Biodiesel tour buses

One of the biggest trends in the eco-friendly music scene is going from concert to concert in your shiny new biodiesel-fueled tour bus. A short list of bands and artists who have biodiesel tour vehicles includes Jack Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, Gomez, Guster, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and KT Tunstall. For those who don't know, biodiesel is a form of alternative fuel that is made from vegetable oils, animal fats, and other natural byproducts. It's cheap, and can get upwards of 40 to 50 miles per gallon. Best of all, though, it does not release dangerous pollutants into the atmosphere. The best news for these artists is that it isn't difficult to convert a regular diesel vehicle to biodiesel (all you have to do is replace a fuel line filter). But how easy is it for the tour convoy to get between fueling stations?

Photo courtesy of Biodiesel.org

The map shows biodiesel fueling stations around the country. As you can see, it's pretty easy to get around the Midwest, as there is an abundance of sites there, but the number of stations gets a little thin once you get out west. Conceivably, this could affect tour routings and the number of cities that a band visits on tour. After all, they can't get very far without fuel. Now, this conversion is generally for more successful and, well, rich artists who can afford tour buses. Most bands don't have the benefit of a fleet of vehicles, and have to rely on the tried-and-true passenger van. So, until they create hybrid versions of 15-year-old Ford vans with loose fan belts, it looks like a lot of groups will be hung out to dry.