Dartmouth students ride the future

If you’ve been reading Gristmill — as I’m sure you all have! — you’ll know that I just returned from a trip to cover the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. (And what a long, strange triperoo, it was!) One of the many things I didn’t get to mention in my story is that I met these folks while I was there.

I happened to be hanging around the straw-baled green pod when I looked out into the sea of tents and port-o-potties and noticed a big, green bus. But I soon found this wasn’t just any big, green bus — it was the Big Green Bus, a school bus painted green, converted to run on used veggie oil, and being driven across the country by a group of students from Dartmouth.

The group was very friendly, inviting me to come inside and sit down (on a couch!) and chat for a while. I couldn’t stay long and our conversation was cut short when my scheduled interviewee arrived, but I did come away with this thought: These are smart kids and they really know what they’re talking about when it comes to issues like alternative energy. But let’s not forget they’re also students. If they can learn about these issues and put solutions into action, why can’t the rest of us get off our duffs, take a page from their textbook, and do the same?

Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town when they find their way to Seattle, so we won’t be able to finish that conversation in person. But I encourage you, dear readers, to check out their tour schedule and make an effort to chat with them yourselves. They might even let you sit on their big, green couch!