Last Wednesday, Nick Bristow and Brian Pierce completed their inaugeral Willie Run, from NY to California, in 38 hours.  They launched their trip on September 22, 2008, with the goal to drive their Volkswagen Jetta TDI from New York’s Manhattan in the East to Santa Monica on America’s West Coast . Â
Their purpose was to promote the biofriendly properties of biodiesel.  They bolted a giant fuel talk onto a Jetta TDI and intend to make it to Los Angeles entirely on one (giant) tank of WillIe Nelson’s BioWillie biodiesel fuel.
 Initially, the guys had hoped to make the trip in 36 hours, but fuel miscalculations and their grand arrival during LA rush hour set them behind schedule. “We spent the last hour and a half in stop-and-go traffic,†Bristow told Wired.com, “It was a little anti-climactic after driving across the country.â€Â  They had hoped to break a previous record, but vow to attempt it again next year.
Other than a brief stop in Phoenix to stock up on more BioWillie, however, Bristow and Pierce completed the trek non-stop as per their original goal, even going so far as to forward all of nature’s calls to a Stadium Pal condom catheter.
Next year, Bristow and Pierce hope to make it in under the 36-hr time limit, and are already preparing for Willie Run ‘09. “We’re gonna run it by Willie,†Bristow said, “We’ve gotta have the patron saint sign off on it, but we’ve had a ton of people say they want to take part.â€
“It’s all to promote biodiesel, and what a great fuel it is,” Bristow said, “and how cool, and clean and renewable it is.” It is reported that Willie Nelson is on board with the deal, who, in 2004, formed a company to provide truck stops with bio-diesel made from vegetable oil.
What then exactly are the advantages of biofuels? Biofuel is almost carbon-neutral, which is to say that even though it produces carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product of combustion, that same carbon dioxide was extracted from the atmosphere by the plant material from which the fuel is derived. It is not totally carbon-neutral because of the energy expanded in the manufacture and transportation of the fuel. Even so, biofuels are to be preferred over fossil fuels, which release greenhouse gases captured by plants that grew millions of years ago. Another, more obvious, advantage of biofuels is that they can be produced locally and will not have to be transported halfway across the world, as is often the case with oil from the Middle East. This means that the fuel can be produced more economically and benefit the local economy. Reduced cost is an important factor, especially with the recent steep increases in the price of crude oil.The objection is sometimes raised that biofuels increase the price of food. This is not necessarily the case, however, as biofuels can be produced from waste, such as weeds, garden clippings, dead leaves, manure, sawdust, etc., or even recycled cooking oil.
Growing non-food crops for producing biofuels can also raise the living standards in poor parts of the world. For example, in India nearly 2.5 million acres have been planted with jatropha, an inedible plant with seeds that are rich in oil, for biofuel production. Jatropha, by the way, is an excellent choice for biofuel production, as it produces four times as much fuel per acre as soy and ten times as much as corn, while requiring only minimal care and resources. It will even grow in poor soils that are unsuitable for growing food crops.
“I know the trip sounds crazy, but it’s more important now than ever,†said Bristow. “We’re on the cusp of a very important election where oil and energy are universal top concerns, and biodiesel is one of the cleaner, more viable fuel alternatives out there. We need to get the word out.â€
While working their “day jobs†at Fitzgerald+CO, Bristow and Pierce linked their passions of advertising, promotion and biodiesel when they encountered the BioWillie® brand with which they ultimately developed an informal pro bono relationship. This work led to the design of what they call an “outlaw†grass roots approach for creating awareness for alternative fuels.
[News Source/Photo Cred: Autopia]