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Do kids deserve a safe, clean ride to school?
The EPA doesn't think so
Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that they are "revamping" the Clean School Bus Program.
So far, the Clean School Bus Program has helped hundreds of school districts across the country afford clean, zero-emissions electric school buses. Thanks to the program, Georgia is now home to 366 electric school buses, giving over 27,000 school children a healthier ride to school. Electric buses protect riders’ health from diesel exhaust, which contains over 40 toxic chemicals and is known to cause cancer.
The Clean School Bus program was funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021. In total, $5 billion in grants and rebates was designated to be given out over five years (2022-2026). The IIJA says that all of the money has to go towards lower emission school buses, and at least 50% has to go towards electric school buses. There is currently $2.3 billion left.
But last month, the EPA announced that they want to “revamp” the Clean School Bus Program. They want to spend less money on zero-emissions electric school buses and more on “alternative fuel” buses. “Alternative fuels” include natural gas, propane, hydrogen, and biofuels. All of these cause air pollution and greenhouse gases. This announcement shows the current EPA favoring fossil fuels at the expense of the health and well-being of students.
The EPA is accepting public comments about their Clean School Bus spending plans. If you don’t want more money to go towards polluting fossil fuel buses, please consider submitting a comment! You can use our talking points below to get started.
Use any of these talking points to help draft your comment. Remember to change our draft comment to add your own words and opinions. If the exact same comment is submitted multiple times, they will all be counted as one comment.
- To best protect students' health, the EPA should spend most of the funds on electric school buses.
- This announcement will mean more use of fossil fuels, which will cause more harmful air pollution and greenhouse gases.
- All of the alternative fuels included in this proposal still make harmful air pollution and greenhouse gases. Biofuels make as much or more air pollution and greenhouse gases as diesel.
- The American Medical Association (AMA) and other medical professional organizations ALL have statements saying climate change is a threat to human health. EPA's mission is to protect health, not favor certain industries. Therefore, this proposal directly contradicts medical recommendations and will damage students' health. EPA's mission is to protect health, not favor certain industries.
- Pretending climate change isn't happening doesn't stop it from happening. Ignoring it means more damage to students' health.
- Students who breathe less air pollution have better test scores and fewer school absences. Traffic pollution, including from diesel buses, reduces students' test scores and affects their behavior.
- Youth and young adults in America are very worried about the impacts of climate change. America's young people think that the future is frightening and the government is not doing enough, which is causing record levels of anxiety among young people.
- Funding dirty, polluting fossil fuels is not a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. America's children deserve clean, healthy transportation to and from school.
- This proposal is contrary to EPA's mission to protect health, and should not be advanced. Instead, EPA should spend most of the funding on electric school buses, to protect student health and improve well-being.
Please note that comments submitted to the EPA become part of the public record and may be searchable on the internet. We recommend that you don't include any personal identifying information in the body of your comment.
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