RESOLUTION HONORING THE "HEROES" STUDENT TEAM OF WHITNEY
YOUNG MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL.
WHEREAS, students of Whitney Young Magnet School have formed "Helping to Engender Renewable Organic Energy Sources," also known as HEROES, a student team devoted to the pursuit of environmental projects that engage their communities;
WHEREAS, HEROES recently competed in the Lexus Eco Challenge, a nationwide contest that encourages high school students to address the topics of land, water, air and climate, and to devise systems to improve their ecosystems in ways that make a difference for the environment in their local communities; and
WHEREAS, HEROES created a biodiesel refinery, specifically an infrastructure consisting of a mini-refinery utilizing plastic drums, pipes and a water heater that transforms used cooking oil from restaurants into biodiesel fuel; and
WHEREAS, the eco-friendly qualities of biodiesel compared to petroleum-based diesel are long established, and various sources report that broad conversion of restaurant oil in the U.S. would significantly reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil; and
WHEREAS, the fuel created by the HEROES mini-refinery is renewable fuel, made from used restaurant oil otherwise discarded, and it's increased use will seriously reduce the amount of emissions produced, especially hydrocarbon particulates by diesel engines; and
WHEREAS, the HEROES team from Whitney Young Magnet High was one of ten winners, out of 500 registered teams representing more than 4,000 middle and high school students nationwide, winning two prior challenges to advance to the finals from September 2010 to February, 2011, and
WHEREAS, the projected initial cost of such fuel varies between $1.50 and $1.75 per gallon, favorably competitive with petroleum-based diesel over $3 per gallon; and
WHEREAS, The Honorable Robert W. Fioretti, Alderman of the 2nd Ward, has apprised this august body of the significant achievement of the Whitney Young HEROES team delineated in the aforesai...
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