• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
The U.S. Needs More Electric School Buses

The U.S. Needs More Electric School Buses

September 1, 2022
Supporting Ukraine Through Consumer Power: Creative Projects Aim to Keep the Economy Afloat

Supporting Ukraine Through Consumer Power: Creative Projects Aim to Keep the Economy Afloat

February 6, 2023
A Look Back at January 24th in Tennessee’s History: From Nashville’s Designation as Capital to Supreme Court Ruling on Death Penalty

A Look Back at January 24th in Tennessee’s History: From Nashville’s Designation as Capital to Supreme Court Ruling on Death Penalty

January 24, 2023
Discover Tennessee’s Top 10 Entertainment Hotspots

Discover Tennessee’s Top 10 Entertainment Hotspots

January 19, 2023
Examining the Role of Pharmaceutical Marketing Agencies in Tennessee’s Healthcare System

Examining the Role of Pharmaceutical Marketing Agencies in Tennessee’s Healthcare System

January 4, 2023
Exploring the Unusual Applications of Big Data

Exploring the Unusual Applications of Big Data

January 2, 2023
SaaS on the market: a business to fall in love with

SaaS on the market: a business to fall in love with

December 26, 2022
El Salvador created a National Bitcoin Office

El Salvador created a National Bitcoin Office

December 26, 2022
Your Right to Vote Is Not Tied To A Political Party  

Your Right to Vote Is Not Tied To A Political Party  

September 1, 2022
Metro Arts Commission Appoints Daniel Phoenix Singh As Executive Director Singh Centers Strategic Leadership, Collaboration, and Equity

Metro Arts Commission Appoints Daniel Phoenix Singh As Executive Director Singh Centers Strategic Leadership, Collaboration, and Equity

September 1, 2022
Bridgestone Announces $550 Million Expansion And 380 New Manufacturing Jobs For Warren County, Tennessee Truck And Bus Radial Tire Plant

Bridgestone Announces $550 Million Expansion And 380 New Manufacturing Jobs For Warren County, Tennessee Truck And Bus Radial Tire Plant

September 1, 2022
Tennessee Tourism Outperforms the Nation With Record $24 Billion in Domestic Travel Spending in 2021

Tennessee Tourism Outperforms the Nation With Record $24 Billion in Domestic Travel Spending in 2021

September 1, 2022
Groups Sue Environmental Protection Agency Over Coal Ash

Groups Sue Environmental Protection Agency Over Coal Ash

September 1, 2022
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Local
  • National
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Contact
  • Submit a News Release
Friday, March 24, 2023
  • Login
The Tennessee Digest
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Local
  • National
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Contact
  • Submit a News Release
No Result
View All Result
The Tennessee Digest
No Result
View All Result

The U.S. Needs More Electric School Buses

by Carole C. Smith
September 1, 2022
in Uncategorized
0
The U.S. Needs More Electric School Buses
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Antoine M. Thompson 

A child rides a bus to school every day—the traditionally big yellow one that runs on diesel gas. Day in and day out, children are exposed to the fumes emitted by the bus, breathing carbon dioxide like its fresh air on what should be an otherwise safe journey to school.

After several years of this toxic exposure, the child develops asthma; they can no longer play sports, face a heightened risk to infections like Covid-19, and lose three years to their average life expectancy.

The worst part of this tragedy is that it all could’ve been avoided. Had the school bus been electric instead of diesel, its passengers would have faced no toxic emissions and been spared of irreparable lung damage. 

Shared by countless others across the nation, especially those in underserved communities, this story highlights the urgent need for school districts to convert their fleets to electric school buses and protect the health of students and surrounding communities.

Furthermore, thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which designates $5 billion in federal funding for clean school buses, it has never been easier for school districts to take a step towards the future and transition from diesel-powered school buses to fully electric ones.

            By electrifying their bus fleets, school districts will be prioritizing the health of both their students and the community at large, contributing to environmental justice, and saving money down the road.

According to the Healthy Schools Campaign, the exhaust from diesel buses contains “40+ toxic air contaminants, carcinogens, ozone smog-forming compounds, and fine particulate matter,” all of which can have devastating impacts on the health of students as well as the surrounding environment.

Diesel buses not only pollute the lungs of their passengers, but they also affect air quality through their emissions, especially considering that large portions of the day are spent driving and waiting idly.

Ross Cities estimates that full electrification of the national school bus fleet would lower greenhouse gas emissions by eight megatons per year, which is significant as transportation is the largest contributor to total U.S. emissions.

Additionally, the impacts of electrification would be felt most in low-income and minority communities, who have been exposed to toxic contaminants disproportionately more than any other group. Aside from the humanitarian impact, electric school buses also offer direct benefits to school districts.

Based on data from the Modesto Unified School District, they can save $10,000 a year on gas per bus. Electric school buses can even be plugged into as an excess power source in the event of a grid failure. Because of electric school buses’ undeniable advantages, districts must utilize this immense opportunity to electrify their fleets created by the Infrastructure Bill.

At the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition, we host a series of events and projects to showcase electric school buses, assist with project planning and grant writing, as well as education and training for school district staff, board members and other stakeholders. Our multilayered approach helps to achieve the goal to not only connect schools with dealers and manufacturers, electric vehicle supply equipment providers but also to increase familiarity between school districts and the electric school bus industry.

The best example is our Mid-Atlantic Electric School Bus Experience Project (MEEP), which provides school fleets with free electric buses to test over a six-to-eight-week demo period. Through practical experience, technical training, and proper planning with electric buses, school districts can better acquaint themselves with the processes of electrification and upkeep of their fleets. MEEP bridges the gap of understanding between districts and electrification, often giving the necessary information on questions such as how to acquire charging stations and how to retrofit or repower existing diesel buses to make them electric. As the need for electric school buses becomes more and more pressing, the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition is dedicated to facilitating and advocating for the electrification of electric school buses locally, regionally, and nationally.

Antoine M. Thompson is the Executive Director of the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition (GWRCCC) and a former NYS Senator and the former chair of the NYS Senate Committee of Environmental Conservation. 

The post The U.S. Needs More Electric School Buses appeared first on The thetennesseedigest.com.

Share196Tweet123Share49
Carole C. Smith

Carole C. Smith

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Metro Arts Commission Appoints Daniel Phoenix Singh As Executive Director Singh Centers Strategic Leadership, Collaboration, and Equity

Metro Arts Commission Appoints Daniel Phoenix Singh As Executive Director Singh Centers Strategic Leadership, Collaboration, and Equity

September 1, 2022
Discover Tennessee’s Top 10 Entertainment Hotspots

Discover Tennessee’s Top 10 Entertainment Hotspots

January 19, 2023
“Concerns about CHIPS”

“Concerns about CHIPS”

August 8, 2022
How Student Debt Harms Black Borrowers’ Mental Health

How Student Debt Harms Black Borrowers’ Mental Health

0
TSU to Continue COVID Safety Protocols With Surge in Cases and Fall Semester Coming Soon

TSU to Continue COVID Safety Protocols With Surge in Cases and Fall Semester Coming Soon

0
MTSU Summer Stole Ceremony Honors Graduating Student Veterans 

MTSU Summer Stole Ceremony Honors Graduating Student Veterans 

0
Supporting Ukraine Through Consumer Power: Creative Projects Aim to Keep the Economy Afloat

Supporting Ukraine Through Consumer Power: Creative Projects Aim to Keep the Economy Afloat

February 6, 2023
A Look Back at January 24th in Tennessee’s History: From Nashville’s Designation as Capital to Supreme Court Ruling on Death Penalty

A Look Back at January 24th in Tennessee’s History: From Nashville’s Designation as Capital to Supreme Court Ruling on Death Penalty

January 24, 2023
Discover Tennessee’s Top 10 Entertainment Hotspots

Discover Tennessee’s Top 10 Entertainment Hotspots

January 19, 2023
The Tennessee Digest

Copyright © thetennesseedigest.com

Navigate Site

  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Local
  • National
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Contact
  • Submit a News Release

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Local
  • National
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Contact
  • Submit a News Release

Copyright © thetennesseedigest.com

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In