The League of Women Voters of New Castle County (LWVNCC) President Richard Johnson's message for May 2022 is included below...
The League, along with concerned individuals and organizations had come together in mid-May to form a Coalition for Electric School Buses for Delaware's Students (ESBDS). This is a result of several webinars and meetings on the benefits of electric buses with the primary focus on the health of the children that are riding on diesel buses twice a day 5 days a week. Anna Quisel, a retired physician, has been instrumental in pointing out the health issues associated with diesel buses. Below are some of the key points.
A review of the literature shows that diesel school buses expose children and their neighborhoods to high levels of diesel air pollution with the following highlights:
- Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution, with worse health outcomes in urban low-income communities.
- Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen and is associated with health problems ranging from asthma to cognitive impairment.
- Diesel school buses self-pollute resulting in high levels of air pollutants in school bus cabins.
- School buses have an outsize health impact beyond other diesel vehicles because they travel extensively through residential and densely populated areas.
- Despite improvements from clean diesel technologies, real world conditions show worse air quality in clean diesel buses compared to EV buses.
- Diesel school buses contribute to climate change.
Now is the time to consider electrification and clean energy for our children. As part of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act of 2021, Delaware Senator Tom Carper helped to designate up to $5 billion in funding specifically for electric school buses (U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works 2021 Sep 15). Per Senator Carper, “By prioritizing the transition to zero-emission school buses, we will clean up the air that students breathe and move our nation closer to meeting our climate goals” (U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works 2021 Sep 15).
Earlier this month Michael Regan, EPA Administrator, made a visit to Wilmington to encourage Delaware to take advantage of the 1-billion-dollar in funds that are becoming available to fund electric school bus purchases. The coalition of concerned individuals and organizations will be asking the state of Delaware to work with and coordinate school districts in applying for the maximum Infrastructure Bill funding for 25 electric school buses available to Delaware. The application window opens in May through early August and could fully pay for up to 25 electric school buses. We encourage you to help support this effort as Delaware begins the move toward a carbon free environment and improved health for our children.
Stay tuned for more information on how you can support this effort.
.-- Dick Johnson
