Story Created:
Aug 24, 2007 at 4:59 PM MDT
Story Updated:
Nov 7, 2008 at 11:21 AM MDT
MERIDIAN _ One Treasure Valley man is pushing environmentally friendly fuels... from a Hummer. One of the biggest sources of pollution in the Treasure Valley is vehicles.
But with a new fuel source, that could change, and many are eager to jump on board a campaign for corn power, no matter what they drive.
Katy Farrell considers herself a green individual, and not just because she's wearing an entire outfit of the color.
"We are very conscientious about making the earth a better place," said the New Plymouth resident.
That's why she runs her Saturn with the corn based fuel, Ethanol.
"We wanted to do our part in cleaning up the atmosphere," said Farrell.
Alex Conger was the man to help her get there.
"We're going to replace this box with a brand new one," said Conger as he leaned over Farrell's engine and explained what his plans were.
Conger markets, and can even install, a gasoline to ethanol adapter box for just about any car. It'll cost you between $300 and $500 dollars and can be installed in minutes. Conger says it then allows the vehicle to run on either Ethanol or standard gasoline, making it what's called a flexible fuel vehicle.
"We turned 'Ethyl' into a green machine," said Conger, showing off a yellow Hummer. Sure, a Hummer may not be the first thing you think of when it comes to green cars, but it's Conger's spokes-car to make a point.
"Keep your SUV, keep the vehicle you like to drive, but let's think about running it on American-made fuel and supporting a cleaner environment," Conger said.
"We've got to stop talking about it and start doing things," said Gary Ackaret, who also installed one of Conger's boxes in his truck.
"All of our actions collectively add up to the total picture and there's amazing power in individuals making little changes," he said.
So far, there's only been about a dozen takers for the product in the Treasure Valley, and with only three Ethanol stations in Idaho, Conger isn't surprised. But he is hopeful.
"There has been applications put in for as many as 10 new fueling facilities for either bio-diesel or Ethanol," Conger said.
As for Farrell, she didn't mind being ahead of the curve to get in on the corn craze.
"You either do something to help the situation or you do something that makes the situation worse and this helps the situation," she said.
In Idaho, ethanol is 30 to 50 cents cheaper than regular gas, but since ethanol also gets slightly fewer miles to the gallon Conger says the cost evens out. He also said the state is appropriating funds to help add more ethanol stations.
To view Conger's company website CLICK HERE.
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