and their ability to keep biodiesel a renewable and sustainable fuel.

For $20, it's a good addition to any biofuel enthusiast's collection.

The Fat of the Land DVD

I just finished watching "The Fat of the Land" DVD, about a biodiesel-fueled road trip from New York to San Francisco circa 1994. Wow, talk about a look at the radical pioneers. It's a well-made and enjoyable, albeit a relatively low-budget flick.

Five women, occasionally decked out in vintage waitress uniforms, alternately educate the public, raid restaurants for grease, and interview early vegoil drivers, renewable energy activists and biodiesel scientists.

It really puts things into perspective, both at how new the biodiesel scene is, but also how much history it already possesses.

It's amazing that on this first documented cross-country veg journey the crew encounters a large city bus plastered with a huge fueled by "Soy Bio-Diesel" sign, and what I assume is the the F-250 that traveled around Missouri promoting biodiesel. The current biodiesel craze has been many, many years in the making.

Oh yeah, they also have one of the coolest, most concise low-budget biodiesel demonstrations I've ever seen.

It's only $20 for the DVD, so if you're interested in another slice of American grassroots biodiesel history I would recommend it.

And thanks to Kumar at Yokayo Biofuels for reminding me about the lardcar it his blog.

Veg On!

Greasy Rider DVD - SVO and American Society

I was pleasantly surprised after watching Joey Carey and JJ Beck's Greasy Rider DVD. Promoted as a documentary of a cross-country road trip where the filmmakers meet "fellow Greasecar drivers, friends and critics", I was expecting an extended Greasecar advertisement.

Although the film does feature Greasecar, it's not a film about their systems. It's not even really a film about the road trip. It's a film about how SVO fits into American society.

Folks burn SVO for environmental, political and economic reasons. This isn't a treehugging movie, or a how-to film. It's more of a lefty critique of our oil burning ways and their social implications. There's no preachy narrator, but rather the honest voices of the people: Noam Chomsky, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Chong, Yoko Ono, the founders of the four major kit companies and more. Vegoil is shown as one part of the solution, something we can do now.

But don't think this is just a film with talking heads. The producers put together a nice soundtrack and did a great job interspersing intense inteviews with bits of history, fabulous road-trip vistas, average joe reactions to their Greasecar, and chats with fellow SVO drivers.

I'm going to show it to my friends.

Veg On!