The League of Women Voters of New Castle County (LWVNCC) President Richard Johnson's message for November 2021 is included below...

Recently we held a webinar on Health, Climate, Vehicles and You. For those who attended we learned a great deal about the potential health dangers that we are exposed to every day with air pollution and our exposure to a toxin called PM 2.5. This toxin is easily assimilated into our blood stream and causes inflammation. This inflammation can lead to diseases like asthma, heart disease and stroke. Looking closer at the exposures in Delaware we learned that the primary source is due to truck and school bus exposure and our proximity to the I-95 and I-495 highways that run through the state.

This week I learned that the State of Delaware has a bid out for new school buses. The total number of new buses requested is 52. I would like to thank Anna Quisel for the following observation and breakdown. The routes scheduled for the diesel buses are very skewed toward special ed and the propane buses skewed to regular ed:

• 32% (17 buses) of the new buses will be propane
• 58% (30 buses) will be diesel
• 10% (5 buses) will be gas

As we have all heard the current administration has set aside billions of dollars to electrify our school bus fleet. Listed below are some of the key facts to support electrification.

• Eliminating diesel exhaust emissions, particulate pollution and pollutants that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, results in improving the air quality in our communities.
• Replacing one diesel bus can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54,000 pounds each year. That is the equivalent of 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide for every mile driven.
• Replacing all the country’s diesel-powered school buses with electric buses could eliminate more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
• Electric buses can deliver financial benefits, including substantially reduced maintenance costs and, in places where utility rate policies are favorable, reduced fuel costs.
• An electric bus reduces operation and maintenance costs for schools by 60% as compared to a diesel model.
• Electric buses get the equivalent of 17 miles per gallon (MPG) compared to 6 MPG for diesel.
• By reducing air pollution, electric buses can also deliver significant societal benefits, including avoided healthcare expenses resulting from cleaner air.
• Studies have shown that children who ride the bus to school are more likely to develop respiratory diseases and worsening levels of conditions like asthma.
• The air quality inside a diesel bus is 5x worse than outside the bus.
• Studies have shown that exposure to diesel soot and ground-level ozone created by diesel exhaust is linked to higher rates of cancer and mortality.
• Electric buses also produce much less noise than combustion engine buses which is an added benefit to the drivers/operators as well as students.
• A quieter bus allows for better communication between drivers and students.

This is an important focus for all of us, our future health and the opportunity to start make inroads to curbing Climate Change by 2050.

-- Dick Johnson