A few weeks ago, my cousin, Peter, emailed me to say hi and to let me know about his latest project, Caravan 4 Change. The mission statement from that webpage:

"The Caravan4Change is our family’s mobile roadside mission to all 48 states in an effort to reopen the hearts, minds and souls of Americans about the real issues facing our family and nation this election year and the need to vote for positive change this November.  On our way, we hope to awaken the nation’s conscience and break down the labels, regionalism, stereotypes and walls that unnecessarily divide us by finding common ground one person at a time.  We will create the political will to establish a "New American Agenda" by delivering an authentic and personal message for returning to civilized discourse and pragmatic problem solving to tackle our nation’s pressing problems and unresolved injustices."

Personally, I think this is more than a little bit cool. It was the first I'd heard about biodiesel -- which is a completely renewable fuel source that you can use in your diesel powered vehicles without modification! Ok, so that's a simplified version (for a better gist, check out the faq at Berkeley Biodiesel Collective). Anyway, I'm pretty excited about this, and am thinking that it might be worth it to get a diesel car the next time Tim and I are looking to buy a vehicle.

I don't think I've ever known anyone personally who is willing to undertake such a crusade before this. I admire Peter for taking on such a huge project, for trying to get out there and *DO* something about America's problems. He was always my favorite cousin, but I always thought I was being prejudiced because he was the only one who was my age :-) Nice to realize that he's just way cool, too.

For those of you in the SF Bay Area, there's a picnic this Saturday (details on the main page of Caravan 4 Change); for the rest of you in the lower 48 of the US, check out his route to see if he's coming near you.

Finally, if you think what Peter's doing is way cool (which I do) and you have a large disposable income (which I don't), you can, of course, donate to the cause.