“By converting the cooking oil from its 1,200 restaurants in Britain into biodiesel fuel, McDonald’s said it would save 1.5 million gallons of gasoline.” The new fueling program began this week with a conversion of 20 company trucks and next year promises to convert all 155 of the delivery fleet to biodiesel. (Reuters News)

Coffee Cup

Want A Morning Jolt of Good News?


8 COMMENTS

  2. One thing that I was wondering. What is the solution that they are using to cooking?
    Is there more than just a single product !? Would be possible to extend this type of program to include several other franchises?

  3. Hi Sergio, and welcome to the GNN community!

    Here are some other stories on kitchen grease:

    Kitchen grease is being gathered in a town in california (from restaurants) to run an electric power plant:
    https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/content/view/1373/248/

    The Grease car in the US, and comment from Wales on what they are doing, and how gov’t tried to tax it
    :
    Some diesel cars, like the Volkswagen Jetta, are speeding happily along the highway fueled only by vegetable oil from restaurants that was previously used for deep-frying …
    https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/content/view/915/29/

    And, another story from 2003 about a university heating its buildings with chicken grease…
    https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/content/view/277/224/

    Hope that adds more light on the subject.

  4. All these stories about using biofuels like grease and vegetable oil are distractions. Even if we used all the used veg oil and grease on the planet it would not supply 1% of our energy needs. The only thing that will solve our energy problem is the complete halt of fossil fuel use on our planet. Any thing else is a distraction especially if it has not chance of replacing fossil fuels to the degree needed. And there are not enough 1% ideas to do the job so we would all be doing more for the environment if we faced the reality of our situation instead of touting false hope which is no hope. There is hope and we can solve this problem but first we have to face up to the problem. Like Dr. Phil always says, you cannot deal with a problem if you refuse to acknowledge what the problem is or that it exist. The good news stories to do with the environment are those stories that acknowledge what a serious problem we face and what we need to do to solve it. We need to replace fossil fuel energy with non polluting energy sources. We need to shift the taxes we pay to support our police, firefighters, social programs, health, and the like onto fossil fuel energy and off of income tax and property taxes. That will spur the economic forces required to develop conservation and alternative energies. But we have to face the problem before any of this can be done and we better pitter patter and get at’er if we want to save our environment. It can be done but not via politics as usual. Vote differently!

  5. Dave, I understand your worry. I can assure you we are all as informed as you are on all the potential problems by the existing media (and others) to know that the environment is still a potentially big issue. We are facing the problem, it is hard to miss it.

    What we need is a solution. And the best solution is by taking effective measures to make people change in large numbers, which together add up.

    To solve the problem, what we need is more good news. More positive examples of what people ARE doing. Then people will believe their one isolated act, is not isolated, there is a movement. That by showing the progress that IS happening – it inspires people to follow their lead. That we can solve a potentially bad climate problem. It inspires them to know that others are also doing lots of small things – and as a collective we can make a difference.

    You point out that MacDonald is not making any difference on their own. Yes!

    Once one person starts turning lights off, that same person often ends up doing more, recycling, not leaving their TV on standby, buying a more efficient car. But it all begins with one move. If we keep saying it is all a problem and nobody is doing enough, will everyone feel inspired to get up and do something? We need action, and example is one of the best and most practical ways to bring about people change that the world has known.

    I recall Stephen Covey saying that in a relationship if a person does something you want them to do more of, you have a choice. You can choose to keep criticizing them for the more they need to do and focus on the problem not being solved, or praise them at that moment for the start they have made.

  7. Altogether it makes a difference – the people acting, the governments acting and businesses acting .

    It’s no good saying that â??the governments should do this, people should do thatâ? as in reality this will never be effective. The reason – governments respond only to the will of the majority of the people. If there are votes in it they will act. So we need to get the majority of the people behind it first. And what better way than them being inspired to start making small changes. Rather than creating a doom and gloom view saying they cannot make a difference. The 7/7 Earth concert is a prime example. Once a person commits to something, makes a small habitual change in a part of their life to help the environment, they are then likely to do more actions and get behind the cause. To press their governments to do more. That is how change happens.

  8. You can’t legislate morality or people’s behavior. It’s too onerous. Persuasion is the only way.

    I don’t see how publicizing each individual success takes away from tackling the problem on a large scale. McDonald’s CAN’T tackle the issue of everyone’s car exhaust, but they can do their small part.

    Maybe next they will replace all their lighting with energy-efficient bulbs and turn off lights at night…

    🙂

Leave a Reply