Guster Sings Praises of Biodiesel Use in Michigan College Town
Band Takes Campus Consciousness Tour to East Lansing

EAST LANSING, Mich.– Members of the band Guster joined officials from the City of East Lansing on the Michigan State University (MSU) campus today to announce the growing use of biodiesel in the town. The City, MSU and the band highlighted how they all use biodiesel in their vehicles to minimize their impact on the environment.

Biodiesel is a renewable alternative to diesel fuel. Made from domestic resources such as soybean oil or other fats and vegetable oils, biodiesel can be blended with diesel fuel in any amount, and works in virtually any diesel engine without modification. Biodiesel significantly reduces emissions, increases energy security and adds value to the family farm, strengthening the economy.

“We used to call our bus the ‘Earth-eater,’ due to the amount of diesel fuel large buses consume,” said Adam Gardner, guitarist/singer for Guster. “Those days are over.”

Guster was in East Lansing for a performance at MSU as part of the Campus Consciousness Tour, which raises awareness in college towns about sustainable practices like using biodiesel. Their tour bus is fueled by B20, a blend of 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent diesel.

“Today we are excited to bring our Campus Consciousness Tour to a city that is already living what we are promoting in our environmental education tour,” said Gardner. “The City of East Lansing, Michigan State University and our band are all reducing the amount of ‘earth-eating’ we are doing by using a blend of B20 biodiesel in our buses and fleets.”

The City and MSU also use a blend of B20 biodiesel in their diesel vehicles. The City is celebrating its one-year anniversary of using biodiesel fuel. The Department of Public Works now uses biodiesel in 39 of its vehicles and equipment.

“We're excited to be using this alternative fuel that will reduce emissions and make our city a cleaner place to live,” said East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh.

MSU, represented by Dr. Steve Pueppke, director of the MSU Office of Biobased Technologies, started using biodiesel campus-wide in all its diesel vehicles at the beginning of this school year.

Today’s event featured diesel vehicles and equipment burning biodiesel from the City, Guster and MSU, as well as local fuel distributor D & L Fuels fueling them. The National Biodiesel Board and Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee sponsored the event.

Guster started out on an independent label, and word of mouth quickly spread, making it one of the most popular un-promoted bands of the late 1990s. Guster has since become renowned, with several recent hits like “Amsterdam” and “Careful.” The band is known for sold-out shows, especially in college towns.

The Campus Consciousness Tour is a project of the environmental non-profit Reverb. Reverb's goal is to raise awareness and support for the environment by connecting touring bands and their fan-base to environmental issues and organizations via an interactive eco-village.

Born from the success of the “Green Highway” eco-village created by musician/activist Bonnie Raitt, and executive producer Kathy Kane, Reverb seeks to spread their eco-village model to new tours and audiences throughout North America. Raitt also tours on a blend of B20 biodiesel.

Biodiesel is available at more than 600 retail fueling stations in the U.S., and from more than 1,500 petroleum distributors. More than 600 fleets use this environmentally conscious fuel, which is the fastest growing alternative fuel according to the Department of Energy.

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