Ray Holan is an accomplished auto mechanic, biofuel advocate, author of the book Sliding Home: A Complete Guide to Driving Your Diesel on Straight Vegetable Oil and regular feature contributor to AutoblogGreen.



The 47-acre grounds of the Congregation of St. Joseph of Cleveland, Ohio would put the most environmentally conscious neighborhood to shame. Oh, sure, there's the usual recycling activities of composting kitchen waste, collecting aluminum cans, glass, plastic, and paper. But it doesn't stop there. How about organic gardening, a "Styrofoam-free" campus, cloth napkins instead of paper, recycling bins in the retreat center for visitors and using a "green" cleaning company even though it's more expensive than traditional services? When religious women make a joint commitment to sustainability, you won't find the word "half-way" in their dictionary.

There was so much environmental consciousness and energy efficiency at play on the campus, I almost forgot to focus on the real object of my visit: their fleet of 12 Honda Civic GX's powered by compressed natural gas (CNG).

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UPDATE: Added author's byline.