save our earth.

On October 4, 2007 at one of our first biodiesel club meetings of the school year, David Tourzan, manager of Rising Phoenix Biofuels, came to talk to our club. Rising Phoenix Biofuels is Oregon's first biodiesel station, and I found it very interesting to hear from one of the people who started it. Tourzan showed us his very energetic and inspiring personality. You could tell that he was very passionate about what he is accomplishing, and that he really supported promoting alternative fuels.

Tourzan came to tell our club that he would love to work with us and hopefully help us move forward with our goals. He let us know that Rising Phoenix Biofuels is here for the club, no matter what we need. They offered to give and write us grants, to help us with promotional supplies, to speak to schools to help spread the word, and that we could come to them for advice about anything. I found this all very generous and exciting. It was great to know that there truly are people out there willing to do good.

He informed us that many people are afraid of biodiesel because of warranty issues, it is more expensive, people look down upon sales people, government mandates, reliability, people don't understand what biodiesel is, and the fact that oil companies have a lot of power. It is our job to reassure people that these aren't real problems. Switching from diesel to biodiesel or any other form of alternative fuel is not a quick or easy process, but it is a great investment for our future. Biofuels won't become mainstream instantly, but if we can start informing people now, so that maybe in the future biofuels become more popular, then that is what is important.

Overall, I think that David Tourzan did a great job coming and talking to our club about our potential. It really seemed to inspire the club as a whole, and he was very knowledgeable in the area of biofuels. I loved how passionate and excited he was talking about biofuels and how they could really make a difference. Tourzan was interviewed multiple times by local television stations, and I have included the following videos of him talking about his Rising Phoenix Biofuels company.















For more information, contact Rising Phoenix Biofuels at:
541-535-1134
4543 South Pacific Highway
Phoenix, Oregon 97535
biofuels@phoenixorganics.com
www.oregonb99.com

At the beginning of the school year, the biodiesel club successfully brainstormed many possible goals to expand the club and help promote alternative fuels. We thought about producing more biodiesel and teaming up with other companies, or even starting our own company, because a bank had offered us the money. We also discussed turning the club into a non-profit organization. I thought this was the best idea, and the club agreed. However, since it was decided that we would like to expand into a non-profit organization, steps taken to accomplish this goal have come to a screeching hault. I hope to re-inspire that idea, so that hopefully in the future, the club could have the opportunity to expand. We also wanted to talk to other schools. That way more students would be aware of alternative fuels like biodiesel and might even consider starting their own biodiesel club at their school. We also have been needing to buy a new biodiesel truck to collect the oil and grease with, because our old truck does not seem to functioning properly. Finally, we also wanted all of the school buses in Medford to convert to biodiesel, because currently, the emissions coming from those yellow school buses are deadly. That idea, however, did not go over well with the bus company, so we will try to pursue that again later. We have been brainstorming ideas all year, and we have some really great proposals. We have accomplished little projects throughout the year, but my hope is that the club will decide to tackle a bigger project. We continue to come up with creative ways to spread the word of eco-awareness and to get the community involved. I think that if we continue to work with all of these great opportunities coming our way, then we will be very successful in making a difference locally and even outside of our community.