On our way out of New York state (where we spent the summer with a busted radiator) we passed through Brooklyn and helped Green Bus Tour set up a waste vegetable oil acquisition and filtration system for their flagship bus. Green Bus Tour is “a growing participatory community, out to inspire a culture of conscious living through creative collaboration and by promoting a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.” In short an expanding group of huggy-feely spiritual seekers out to change the world in a prescriptive fashion by ferrying folks to events around the North East USA from their base of operations, a wellness center in Brooklyn. In between morning stretches, meditating and making flagons of chai tea and tofu scramble for a harvest festival fundraiser, Charlie Gonzalez, who alongside associate JP seemed to be in charge of spear heading Green Bus Tour activities, helped me get situated. I spent the first day designing a few different systems, buying parts and testing and rewiring their equipment. The second day, which went by super fast, was spent installing everything.

The system finally consisted of a 55gal raw acquisition tank, a 1/3 HP water pump and a 5 micron bag filter which fed directly into their main clean tank (installed by Ray a few months earlier). As they only had one pump at their disposal I had to split the ports to serve all acquisition and transfer functions. Using the pump they can now suck through a 5/8 fuel hose into a 55gal drum, then suck from that drum and push via a pressure relief valve through their filter. Its a basic system, their filter will probably clog more than if they had a range of sediment filters, but it works. I also put a drain hole in the bottom of the raw tank for ease of flushing.

Me, JP and Charlie Gonzalez.

It was a genuine pleasure and a privilege to do this job. In the short time I have been ‘working’ as a Transit Antenna crew member I feel like that I have gained so much useful knowledge. One year ago I had an entirely different skill set, one that was predominantly geared towards making money. One year on and all that has changed. By learning these basic systems I am able to make not only to make positive changes in my own life, but help others to do the same. Joining Transit Antenna, overcoming previously insurmountable obstacles and often working for little other than a cause has taught me much about civic responsibility, and ultimately enriched my own experience of living.

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