By Robert Moffitt •
January 22, 2009
Editor’s note: Robert Moffitt is one of the newest additions to the Gas 2.0 writing team. Welcome aboard Robert!
Last week, temperatures in my home state of Minnesota stayed below zero for nearly four consecutive days. Extreme cold is not particularly unusual in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but it’s not much fun to commute to work or school with air temperatures at -20ºF. As I bundled up and drove to work in the middle of the cold snap, I heard a radio news story that one large suburban school system had closed, saying their school buses couldn’t run “because the biodiesel had turned to gel.”
By Tina Casey •
January 11, 2009
Children and cars both tend to idle around schools, and that is a noxious mix. Car exhaust, including exhaust from idling engines, is closely related to childhood asthma.
Hybrid cars and all-electric vehicles are the solution of the future, but right now they are beyond reach for many of us. Let’s read on to check out some no-cost and low-cost ways you can help reduce the impact of idling on children’s health.
By edfblog •
October 10, 2008
Every day, half a million school buses safely carry 24 million American children to school, field trips and athletic events.
Unfortunately, most buses are powered by diesel engines that actually pollute the air inside the bus. Studies show the pollution gets trapped inside the bus, where kids breathe it in.
Dr. John Balbus, EDF’s chief health scientist, answers common questions about school bus pollution and your child’s health.
Q: I don’t see billowing clouds of black smoke behind the school bus. Does that mean the bus exhaust is clean?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Even clean-looking exhaust from tailpipes, and from the engine itself, can contain small particles and other toxic pollutants that can get inside the school bus, and in children’s lungs.
Q: How does diesel pollution get inside a school bus?
Diesel pollution can enter a school bus from both the tailpipe and the engine. In school buses, the engine is in the front, right near the door, so every time the door opens, engine and tailpipe exhaust get sucked inside.
By Ecotality Life •
May 11, 2007
Editor's note: This week, Ecotality's Steve Caratzas takes a look at one of the big problems with cleaning up emissions from school buses: missing federal money promised to states. This post was originally published on Monday, May 7.
Though lawmakers passed a measure in 2005 to replace diesel school bus engines nationwide, the results have been paltry. Thus school children nationwide are still traveling on antiquated buses that produce pollutants some believe to
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