September 15, 2007

• Italian, Thai & Green Gas

   

  Last night my cousin and I went to my aunt and uncle’s house for a delicious spaghetti dinner.  My uncle told stories of the war, which I always find fascinating and we had a really nice time:

  

  Jonathan flew in from DC this weekend so went to dinner at Naraya.  The food was great, and the company even better.  Sumaytee Kaemchit treated us like honored guests and a good time was had by all.

  

  

  

  On the way home I stopped for gas at the coolest looking gas station I’ve ever seen:

  

  Americans always complain about the price of gas, but at $2.90 a gallon, it’s about the cheapest in the world.

  

  That’s my silver Honda

  

  The station is owned by British Petroleum, and according to their website, it’s a whole new kind of gas station.  The gas was actually cheaper than at the last place I  bought gas.  If you live in Los Angeles, check it out!

   

  
  

  About the station

  

   

  At the corner of Olympic and Robertson in Los Angeles, you’ll find a new kind of gas station. It isn’t like an ordinary gas station.

  We started with the typical, everyday station on that corner and renovated it in an eco-friendly way — a little greener in its design and materials and in its use of water and energy.

  It’s not a prototype “station of the future.” It’s a station for today that’s a little better, a living lab where we can try out ideas for other stations and where people can find ideas they might want to bring into their own lives. It’s a kind of a conversation between BP and people who come into the station, a conversation about how we can both move up a notch on the greencurve.

  This idea grew out of BP’s commitment to balancing society’s need for energy with a responsible approach to the environment. It reflects our belief that small steps in the right direction can make a difference.

   

  This is a unique gas station, a little better for the environment than a typical station. And yet, still not as green as might be possible with today’s technology. Not as green as we hope to make it in the future.

  Water
  From the rain to the drain, this station requires less water, wastes less water and pollutes less than a typical gas station. Click to see some of the ways.

  The Facility
  This station was built by “upcycling” an old, not-so-green gas station. The new design incorporates a lot of unusual features that reduce its environmental impact and allow us to operate a gas station here in a much more sustainable way. Some of these features could be added to other stations and other kinds of businesses. Click to find out more about them.

  Materials
  Recyclable, recycled, sustainable and non-toxic materials were used to build this station, including even the reuse of scrap materials from the construction job itself. Click to get more details about some of them.

  Lighting
  The generation of electricity is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions, and more efficient lighting is one of the easiest ways to save electricity. Click to see some of the ways it’s been done here.

   

  Did you know that just one compact fluorescent bulb in every U.S. home would save enough energy to light more than 2.5 million homes for a year and prevent as much greenhouse gas as taking up 800,000 cars on the road?