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Next, OnQ, with the cost of gas getting higher and higher, there is growing interest in alternative fuels.

You can run your diesel on straight diesel fuel, biodiesel or straight vegetable oil.

We'll have the latest on these new biofuels being developed right here in Pittsburgh.

Also tonight when it comes to new buildings, Pittsburgh is going green.

What does that mean?

A green building is a better performing building in that we use less energy, less water in the building.

And a green building absolutely has less impact on the environment.

See how Pittsburgh has joined the ranks of the top three green building cities in the country.

And find out where you can buy renewable green materials for your home or office.

OnQ starts now.

Welcome to OnQ.

I'm Tonia Caruso.

Michael Bartley is on assignment.

Anyone who drives a car has felt the pain at the pump.

As the price of gas hovers well above $3 a gallon.

The economic impact is unmistakable.

And there's an environmental component, too.

These are among many of the reasons that drivers are beginning to consider alternatives, including biofuels.

Biofuels are made from animal fat or vegetable oils.

And as Michael Bartley reports, Pittsburgh could play a big role in putting biofuels in your tank.

Inside this large warehouse, two guys are working hard.

They're converting diesel cars and trucks to run on a special kind of alternative fuel.

These guys, Colin Hiller and David Rosenstraus, own fossil free fuel in Braddock.

What we do here is we design system components, and we do installation of those components onto diesel vehicle that allow them to run on street vegetable oil.

That's right.

Straight vegetable oil.

The kind used to fry food.

You can run your diesel on straight diesel fuel, biodiesel or straight vegetable oil.

And with vegetable oil that could be either brand new oil or waste oil that the restaurants or other cooking facilities have thrown away.

Using vegetable oil as a fuel is actually old technology.

In fact, Rudolf Diesel, he invented the diesel engine, said the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as the petroleum and coal tar products of the present time.

And he said that nearly a century ago, in 1912.

There are two ways to use biofuels in today's vehicles either refine the fuel before it gets to your local gas station, or convert the diesel fuel system on your vehicle.

And that's what fossil free fuel does.

The system is based upon the theory that the vegetable oil has to be a certain temperature, be, to be injected into the engine safely because of, the viscosity of oil is much thicker than diesel fuel at room temperature.

So the our components are designed to take the waste heat from the engine and transfer it to vegetable oil.

So when you're first startin the vehicle, the engine is cold.

The vegetable oil is cold.

And as you start to run the vehicle on diesel, the vehicle, the engine warms up and that heat is transferred to the oil itself.

So once the optimal temperature is achieved, the computer recognizes that switch is over to the vegetable oil fuel system.

And then the rest of the ride you just use straight vegetable oil, but only if that vegetable oil is pure.

If it's already cooked wings or fries, it has to be clean.

You need to filter the oil first because when the restaurant cooks with it, there's there's, food particles and water that get into the oil.

And you have to filter that out before it can be used as a fuel.

You would pick up that oil from the restaurant, take it, to your house, filter out water and food particles, and then it would be ready to go into the vehicle.

To date, fossil free fuel has converted quite a few diesel cars and trucks to run on vegetable oil.

The company's goal now to make it easie for the consumer to get the oil.

We're in the process of setting up, restaurant network, where we'll be collecting the oil in a large supply, filtering it here and then making it available for people at various pumps so that they can just fill up their vehicles and make it convenient for the average person to, own one of these vehicles.

Over on Pittsburgh's North side.

Is the United Oil Company.

They're producing a biofuel that doesn't require any vehicle modification and filtering.

United Oil Companies, originally founded in 1906.

In our product line include specialty industrial lubricants, mostly for the manufacturing and processing of both steel and aluminum.

Most of these lubricants, not all of them, but most of these lubricants in those worlds are based on animal fats and vegetable oils.

Top part here is the biodiesel.

And this is a glycerin level.

And for every gallon of, fats, or vegetable oils, we get a gallon of biodiesel.

Charles Cross is president of United Oil.

Nathaniel Doyno is with Steel City Biofuels, a nonprofit promoting alternative fuels and vehicle projects.

They're both working to get biodiesel to the pumps now to make biodiesel, which comes from animal fats or vegetable oils.

We have to make it look a little bit more like diesel, can't be so thick.

It has to be a little bit thinner, like diesel, and it has to have some other characteristics that make it more compatible for the engines and things.

Because the engines are now built to such tight specifications.

I think that the trend towards alternative fuel is driven by a number of key factors.

The first one, I think energy security, our infrastructure is very vulnerable, be it from natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina or political instability or, you know, outright war, which is what's going on in the Middle East.

What we've got right here is really an opportunity to take some of that risk away, to bring production back to the local, to the local level, and really stabilize our fuel infrastructure.

On the forefront of the alternative fuel technology is Carnegie Mellon University, which is doing major ethanol research.

Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from vegetable products like corn and grain.

In 2007, CMU hosted a biofuels forum with General Motors.

These are the flex fuel vehicles that we're showing that are out right now.

GM also brought its fleet of flex fuel cars and trucks to the CMU campus.

Flex fuel vehicles run on both regular gasoline and or an ethanol blend called E85.

E85 is 85% ethanol, 15% gasoline blends of fuel.

It's domestically produced and it lowers greenhouse gas production if you can lower greenhouse gases through a biofuel.

It's so much better than using fossil fuel.

The advantages of our ethanol are that it is a domestically produced fuel, so you're able to control the production, the movement and the price of fuel.

We'll be able to see the fuel at a dollar a gallon.

Other issue that still need to be addressed, getting alternative fuel to the pumps in a cost effective way.

We don't really have good ways of getting it to people without adding lots of cars to the road, lots of trucks to the road, we're going to have to do something more than just shipping it by truck all over the place.

We're going to have to look at, you know, increasing rail network capacity, building pipelines or other things because we can't ship ethanol in the same pipelines.

We ship petroleum.

General Motors says that even if every vehicle bought right no were to run on alternative fuel, it would take nearly 20 years to replace the existing fleet of American cars and trucks.

Still, what may seem like small steps today are steps in the right direction.

Locally, we've shown here that you can, you know, you can make a big difference.

You know, the Port Authority deciding to use this, that's 1.2 million gallons of biodiesel.

That translates to 1.2 million gallons of petroleum diesel that's not being burned.

So, you know, that's a significant impact.

What's the benefit?

You know, your support, again, you're supporting local businesses.

You're supporting local and regional, agriculture.

Your, you know, directly improving air quality for yourself and your neighbors and your family just by going to the pump.

Now, if you want to get your diesel car or truck modified to run on vegetable oil, a typical conversion will cost about $3,500.

And do you remember those flex fuel vehicles made by General Motors?

While GM plans to produce 400,000 of them every year, they run on both gas and that alternative fuel called E85.

E85 is already available at several Sheetz and Giant Eagle Getgo stations in the Pittsburgh region.

For more information, log on to our website at wqed.org/On the best thing about that story?

French fries for everybody.

And we're going to continue an environmental theme tonight with our next story a look at green building practices.

Green building is all about making the places we live and work healthier, less toxic.

And it might surprise you to find out that Pittsburgh's been on the forefront of this mission for more than a decade.

Some say Pittsburgh's skyline is among the prettiest in the world.

But go beyond the looks and you'll find what many cal the city's true bragging, right?

More and more of our buildings are green.

Pittsburgh is third in the country for what we call LEED certified buildings.

And that's our national measure for how we determine how green a building is.

We are third in the country behind Seattle and Portland, Third in the countr with buildings like the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, the newly expanded Children's Museum, the new Welcome Center at Phipps, and nearly 20 more.

But what exactly do we mean by green?

A green building is a better performing building in that we use less energy, less water in the building.

And a green building absolutely has less impact on the environment.

Rebecca Flora is the executive director of the Green Building Alliance, the first of its kin organization was formed 15 years ago to educate and to encourage green development in the Pittsburgh region.

The gree building Alliance works locally, but Rebecca believes ultimately its impact will be felt around the world.

The U.S., for instance, uses up 25% of our world's resources, and yet we represent 5% of the population.

Buildings relate to 70% of our electricity use in our country.

And so to the extent we can reduce that electricity use, we can reduce things like greenhouse gases.

Absolutely.

Ties back to climate change.

And, you know, so we want to reduc the amount of energy we're using because we're having huge impacts, a huge impact not only by creating more efficient energy and operating systems, bu by making other changes as well.

This is the new children's hospital under construction in Lawrenceville.

Everything about it will be green.

It's really important aspects, which is something we didn't do in the 70s when we were interested in energy conservation.

Is that to really think about the types of materials we're putting in buildings.

The green building is a healthy building and that there's less toxicity, less toxic materials.

That means using low toxic carpets, tiles, paints and other materials.

But if you think green is only possible in new construction, think again.

The best green building is one we don't have to build.

Enter Grant Scott and his colleagues at KSBA Architects.

A lot of the spaces that we build are large spaces like this.

We kind of gutted the the building, but then we kept the roof system.

Their building i Lawrenceville is pristine today.

But nearly ten years ago it was a rundown mess.

The building was originally a Staples and later a car repair shop.

The architects bought it and renovated it from top to bottom, going green all the way.

So green is being conscious of your environment, reusing things where you can so you're not wasteful.

Introduce skylights.

It also means approaching things differently at KSBA.

Skylights help to provide lots of natural light.

The carpets are a squares.

The carpet is made up of individual tiles which don't require a potentially harmful glue.

Also unique the building's heating, cooling and electrical systems are in the floor.

Individual units can be popped out and moved throughout the office for greater efficiency because there are no ducts.

We can produce the cooling at about ten degrees lower, which saves energy.

Getting these things and every employee is able to control the flow of air at their workspace.

This works a lot like hibachi grill, in that there's a direction of flow to the grill.

Depending on how I turn this or move it in the space that directs the air that comes out.

The green systems in place here are being used way beyond Pittsburgh as KSBA designs customer service call centers for companies worldwide.

As a company, we have always been interested in delivering value.

And so since there are most aspects of green deliver value, therefore it's a priority for us.

And going green is fast becoming a priority for many homeowners as well.

But if you're not plannin new construction or renovations, there are still lots of things you can do.

Here are ten simple tips to make your home greener.

Number one, replace traditional light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones.

Compact fluorescent burn more efficiently, turning most of the energy they use into light rather than heat.

In fact, if every American changed just one light bulb in their home, it would be the equivalent of taking 800,000 cars off the road.

Number two just letting the sun out to your home using natura light can save even more energy.

Number thre look for Energy Star appliances.

They may cost a bit more upfront, but can save 10 to 50% more energy and up to $80 per year.

An added bonus if just 1 in 10 homes switch to Energy Star appliances.

The change would be like planting 1.7 million new acres of trees.

Number four don't leave the water running when you brush your teeth.

You can save an average of three gallons per day.

Number five fix that leaky faucet.

A leaky sink can waste up to 74 gallons of water per day.

Numbe six switch to a low flow toilet.

It saves water and energy.

Number seven modify your toilet if you're stuck with an older model.

Put a brick in the actual tank.

So because you don't need that much water to flush the toilet every time.

Number eight.

Like changing the filter on your furnace.

A dirty filter cuts down on air flow, making your system work harder and making it use more energy.

Number nine choose carpets, paints, and other materials with low volatile organic compounds or VOCs.

They're the off gases that come from products.

If I can smell a new carpet that's been installed or a paint that's being applied, I know that perhaps there's more toxic material in those things than I think I would know to be healthy.

You should check the label for low voc products and ask your local hom improvement store to carry them.

And finally, number ten change the way you clean.

What are the cleaning products that you're introducing into your home?

Are they toxic?

You know wha are you exposing your family to?

Rebecca recommends replacing chemical based products with green, biodegradable cleaners available in stores.

Or even better.

Mix your own, and there's a lot of great options there.

Even as simple as just using vinegar and baking soda.

Now the rain barrel is actually great.

There are ten simple steps that can make a big difference, especially when followed by many.

In the meantime, many hope it won't be long before everyone is on board and going green.

I think everybody's thinking about it.

They understand the value of it and it's how tuned in are you into that.

And Pittsburgher aren't just going green at work.

They're looking for renewable resources to use in their homes, too.

So where can you find more organic building materials?

Well, the big home improvement stores carry some items, but you'll find a bigger selection if you shop around a little.

Our search took us to a store and Lawrenceville called Artemis, where the flooring, countertops, carpet, and paints are unmistakably green.

This is Artemis.

It's a store located in Lawrenceville that sells environmentally friendly building materials its environmentally friendly.

In 2005.

Janice Donatelli, a business owner, and Linda Metropulos, a real estate developer both interested in the environment and sustainability, opened Artemis Environmental Building Products on Earth Day.

Pittsburgh being one of the leading green cities, we could never locate the products.

You could see them on the internet or, you know, in the magazines, but you couldn't touch them, smell them, see them.

So we just decided, since I had the building, we could open the store and showcase all these materials.

Anything you need to build or renovate a home from the outside to the inside.

Artemis has it so that you can create a healthy green home.

These products do not have off gassing of the toxins of the VOCs of any of the formaldehyde that you will find in normally, in the majority of products, in the majority of building materials, that go on during construction.

It's primarily used as a design element.

At first, Artemis got a lot of consumers who were more interested buying green to help save the planet.

But that's changed.

The surprise that we had was an audience that we did not anticipate, and that's the chemically sensitive.

And the population of the multiple chemically sensitive is enormous.

And I think it's just the tip of the iceberg that we're seeing now.

John Moore and his wife, Suzanne Park, are renovating this old Victorian and Lawrenceville.

This is almost a half Yeah.

Now, I think we should start with a laugh.

John is working with his contractor, putting in a tile countertop.

We have a four year old child, and when we started this, he was two.

We thought a lot about indoor air quality.

It's because of the volatile organic compounds that a lot of things give off, that we decided to go with green building.

They don't give off any, of those harmful pollutants inside the house.

The room.

John installed a lot of these green materials.

It's the kitchen wher his family spends a lot of time.

I'm most proud of is the countertop.

The black countertop, is made out of 100%, recycled paper.

It's called paper stone.

It's a beautiful product.

It's a solid product, and it's made without any harmful chemicals.

So you can't find that at Home Depot.

We're using a recycled glass, backsplash that we're actually putting in today.

The cork floor, is made out of, it's 100% cork.

It's beautiful.

It's soft.

It's safe.

Even the kitchen cabinets are safe.

The boxes, the inside part where the doors are hung are made of a pressed wood product that's formaldehyde free.

John's contractor is Tracy Mortimer.

Tracy's been working with green materials for years.

Since day one as a professional contractor.

Know it.

It starts from everything from trying to make sure that the studs you're using are from properly managed for us, to actually materials that are designed to to use new materials that are easier on the environment and demand less energy in their construction.

As a builder, Tracy also likes using green products because over time it's less toxic for him and better for the homeowner.

This seems to be an epidemic of children that are sensitive to a lot of, traditional building materials, things like mineral spirits that are used in paints and, thinners and a lot of cleaning products.

Also in the building industry.

Traditionally, formaldehyde was, quite extensively used.

It's used in a lot of adhesives, particularly for making plywood and other sort of composite, wood products.

Gradually over the years, the formaldehyde gives off gas.

It is not stable in the glue or the material it's used, and then it gradually leaches out into the air.

And this causes some serious problems with the the air quality indoors.

The glass companies, now they are looking at recyclin their leftover glass at Artemis, Janice and Linda often give presentations about the products they sell.

You know, they're sort of standard bamboo flooring, like talking to the House Green Sustainable Committee from the International Architectural firm Perkins and Easman, which has an office in Pittsburgh.

We do a lot of senior projects.

And our seniors, the seniors who move into our project, who the housing that we design and develop are the most fragile group of people that you can design for.

And earlier today, we talked to the people here, talked about the interior project products and how they off gas and off gassing can cause indoor bad indoor air quality.

And so we're always interested in products that are have better air quality for the seniors because many of them move in right away.

And with their waste product, they've created the bulletin board.

As the demand rises, more and more manufacturers are designing environmentally safe products.

But not all of those products make it inside the door.

Here at Artemis, we do go back to the material data sheets.

We look at how the things are manufactured, the products are manufactured.

We also have a very simple, test of our own.

And it has to do with all of our personal senses with almost every product that come in, comes in.

Here is we smell it.

And if it has an odor, then we take it out the back door and we leave it outside to see if it if the odor disappears, how long it takes the odor to disappear.

And there have been a few products that even though they're recycled and even though they're labeled as a green product, we can't put them on the shelves primarily because of the indoor air quality and the chemically sensitive.

Some green products are more expensive than traditional building materials, but Artemis says with careful planning, going green can become affordable.

But homeowners can start improving their indoor air quality one green project at a time.

One is the flooring, the carpeting, whatever it is and how much off gassing it's giving.

And the other is just the paint, the quality of paint.

Paint is easy to solve.

You buy low VOC paint.

If you're thinking about going green, don't get overwhelmed by it.

Introduce at least one green product into your space, and then it starts to raise the awareness level and you will start doing more research.

You'll start becoming more interested in seeing the products that have been manufactured correctly or recycled.

If 20% of your projects start to and start to involve products that are that are green them, then already you're making a difference.

For more information on green Building products, log on to our website at wqed.org/OnQ.

Some good information and that's going to do it for us tonight for all of us here at OnQ I'm Tonia Caruso.

Thanks for watching.

Have a good night.